Gendered Readings

1. Compare and contrast the ways in which men and women read tabloids and what kind of information they gain from them?

2. It's a fairly common idea that men do not gossip (minimally, if anything) and do not want to be stereotyped as those who do since its something that is generally applied to women. However, on page 147, there is the story of the 69 year old man who said that so many people in the area read tabloids and pass them around which inevitably leads to small conversation/gossip but then he was also quick to point out that he only does so because he had time on his hands to "waste" since he was retired. Do you think that men gossip more than they are willing to admit?

**The second question is in reference to something I experienced a few days ago at work. There is usually a wide variety of magazines and newspapers for employees to read (Journal Sentinel, Star, National Enquirer, Auto mags, Men's Fitness, US Weekly, OK! Magazine, etc) and while I was sitting at a table of all guys, one male employee dropped off a few copies of the most current US Weekly and National Enquirer and the guys snatched them up in a second. What I noticed was that they were completely absorbed with what they were reading and began talking about the latest headlines which was the John and Kate (John and Kate Plus 8) scandal. Despite what we have read in this article, I think it's fair to say that men can be just as enveloped with celebrity gossip as women are but may not engage in it quite as often as their female counterparts.