Merskin, Debra

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  • ItemOpen Access
    A Boyfriend to Die For: Edward Cullen as Compensated Psychopath in Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight
    (Journal of Communication Inquiry, 2011-06-22) Merskin, Debra
    This article is an analysis of the teen-targeted vampire novel Twilight. The series and related merchandise have been a runaway financial success. Illustrative quotes from Twilight are presented according to Guggenbühl-Craig’s concept of the “compensated psychopath” (CP)—an individual who approaches the psychological extreme of psychopathy but is able to pass for functional in society. The author argues the lead male character Edward Cullen is a CP and that the representation is problematic. The book’s main female character, Bella Swan, becomes completely dependent on Edward, desires him in part because he seems unattainable, and is willing to die and live a life of predation in order to be with him. The largely uncriticized idealization of Edward as top boyfriend material flies under the radar of contemporary concern for girls’ psychic and physical well-being.
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    Media, Minorities, & Meaning: A Critical Introduction
    (Peter Lang, 2010-12) Merskin, Debra
    This book is an examination of how American mass media, including advertising, presents Otherness - anyone or anything constructed as different from an established norm - in terms of gender, race, sex, disabilities, and other markers of difference. Using a mythological lens, the book looks below the surface of media content to explore the psychological, social, and economic underpinnings of a system of beliefs that result in prejudice, discrimination, and oppression. Designed to raise awareness of the foundations of historically-based inequities in the American social, cultural, and economic milieu, the author shows how inequalities are maintained, at least in part, by mass media, popular culture, and advertising representations of Otherness. The book aims to increase awareness of stereotyping in the media, and expose how the construction of people as Others contributes to their marginalization. Written in an accessible and engaging style, with student-friendly discussion questions and resources, this book is suitable for upper-level undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
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    The S-Word: Discourse, Stereotypes, and the American Indian Woman
    (Howard Journal of Communications, 2010) Merskin, Debra
    What’s in a name? Plenty when it comes to the ability of words to establish identity. In 2005 in Oregon, for example, 142 land features carried the name ‘‘squaw’’—Squaw Gulch, Squaw Butte, Squaw Meadows, and Squaw Flat Reservoir (U.S. Geological Survey, 2008). This article examines the term squaw, its presentation in popular culture, and how this framing constructs Native womanhood in the public imagination. Two primary representations are revealed in the discourse defining squaw: as sexual punching bag and as drudge. The opinions and attitudes of reporters, citizens (Indian and non-Indian), government officials, agencies, and tribal representatives are included as reflected in journalistic accounts of the land form debate about the use and meaning of the label squaw. The psychological impact of this racial and sexual slur has a significant negative impact on quality of life, perceptions, and opportunities for Native American women (ethnostress) due to the consistent use and reification of the squaw stereotype through more than 400 years of U.S. history. This article is written as part of a larger body of work that argues for an expansion of Schroeder and Borgerson’s (2005, 2008) representational ethics of images to include words.
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    ItemOpen Access
    CSWS Research Matters ; 2008 ; 3 (Fall)
    (Center for the Study of Women in Society, University of Oregon, 2008) Merskin, Debra; University of Oregon. Center for the Study of Women in Society
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    Winnebagos, Cherokees, Apaches, and Dakotas: The Persistence of Stereotyping of American Indians in American Advertising Brands
    (The Howard Journal of Communications, 2001-07) Merskin, Debra
    Jeep Cherokee, Sue Bee Honey, and Crazy Horse Malt Liquor are all established brand names and trademarks that use representations of Native Americans to help sell their products. How stereotypes are created, and how pictorial metaphors used in advertising perpetuate these beliefs, is the focus of this study. McCracken's Meaning Transfer Model and Barthes's semiotic analysis serve as the framework of this study. The findings, which are important to scholars and practitioners, posit that these images build upon longstanding assumptions about Native Americans by Whites and reinforce an ideology that has resulted in a consumer "blind spot" when it comes to recognizing this form of racism. This study contributes to the scarce literature on representations of American Indians in modern media, providing a framework for understanding why these images persist and why they are problematic.
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    Adolescence, Advertising, and the Ideology of Menstruation
    (Plenum Publishing Corporation, 1999-06) Merskin, Debra
    Since the 1920s, American advertisers have recognized the taboo associated with menstruation and have incorporated messages about the social consequences of "showing" into feminine hygiene advertising. In order to answer the research question "do advertisements that target girls perpetuate or dispel myths and taboos associated with menstruation?" a content analysis was conducted on ten years of feminine hygiene advertising in Seventeen and Teen magazines (1987-1997). Categories included an analysis of the setting and the themes used in the advertisements. The findings suggest that the ads do rely on headlines and themes that hearken to the past. However, unlike earlier studies that found the ads present menstruation as a "hygienic crisis," focusing on shame, physical discomfort, and fears, this study found something more encouraging-that the body copy of these ads is working to dispel these myths. Racial representation in ads, however, remains troublesome as black models are rarely shown unaccompanied by white models. These findings are important to researchers, advertising practitioners, and consumers as magazine advertising has become a key agent of socialization for adolescent girls.