AP Lang. IRL

Innuendos are a tool used everywhere. However, they are simply ways of masking peoples tones and used to avoid coming across as too harsh in most cases. After overthinking my own personal use of ‘more polite’ innuendos, I’ve come to the conclusion that the more confident you are, the less need there is to try to come across in a more polite manner. Based on my personal experience, in situations when I am less confident in myself, I tend to act more politely to avoid saying the wrong thing or having to worry that people will judge me if I accidentally come off too strong by saying what I think/want in an overly direct way. I believe that if people simply understand that being direct won’t usually offend people and that people won’t judge them for it, it would be much easier to communicate and to get things across much faster. The main problem with saying certain things indirectly is that even though most people will understand it and might act on it, it makes the demand/request appear l...

  Mainstream media and movies play a big role in how modern gender roles are perceived. One example which demonstrates many aspects of gender is the 2004 classic Mean Girls. The movie portrays many obvious stereotypes as well as some that are less conventional. Characters such has Regina, Karen, and Gretchen represent the ‘female’ demographic. Their representation of female culture is very much based on harsh stereotypes that tend to exaggerate femininity and hold women to a very unfair standard that most women choose not to conform with. Contrarily, Janis Ian represents the polar opposite. She defies also all feminine stereotypes and is in-turn, labeled as abnormal and ‘weird’ by the high school monarchy that exists in the movie. Additionally, the other side character, Damian, represents a not-so-typical male student. In this case, the gay stereotype is utilized to try and set Damian away from his peers and make him appear as different. By including characters that challenge the n...