Shifting Gender Identities in Popular Culture

From films, television shows, and young adult literature to beauty pageants, stand-up comedy, and role-playing games, pop culture influences our views of gender. This collection of 12 essays brings together a diverse selection of scholars to examine how various groups are represented in these narratives.

A mirror that allows us to see who and what we are, pop culture also has, in John Podhoretz's words, the "ability to alter, destroy, or praise" how we see and define ourselves, and shapes how we understand our own and others' actions, values, and beliefs. These essays investigate the ways in which popular culture helps us understand the rapid and often dramatic societal changes occurring around gender roles and identity. They address the question of truth in representation of women and gender minorities, highlighting the tension between the best and the worst that popular culture can offer to these debates.