Communication Graduate Student Publication Series

The mother’s gaze and the model child: Reading print ads for designer children’s clothing

Boulton, Chris — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:35:33 PST

This audience analysis considers how two groups of mothers, one affluent and mostly white and the other low-income and mostly of color, responded to six print ads for designer children’s clothing. I argue that the gender and maternal affiliations of these women—which coalesce around their common experience of the male gaze and a belief that children’s clothing represents the embodied tastes of the mother—are ultimately overwhelmed by distinct attitudes towards conspicuous consumption, in-group/out-group signals, and even facial expressions. I conclude that, when judging the ads, these mothers engage in a vicarious process referencing their own daily practice of social interaction. In other words, they are auditioning the gaze through which others will view their own children.

My SPARC Addendum Agreement with Taylor & Francis

Boulton, Chris — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:35:32 PST

Porn And Me(n): Sexual Morality, Objectification, And Religion At The Wheelock Anti-Pornography Conference

Boulton, Chris — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:35:32 PST

In the Spring of 2007, I interviewed a panel of four men who, along with me, had just attended a national anti-pornography conference at Wheelock College. As we discussed topics ranging from masturbation to sexual ethics, many described their continuing struggle to reconcile their desires with deeply held moral beliefs and political convictions. This essay recounts various events from the Wheelock conference and draws on the published work of prominent male feminists such as John Stoltenberg, Robert Jensen, and Sut Jhally. I argue that, by failing to adequately account for the pleasures of objectification, the radical feminist analysis of pornography faces a dual risk: 1) remaining marginal and irrelevant and/or 2) being absorbed by the much larger Christian anti-pornography movement.

Don’t Smile for the Camera: Black Power, Para-Proxemics and Prolepsis in Print Ads for Hip-Hop Clothing

Boulton, Chris — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:35:31 PST

While much has been written on marketing to children, there remains a curious gap in the literature concerning marketing through children. This study considers print ads for three brands of hip-hop clothing for children (Rocawear, Sean John, and Baby Phat) that appeared in Cookie, a parenting magazine aimed at adults. I argue that, by depicting children in a “cool pose” of “flat affect,” these ads violate social expectations and assert "Black Power" through a para-proxemic challenge to the viewer. The result is a prolepsis — or foretaste of the future — which rhymes the child models with their adult equivalents.

Shifting currents in media awareness.

Boulton, Chris et al. — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:35:31 PST

This longitudinal qualitative research study examines how a group of parents and teachers sought to raise awareness in their community about harmful media effects. Initially condemning the influx of new digital media technologies such as violent video games, the group eventually shifted tactics in an effort to go beyond ‘preaching to the choir’ and bring other parents into the fold. Their experience suggests that we might reconsider media literacy as a form of social work.