Merskin, Debra

Merskin, Debra 2011-11-02T21:12:57Z 2011-11-02T21:12:57Z 2010 1064-6175 http://hdl.handle.net/1794/11739 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. en_US Howard Journal of Communications Advertising Indian women American Indian Discourse Ethnostress Native Americans Stereotypes (Social psychology) Women The S-Word: Discourse, Stereotypes, and the American Indian Woman Article

Merskin, Debra 2011-11-02T20:54:28Z 2011-11-02T20:54:28Z 2011-06-22 10.1177/0196859911402992 http://hdl.handle.net/1794/11737 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. en_US Journal of Communication Inquiry Adolescence Meyer, Stephenie, 1973- Twilight Twilight Critical communication studies Psychology in literature Symbolic power in literature Women in literature A Boyfriend to Die For: Edward Cullen as Compensated Psychopath in Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Article

Merskin, Debra 2006-08-04 2006-08-04 1999-06 http://hdl.handle.net/1794/3132 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. 171557 bytes application/pdf en_US Plenum Publishing Corporation Adolescence Advertising Menstruation Adolescence, Advertising, and the Ideology of Menstruation Article