Welcome

This is the personal response blog of Laura Jessmore.  I am a student at the University of Michigan, taking a class in communications studies.  The Communications Department educates students about the proper use and presentation of media using programs such as Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Dreamweaver as well as scholarly research and APA citation methods.  The departmental website can be found here for more information about classes and student expectations.

Working together with three other students, I am researching the harmful effects that stereotypical media and advertisements have on women.  Although women are stereotypically represented in all cultures, I am focusing on their representation in Western cultures: the United States, Canada, and Western Europe.  My group's research question is:

What role do gender stereotypes play in advertising and how do they affect portrayals of women in Western society?

Using scholarly journal articles available through the University of Michigan's library system, my group members and I have gathered examples of such stereotypical representations.  We hope that presenting this information will help both women and men to realize the unrealistic expectations placed upon the female population.