Films/Clips—-The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter

1. How did the propaganda films make connections between domestic labor and
women’s job skills in the industrial workplace? Why did the films make this
connection?

2. What backgrounds did these women come from before the war?
3. What sort of labor segregation did they experience, both with regards to race and to
gender?

4. After the war, what were the women war workers expected to do? What did the
workers themselves expect? Did they resist expectations that they would give up their
work?

5. What did these women do with the rest of their lives?

Having it all?

Opposing responses to Sandbergs book Lean In:
Given my Chinese mothers Tiger Mom tendencies and the having-it-all zeitgeist, the phrase
wasnt so out of place. But it struck a conflicted chord in me. Since Sheryl Sandbergs book
Lean In came out earlier this year, I have become an enthusiastic disciple of her movement.
Ive repeated the title phrase to countless friends, joined a Lean In circle on Facebook FB, and
developed minor lumbar problems from all the leaning Ive been doing at work. But I often
wonder whether I am embracing the right leadership qualities.
Sandberg glorifies traditionally male characteristicsoutspokenness, credit-taking, and
constant presence in the work environment. These values may be linked with individual
professional success, but do they actually translate to success for society as a whole? Lost in
the debate about how and how much we should be leaning in, we miss the point. Rather than
telling women to match mens behavior, we should be encouraging everyone to lean back, to
emulate a more feminine leadership style that is better correlated with societys well-being.
(Catherine Vaughan, a 2008 graduate of Harvard College)
Rather than telling women to be more confident and ambitious, I think that it is more
important to talk about how workplaces need to adapt to the whole person, both women
and men. This way everyone can strike a better balance between working and spending time
with family, friends, and their community.
Women have caught up with men in terms of education. In fact, in the United States and a
number of other countries, women now actually surpass men in educational achievement.
So there is not a problem with female achievement. The problem enters in when young adults
try to balance work and family, and women end up carrying nearly all of the caregiving
responsibilities.
(Mary Brinton, the Reischauer Institute Professor of Sociology at Harvard University).
Reading Question:

1. Are you more in agreement with Sandberg or the above authors? That is, should
women lean in or lean back? Support your opinion.

Masturbation Among Young Women and Associations with Sexual Health:
An Exploratory Study
1. Summarize the findings of the study. How can these findings be applied to help girls feel
more comfortable with their own sexuality?

Hooking Up
1. Sociologist Kathleen Bogle argues that hooking up has become the normative path to
relationships on campus.
Theres something about the way people define college life as a time to party and a time
to kick back. Theyre postponing marriage, so they have time to play the field.
(Jayson 2007).
Do you agree or disagree with the above statement? Support your position.

Films/Clips—-The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter

1. How did the propaganda films make connections between domestic labor and
women’s job skills in the industrial workplace? Why did the films make this
connection?

2. What backgrounds did these women come from before the war?
3. What sort of labor segregation did they experience, both with regards to race and to
gender?

4. After the war, what were the women war workers expected to do? What did the
workers themselves expect? Did they resist expectations that they would give up their
work?

5. What did these women do with the rest of their lives?

Having it all?

Opposing responses to Sandbergs book Lean In:
Given my Chinese mothers Tiger Mom tendencies and the having-it-all zeitgeist, the phrase
wasnt so out of place. But it struck a conflicted chord in me. Since Sheryl Sandbergs book
Lean In came out earlier this year, I have become an enthusiastic disciple of her movement.
Ive repeated the title phrase to countless friends, joined a Lean In circle on Facebook FB, and
developed minor lumbar problems from all the leaning Ive been doing at work. But I often
wonder whether I am embracing the right leadership qualities.
Sandberg glorifies traditionally male characteristicsoutspokenness, credit-taking, and
constant presence in the work environment. These values may be linked with individual
professional success, but do they actually translate to success for society as a whole? Lost in
the debate about how and how much we should be leaning in, we miss the point. Rather than
telling women to match mens behavior, we should be encouraging everyone to lean back, to
emulate a more feminine leadership style that is better correlated with societys well-being.
(Catherine Vaughan, a 2008 graduate of Harvard College)
Rather than telling women to be more confident and ambitious, I think that it is more
important to talk about how workplaces need to adapt to the whole person, both women
and men. This way everyone can strike a better balance between working and spending time
with family, friends, and their community.
Women have caught up with men in terms of education. In fact, in the United States and a
number of other countries, women now actually surpass men in educational achievement.
So there is not a problem with female achievement. The problem enters in when young adults
try to balance work and family, and women end up carrying nearly all of the caregiving
responsibilities.
(Mary Brinton, the Reischauer Institute Professor of Sociology at Harvard University).
Reading Question:

1. Are you more in agreement with Sandberg or the above authors? That is, should
women lean in or lean back? Support your opinion.

Masturbation Among Young Women and Associations with Sexual Health:
An Exploratory Study
1. Summarize the findings of the study. How can these findings be applied to help girls feel
more comfortable with their own sexuality?

Hooking Up
1. Sociologist Kathleen Bogle argues that hooking up has become the normative path to
relationships on campus.
Theres something about the way people define college life as a time to party and a time
to kick back. Theyre postponing marriage, so they have time to play the field.
(Jayson 2007).
Do you agree or disagree with the above statement? Support your position.