Xander Jones
4th Period
9-8-17
Comparative Analysis of “Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men?” and “Our Barbies, Ourselves”. “Our Barbies, Ourselves” by Emily Prager, and “Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men?” by Matthias R. Mehl et al., both offer their perspective on gender and stereotypes in society, while taking widely varied approaches at doing so. The main similarities between “Our Barbies, Ourselves” and “Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men?” are that they both analyze differences between men and women in society, whether myth, fact, or based on media. The main differences, however, are that Mehl’s paper focuses on a cultural stereotype, and the factuality of it based on empirical evidence, while Prager’s …show more content…
This is stated in the introduction for the essay, “Using division or analysis, she shows here how Barbie represents a twisted ideal of women.” This in comparison to “Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men”, by Matthias R. Mehl, does not provide empirical evidence to support her claims, but does provide a detailed and thorough analysis of the issue based on her experiences and from facts everyone can agree on. She poses her essay to the women of the world as a call to action as can be drawn from the concluding paragraph which presents issues meant to draw a reaction from the audience. This is more general and more widely publicized than Mehl’s article, as it was published in a magazine to be seen by many. The message of Prager’s essay is that “Barbie represents a twisted ideal of women.”(introduction to the essay) Despite providing some evidence for her claim, unlike Mehl’s essay, “Our Barbies, Ourselves”, contains bias. The bias in Prager’s essay is in the assumption that Barbie was designed with intent to harm, despite having no knowledge of the real intentions of the designer, and misquoting the designer as Jack Ryan in the first paragraph, which was later proven incorrect. This is in contrast to Mehl’s attempt to provide unbiased empirical data to support his conclusion. The theme of “Our Barbies, Ourselves” is that young women should be offered more realistic role models than degrading figures such as Barbie, and even young men should be given better role models than Ken, though less emphasized. The mood presented in the essay is irritated and discontented as Prager expresses her unhappiness with the current state of things. The tone, however, is annoyed and antagonistic, framing Barbie and the designer as malicious as stated in paragraph five,
4th Period
9-8-17
Comparative Analysis of “Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men?” and “Our Barbies, Ourselves”. “Our Barbies, Ourselves” by Emily Prager, and “Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men?” by Matthias R. Mehl et al., both offer their perspective on gender and stereotypes in society, while taking widely varied approaches at doing so. The main similarities between “Our Barbies, Ourselves” and “Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men?” are that they both analyze differences between men and women in society, whether myth, fact, or based on media. The main differences, however, are that Mehl’s paper focuses on a cultural stereotype, and the factuality of it based on empirical evidence, while Prager’s …show more content…
This is stated in the introduction for the essay, “Using division or analysis, she shows here how Barbie represents a twisted ideal of women.” This in comparison to “Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men”, by Matthias R. Mehl, does not provide empirical evidence to support her claims, but does provide a detailed and thorough analysis of the issue based on her experiences and from facts everyone can agree on. She poses her essay to the women of the world as a call to action as can be drawn from the concluding paragraph which presents issues meant to draw a reaction from the audience. This is more general and more widely publicized than Mehl’s article, as it was published in a magazine to be seen by many. The message of Prager’s essay is that “Barbie represents a twisted ideal of women.”(introduction to the essay) Despite providing some evidence for her claim, unlike Mehl’s essay, “Our Barbies, Ourselves”, contains bias. The bias in Prager’s essay is in the assumption that Barbie was designed with intent to harm, despite having no knowledge of the real intentions of the designer, and misquoting the designer as Jack Ryan in the first paragraph, which was later proven incorrect. This is in contrast to Mehl’s attempt to provide unbiased empirical data to support his conclusion. The theme of “Our Barbies, Ourselves” is that young women should be offered more realistic role models than degrading figures such as Barbie, and even young men should be given better role models than Ken, though less emphasized. The mood presented in the essay is irritated and discontented as Prager expresses her unhappiness with the current state of things. The tone, however, is annoyed and antagonistic, framing Barbie and the designer as malicious as stated in paragraph five,