Sociology is often a favorite course for students. They love studying and analyzing the interactions between others. However, they often forget to consider how outside factors influence their lives. So, students need to take some time to see how the media and society shape their thoughts and opinions. Thankfully, the Music and Gender Project and Gender of Toys Project provide personal, impactful ways to do this! Using these sociology gender projects allows students to reflect on aspects they love while understanding media and marketing.Â
Music and Gender Project
Students love music! Honestly, many would walk around wearing headphones all day if they could. However, they probably do not realize the power of music. So, they need to study lyrics to see how media can shape society. Luckily, using these sociology gender projects will help them do that!
Students will select a song that has a music video. Then, they will break down what the song is about. After this, they will deeply analyze how the song portrays cultural norms, ideas, beliefs, and values. This is a key aspect of understanding how media impacts society. Students will then reflect on the meaning of the media. This includes the emotions listeners feel and the message they hear. By the end of the lesson, they will analyze how the media can shape consumers’ perceptions of reality and society.
Gender of Toys Project
If you go down any toy aisle, you will quickly see a message that toy makers send to children. For example, if you walk down the doll aisle, you will see lots of pink, little girls on boxes, and female dolls. If you walk down the toy car aisle, you will see lots of dark colors, little boys on boxes, and male animated characters. Unfortunately, this sends the message that girls can play with dolls and boys can play with trucks.
However, this should be different. The girls should feel welcome to look at the cool cars, and the boys should feel welcome to play with baby dolls. After all, both genders will drive and be parents if they choose one day! So, they should be equally encouraged to play with any toy they want.
Since this is a crucial concept for students to understand, it is essential they evaluate toy marketing. Thankfully, using sociology gender projects will allow them to do this.
This hands-on project is a fun and interactive way for students to reflect on their favorite toys growing up. During the three-day lesson, they will analyze the marketing, embark on a web search, and complete an analysis through a show-and-tell. This includes looking at the marketing patterns for the toy and the intended message. They will also explore if the marketing of toys leads to any inequalities. Students will even take on the challenge of finding gender-neutral toys!
Honestly, this activity will be so much fun for students while being eye-opening. They will love reflecting on their childhood while looking at the power of marketing.
There is so much influence within media and marketing! However, students will not realize this without intentionally paying attention. Thankfully, the Music and Gender Project and Gender of Toys Project guide them through this! Both of the sociology gender projects will help students connect what they love to factors that influence who they are.
If you do not want to miss any of the upcoming lessons, join my email list to be notified of all the interactive lessons coming up! By joining the email list, you will receive freebies for blog exclusive subscribers!
-
Gender of Toys Sociology Project$5.00
-
Gender of Music Sociology Project$5.00
-
Gender Unit$30.00