The videos on these pages explore gender roles from a variety of angles. Click on the subpages to find videos about changing gender roles, how gender roles affect communication & language, the construction of gender roles, and more.
Acting our age a film about women growing old 1988, 1987
Michal Aviad
Six women, aged 65 to 75, speak openly about subjects normally considered taboo for older women, including sexuality, being alone, financial difficulties, and dealing with death. Interviews are interspersed with images of the women's daily lives to provide insight into the effects of aging on women's self-image, their roles in their family and relationships, and the place they hold in their communities. 1 videocassette (58 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. +
DANA 288
The ad and the ego truth and consequences 1996
Harold L Boihem, Chris Emmanouilides, Jean Kilbourne, Stuart Ewen, Sut Jhally, Bernard McGrane, and Richard W Pollay
Discusses how the market economy has grown to the point that commercialism invades the most intimate aspects of life. Leading media critics show how living in an environment saturated with advertising creates a psychology of need. The history of advertising is traced from the 19th century through today. 1 videocassette (57 min.) :
MEDIA DANA 2-2923 650
A changing heart between 2002 and 2004
Leigh M Devine, Devinepix (Firm), and Filmakers Library, inc
"A Changing Heart (52 min.) takes an intimate look at how the Japanese, in a mere century, have come to adopt love as a rationale for marriage. By examining the changing roles of women, the shape of families, the impact of World War II, as well as industrialization and the decline of tradition, we can understand how the Japanese, and perhaps even other cultures, could accept new attitudes toward love and marriage. The film looks chronologically at how arranged marriage evolved and then reveals how this change has left people in Japan today, as they face the quest of looking for a partner. The consequences of this evolution turn out to unleash unexpected quandaries to both individuals and society as a whole"--Http://www.globalfilmnetwork.net. 1 videodisc (52 min.) :
MEDIA 10-1882
Chore wars the battle over who cleans the toilet 1995
Kathy Garneau and Lauren Davis
A discussion on who does the housework in Canadian families and the determination of sex roles and responsibilities. 1 videocassette (48 min.) :
MEDIA 2-2896
Clinical dilemmas in marriage the search for equal partnership 1993
Gerry Cullen, Betty Carter, and Stephen Lerner
Examines the institution of marriage, instead of focusing primarily on problems of particular spouses. Excerpts from two marital cases clearly illustrate questions and interventions in the sensitive areas of gender,money and power. 1 videocassette (45 min.) :
MEDIA 2-3367
David Halberstam's the fifties. Volume 3, Let's play house [videorecording] / 1997
David Halberstam, Tracy Dahlby, Alex Gibney, Nancy Button, and Edward Herrmann
Describes the unrest sometimes felt in the outwardly tranquil fifties, including dissatisfaction with women's roles as housewives and men's roles in the corporate rat race. 1 videocassette (ca. 100 min.) :
MEDIA. MEDIA 2-3632 2-6175
Deborah Tannen he said, she said : gender, language, communication 2000
Deborah Tannen and Robert DiNozzi
A live presentation of Dr. Tannen's contributions to the understanding of gender, language, and communication. 1 videocassette (55 min.) :
DANA. MEDIA 1434 2-6061
Die Deutschen und ihre Männer Bericht aus Bonn = report from Bonn 1989
Helke Sander and Renée Felden
A young woman uses her annual vacation to look for a husband in Bonn. She doesn't find a husband but asks many questions of the men she meets and receives interesting replies. 1 videocassette (96 min.) :
MEDIA 2-5414
The dream becomes a reality nation building and the continued struggle of the women of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front 1995
Eva Egensteiner, Sondra Hale, Lidia Berhane, Elsa Yacob, Saada Suleiman, Azeda Mesfin, Ruth Simon, and Abenet Essayas
Interviews with women who were treated as equals during the struggle for Eritrean independence about their current employment and social conditions. Most have continued to work in their professions or vocations although the traditional cultural forces make full sexual equality impossible. 1 videocassette (48 min.) :
MEDIA 2-3719
Dreamworlds 2 desire/sex/power in music video 1995
Sut Jhally
The author suggests that the image of women in music videos reflects a male adolescent dreamworld. In this world, all women are nymphomaniacs who constantly invite sex with any available male. The author examines the factors which produce this image and questions the effect which many hours of viewing this dreamworld might have on male behavior in the real world. Consists primarily of narration over clips from rock videos. 1 videocassette (ca. 56 min.) :
MEDIA 2-2526
The Flapper story 1985
Lauren Lazin
Traces the historical developments which gave shape to the flapper ideal. 1 videocassette (30 min.) :
MEDIA D-217
Gender differences in depression a marital therapy approach 1996
Peggy Papp and Stephen Lerner
How gender stereotypes affect depression and marital conflict. Shows case study of a marital relationship in therapy sessions. 1 videocassette (44 min.) :
MEDIA 2-3364
The gender tango 1997
Lea Pool and Susan Sarandon
This program looks at the different ways women define themselves and are defined by others indiverse cultures. 1 videocassette (48 min.) :
MEDIA 2-2218
Growing up female 198-?
