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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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American Studies

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Gender studies

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Rise And Fall Of Gilmore Girls' Feminist Legacy, Mckenna Ahlgren Oct 2018

The Rise And Fall Of Gilmore Girls' Feminist Legacy, Mckenna Ahlgren

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the feminist legacy that the television series Gilmore Girls (2000-2007, 2016) built during its original airtime and how its later revival diminished that legacy. Gilmore Girls’ main characters are three generations of women within the Gilmore family, providing a unique opportunity to analyze their feminist identities and characterizations relative to different iterations of feminism. This paper examines how the youngest Gilmore, Rory, is influenced by her mother’s and grandmother’s embodiments of feminism. Their expressions of femininity and sexuality, their approaches to motherhood, and their behaviors in their romantic relationships throughout the series correlate with the predominate feminism …


"What It Takes To Be A Man": A Comparison Of Masculinity And Sexuality In Rebel Without A Cause And River's Edge, Alyssa Costa May 2008

"What It Takes To Be A Man": A Comparison Of Masculinity And Sexuality In Rebel Without A Cause And River's Edge, Alyssa Costa

Honors Projects

Compares the teen films, Rebel without a Cause and River's Edge, using cultural studies to analyze what they reveal about the complexities of masculinity and sexuality. Contends that while the cultural ideologies of the 1950s and 1980s promote a tough-guy hyper-masculinity, these films offer multiple models of masculinity, various forms of homosocial bonds, and veiled messages about homosexuality.


"You're Tearing Me Apart"! Investigating Ideology In The Image Of Teens In The 1950s, Danielle Bouchard May 2008

"You're Tearing Me Apart"! Investigating Ideology In The Image Of Teens In The 1950s, Danielle Bouchard

Honors Projects

Using cultural studies as a critical paradigm and ideological analysis as methodology, argues that gender, sexuality, and the nuclear family are core issues treated in two films and one television program from the 1950s featuring American teenagers. Focuses on the classic juvenile delinquent film, Rebel without a Cause, the quintessential clean teen film, Gidget, and the television series, Leave It to Beaver.