WGST 231: Gender and Popular Culture: Books

With studies of well-known shows such as Game of Thrones, Girls, Insecure, Looking, Silicon Valley, The Comeback, The Leftovers, True Detective andVeep and Vinyl, the authors examine the trends in current programming, including the rise of queer characters, era-defining comedy, reinvented fantasy series, and the content’s new awareness of gender, sexuality and family dysfunction.

This innovative study claims camp as a critical, yet pleasurable strategy for women's engagement with contemporary popular culture as exemplified by 30 Rock or Lady Gaga.

A fresh and brilliantly told memoir from a cult favorite comic artist, marked by gothic twists, a family funeral home, sexual angst, and great books. This breakout book by Alison Bechdel is a darkly funny family tale, pitch-perfectly illustrated with Bechdel's sweetly gothic drawings.

Nearly every night on every major network, 'unscripted' (but carefully crafted) 'reality' TV shows routinely glorify retrograde stereotypes that most people would assume got left behind 35 years ago. In this book, media critic Jennifer L. Pozner aims a critical, analytical lens at a trend most people dismiss as harmless fluff.