Julia Reichert and Jim Klein
Describes the socialization of the American woman through a personal look into the lives of six females ranging from kindergarten age to middle age. Shows the influence of such forces as parents, teachers, guidance counselors, the media, advertising, pop music, and marriage. 1 videocassette (50 min.) :
MEDIA D-125
Hasta cierto punto Up to a certain point 1995
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Oscar Alvarez, Mirta Ibarra, Humberto Hernández, Omar Valdés, and Coralio Veloz
A clever self-reflexive satire about the battle of the sexes in contemporary Cuba. 1 videocassette (70 min.) :
MEDIA 2-6117
Hispanics, the changing role of women 1998
Francisco Ramirez, Jerry Scmetterer, and Jimmy Smits
In this program, several prominent Latina women, including author Isabel Allende, discuss their changing role within the context of Hispanic family values, male machismo, and the traditional role of females as the center of family and community life. Also examines the issue from the male perspective. 1 videocassette (44 min.) :
MEDIA 2-3713
House on fire 1998
Diane Best, Rula Lenska, Dawnette Hinds, and Calvin Mitchel
The Caribbean has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in the world. Triggered by unemployment and drug use, it's also perpetuated by a culture that still fails to condemn violence against women, and sexual violence in particular, as a crime. 1 videocassette (15 min.) :
MEDIA 2-5835
Images of women in American society in the twentieth century 1941-1975
Robert Cummings, Lucille Ball, Mary Tyler Moore, Robert Young, Donna Reed, Diahann Carrol, Freeman F Gosden, Charles J Correll, and Ed Gardner
Deals with the stereotypical "traditional" images of women in American society, from the 1940's to the 1970's. The same theme emerges in all of the television shows and commercials: women should be beautiful, good, and interested only in being subordinate to the needs of men and family. These "standards" appear to apply to American women, regardless of race or social class. These film clips show how, despite the great progress that American women have made in this century, sexual steoreotypes still persist. 3 videocassettes (VHS) (260 min.) :
DANA. 76 v.1-3
In women's hands the changing roles of women 1993
Rachel Field, Juan Mandelbaum, and Raul Julia
This program focuses on the women of Chile and how political and social changes since the 1970's have changed the traditional role of women. 1 videocassette (60 min.) :
MEDIA 2-1917
Killing us softly advertising's image of women 1979
Jean Kilbourne
Explores the image of women presented by modern advertising. Illustrates with examples the use of women as sex objects and the exploitation of children. 1 videocassette (30 min.) :
MEDIA 2-1279
Lear '87 archive (condensed) 2002
Jill Godmilow, Lee Breuer, Ruth Maleczech, and William Shakespeare
"In 1987, the formidable Mabou Mines Theatrical Collaborative began a two-week workshop on a new 'King Lear' - a fully gender-reversed one - directed by Lee Breuer and featuring Ruth Maleczech in the title role of Lear. Jill Godmilow's unique archive of their work on "Lear" makes for a creative joy ride ... a master class on avant garde theater at its very best"--Set container. 3 videodiscs (339 min.) :
MEDIA. MEDIA. MEDIA 10-104 pt.1 10-104 pt.2 10-104 pt.3
Man oh man growing up male in America 1987, 1988
J Clements, Jeff Ebbage, and Scott Musgrone
Using interviews with men, family films, and a pastiche of sounds and images, documents what it is like to grow up as a male in America today. Looks at what shapes a boy into a man and the roles and stereotypes men have to deal with in today's society. 1 videocassette (18 min.) :
MEDIA 2-3416
Mother-to-be 1967
Anne-Claire Poirier, Guy L Coté, and Liette Desjardins
"Can a woman fully achieve self-realization while at the same time giving herself to the role of wife and mother? This is one question raised in this film documentary. Introspective, partly biographical, the film delves into the emotions of joy, anticipation and anxiety that a young mother experiences during the last several weeks before the birth of her second child. There is some footage from Czechoslovakia concerning maternity: a natural childbirth in a hospital delivery room and state nursery care for the children of working mothers."--Container. 1 videocassettte (75 min.) :
MEDIA 2-5078
Orlando 1999
Virginia Woolf, Sally Potter, Tilda Swinton, Billy Zane, Lothaire Bluteau, John Wood, Charlotte Valandrey, Heathcote Williams, and Quentin Crisp
"Orlando [is] an English nobleman who defies the laws of nature with surprising results. Immortal and highly imaginative, he undergoes a series of extraordinary transformations which humorously and hauntingly illustrate the eternal war between the sexes."--Container. 1 videodisc (93 min.) :
MEDIA MEDIA 10-81 2-2610
Paradise lies at the feet of the mother 1993
John Percival
This program looks at the role of women in Islam and in Muslim societies in the Middle East, Asia and Nigeria. 1 videocassette (ca. 50 min.) :
MEDIA. MEDIA 2-882 2-2254
Pashke and Sofia c2003
Karin Michalski, Ursula Habersaat, Réka Kincses, Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin, and Women Make Movies (Firm)
This film is a window into Albanian culture and a glimpse at the age-old custom that allows Albanian women to change their gender by taking the oath of a sworn virgin. Pashke is one of the women who promised not to marry or bear children and to remain celibate in return for the status and respect deemed worthy of a male. 1 videocassette (30 min.) :
MEDIA 2-7810
The smell of burning ants 1994
Jay Rosenblatt
The film raises gender issues and provokes the viewer to refect on how our society can deprive boys of wholeness. Through the formative events of a boy's life, we come to understand the ways in which men can become emotionally disconnected and alienated from their feminine side. Illustrates how boys are socialized by fear, power and shame. 1 videocassette (22 min.) :
MEDIA 2-5296
A Spy in the house that Ruth built 1989
Vanalyne Green and Mathew Price
In 1985, photographer and film maker Vanalyne Green discovered baseball. Avid interest in the game quickly became a very special obsession. Inthis autobiographical, highly subjective monologue, Green describes the emotional, psychological, and sexual significance for her of baseball and baseball players. The Ruth of the title is Babe Ruth, the famous baseball star. 1 videocassette (30 min.) :
MEDIA 2-2068
Still killing us softly advertising's image of women 1987
Jean Kilbourne and Margaret Lazarus
Jean Kilbourne delivers a lecture at Harvard University on the portrayal of women in advertising and the effects it has on women and their self-image. 1 videocassette (30 min.) :
MEDIA. MEDIA 2-1278 2-3282
Straightlaced how gender's got us all tied up c2009
Debra Chasnoff, Sue Chen, Fawn Yacker, Rick Butler, Miriam Cutler, Groundspark (Firm), Respect for All Project, and New Day Films
"Meet 50 incredibly diverse students who take us on a powerful, intimate journey to see how popular pressures around gender and sexuality are shaping the lives of today's American teens ... Demonstrates how gender-based expectations are deeply intertwined with homophobia, and also are impacted by race, ethnicity and class. From girls confronting popular messages about culture and body image, to boys who are sexually active just to prove they aren't gay, STRAIGHTLACED reveals the toll that deeply-held stereotypes and rigid gender policing have on all of our lives, and offers both teens and adults a way out of anxiety, fear, and violence" -- Container. 1 videodisc (67 min.) :
MEDIA 10-1861
Sugar and spice 1974
Vicki Breitbart, Eric Breitbart, and Alan Jacobs
Shows sex-role socialization in children's play in several day-care centers in New York City. Describes some of the efforts of teachers and parents of children in the elementary grades to encourage non-sexist socialization. 1 videocassette (32 min.) :
MEDIA D-49
Sylvia, Fran & Joy 1973
Joan Churchill
Three young women voice their feelings about the role of wife-mother-housekeeper: Sylvia, who shares responsibilities with her husband; Fran, in transition; and Joy, the traditionalist. 1 videocassette (25 min.) :
MEDIA D-62
These girls are missing 199-?
Shari Robertson, Michael Camerini, and Kagendo Murungi
"... in many African countries, fewer than 20% of girls ever enter a classroom, and across the continent, only one woman in three learns to read." "These girls are missing offers small sets of stories, sharp glimpses into a few intimate relationships layered to mirror the complex reality ..."--Container. 1 videocassette (60 min.) :
MEDIA 2-3852
Town meeting a process run amok, Thomas/Hill hearings 1991
Ted Koppel and Roger Goodman
This special discusses the political and media issues surrounding the appointment of Clarence Thomas to the United States Supreme Court and the subsequent allegations of sexual harassment by Anita Hill. 1 videocassette (ca. 90 min.) :
MEDIA 2-1879
The Trobriand Islanders of Papua New Guinea 1991
David Watson and Annette B Weiner
The Trobriand Islands, regarded as anthropology's most sacred place, lie off the eastern tip of Papua New Guinea. The island society has a complex balance of male authority and female wealth. Magic spells and sorcery pervade everyday life. This program focuses on two important events: the distribution of woman's wealth after a death and the "month of play", a time of celebration following the island harvest. 1 videocassette (52 min.) :
MEDIA 2-1406
Why men don't iron 1998
Jim Meyer, Tim Pigott-Smith, Bill Moir, Quality Time Television, Channel Four (Great Britain), and First Run/Icarus Films
Investigates the influences of biology and environment in determining gender differences. 3 videocassettes (156 min.)
MEDIA MEDIA MEDIA 2-6328 cassette 1 2-6329 cassette 2 2-6330 cassette 3
A Woman's place 1987
Julie Harris, Dick Feldman, and Enfield Ford
Examines woman's traditional role in society and shows how women today are rethinking their roles. Tells of the contributions of notable American women. 1 videocassette (25 min.) :
DANA 1293
Women and allegory gender and sculpture in two cultures 2001
Nick Levinson, Neil Salvage, and Gillian Perry
This program deconstructs the politically charged monuments from post-Revolutionary Paris and the ornamental temple sculptures from 11th-century Khajuraho while contrasting the allegorical meanings ascribed by Western and Eastern cultures. 1 videocassette (29 min.) :
MEDIA 2-6078
Women and men unglued marriage and relationaships in the 21st century 2004
Katherine Gilday, National Film Board of Canada, TVOntario, and Films for the Humanities & Sciences (Firm)
This program looks at changing contemporary gender relations and expectation. Focuses on issues such as dating, marriage, money, parenting, romantic love, feminism, and committment. 1 videocassette (87 min.)
MEDIA 2-7018
Women in the middle ages 1992
Gail Singer, Amy Bodman, Jacqueline Murray , and Gale Garnett
How did women live in Medieval times? What did they do? This video focuses on their daily lives as administrators, as nurses and wives, and as women in religious life. Uses excerpts from period texts accompanied by music and sound effects to vividly illustrate the viewpoint of both noble and peasant during the period 1150-1400 A.D. 1 videocassette (22 min.) :
DANA 603
A world without fathers or husbands 2000
Eric Blavier, Eric van Beuren, Thomas Lavachery, Y.C. Aligator Film, Studio Télé Objectif (Firm), Radio-Télévision belge de la communauté culturelle française, Tchin Tchin Production, and Filmakers Library, inc
In this documentary filmed in Mosuo Province near the Tibetan border, we learn about a matriarchal society where there are no fathers, husbands or marriages. Uncles care for their sisters' children and act as the fathers of these children. Brothers and sisters live together all their lives in their mothers' homes. The women do all the work, including physical labor and are the bread-winners in their families. Women are usually courted by men from miles away, who come for conjugal "visits." This film also goes on to show how change is now coming to Mosuo Province. 1 videocassette (52 min.)
MEDIA 2-6856