1.  (2 points)  What is the main idea of the article?

[The main idea should be written as a complete sentence and should include the following information:

1) that the information comes from a study 

2) the topic of highly sexualized female superheroes 

3) the findings that exposure to these super powerful super sexy females leaves women dissatisfied with their body image and abilities, and does not promote equal gender roles.]

Student A: The main idea of the article is to criticize the unrealistic and possibly destructive portrayal of female superheroes in mainstream media.

[This is stating the purpose rather than the main idea.]

Student B: Study finds exposure to oversexual female superheroes make women feel unhappy about their body and capabilities, and does not improve their ideas about gender equality.

Student C: Female heroines, like normal female characters in superhero movies, undermine women's perceptions of their own bodies and does not help foster equal roles between men and women, according to a study by Pennell and Behm-Morawitz.

See article:

• Exposure to this [hypersexualized female characters in the superhero genre], they [Pennell and Behm-Morawitz] show, can impact beliefs about gender roles, body esteem, and self-objectification. (¶1)
• those who viewed the sexualized-victim female character did indeed report less egalitarian gender beliefs (¶7)
• women who watched the X-Men montage reported lower body esteem. They also ranked the importance of physical competence more highly. (¶9)
  

2.  (1 point)  In what way is the movie Spider-Man different from X-Men?

[To earn full credit, the response must show a clear contrast between the two movies/series.]

Student A: The female characters in the former are pretty and passive while those in the latter are smart and powerful.

Student B: While the Spider-Man series features weak, sexy female victims, the X-Men features strong, smart female superheroes.

See article:

• Consider, for example, superhero movies like Spider-Man or Superman. These action-packed films typically feature a strong, capable, intelligent man fighting a villainous force. (¶2)
• The female victim is typically delicate, naive, and defenseless, but at the same time sexy and beautiful.  What she lacks in strength and cunning she makes up for in kindness and curves.  It is not surprising (or insignificant) that she is often the object of the hero's affections. (¶2)
• The X-Men films, for example, feature a number of empowering female characters like Storm, Jean Gray, and Dazzler, each of whom wields a unique special ability and displays impressive cognitive and physical competence. (¶3)
  

3.  (2 points)  Paraphrase "female characters have come a long way in the superhero genre." (¶3)

[Responses should be either an explanation that clarifies the meaning of the quote or a restatement of the phrase in your own words. Note that the neutral word change is inadequate to convey "come a long way" because the phrase implies an improvement, becoming better, and change does not carry that same value judgment.]

Student A: Women in superhero stories have become much stronger through the years

Student B: Women characters in superhero movies today are no longer weak victims like in the past.

Student C: Significant progress has been made in portraying strong and skillful women in superhero movies instead of offering them only as vulnerable targets.

See article:

• However, female characters have come a long way in the superhero genre, and it’s possible that the antidote to the helpless fair maiden is the competent, commanding superheroine.  The X-Men films, for example, feature a number of empowering female characters like Storm, Jean Gray, and Dazzler, each of whom wields a unique special ability and displays impressive cognitive and physical competence. Perhaps exposure to this new generation of female heroines will result in more egalitarian gender beliefs, higher body esteem, and greater prioritization of physical competence over appearance. (¶3; note emphasized phrases)
  

4.  (1 point) Which of the following best completes the blank at the beginning of paragraph 4?

a. In fact          b. Luckily          c. Still          d. Moreover

5.  (2 points)  In your own words, state the purpose of the study discussed in this article.

[Stating the purpose of the study requires a verb. For example, The study aims to discover, to examine, to test the validity of assumptions.... Saying that the purpose of the study is to prove or support this article's main idea is incorrect. The research was conducted before May's article was written.]

Student A: To find out how seeing hypersexualized women in the superhero genre affects viewers' ideas about gender expectation and self-perception

Student B: To investigate the impact of watching superhero movies featuring overly sexy female heroines on women viewers' attitudes regarding gender equality and body image

Student C: To prove that movies featuring heroines with highly sexualized physical appearance does not help to improve women's views about equality between the genders and about their own image and abilities.

See article:

• To explore the effects of watching sexualized female victims and heroines (¶6)
  
• Pennell and Behm-Morawitz posited that exposure to these stereotypic female victims, whose primary appeal is sexual, may lower women’s body esteem, heighten the value they place on body image, and result in less egalitarian gender role beliefs and expectations. (¶3)
• Pennell and Behm-Morawitz thus speculated that while today’s powerful superheroines might elevate egalitarian beliefs about gender roles, their sexualized nature might simultaneously have destructive effects on body image and self-objectification. (¶5)

6.  (1 point)  What is the purpose of paragraph 7?

[While paragraph 6 explains the research method of testing the views of three groups of women, paragraph 7 focuses on one group, those who watched the victim female, i.e. the Spider-Man, montage and briefly lays out the findings.]

Student A: To report the findings of Pennell and Behm-Morawitz's experiment on viewers of sexualized heroines in the Spider-Man series.

Student B: To report on the impact of watching cut together scenes featuring female victims from the Spider-Man series on women's ideas about gender roles and about their physical appearance.

See article:

• Relative to participants in the control condition, those who viewed the sexualized-victim female character did indeed report less egalitarian gender beliefs.  Thus, women who watched the Spider-man montage were less likely to agree with statements such as, “Men and women should share household work equally,” and more likely to agree with statements such as, “Men are better at taking on mental challenges than women.”  They did not, however, experience drops in body esteem or rate the importance of body appearance more highly.  It seems that watching the beauty-in-need-of-rescue reinforced traditional gender roles, but did not create the desire to appear more like her physically. (¶7)
  

7.  (1 point)  We use "watch out" to give warning. What warning does the writer give in the underlined sentence in paragraph 9?

Student A: May alerts the reader to the unexpected finding that watching female heroines result in more negative impact than watching female victims.

Student B: By playing with the expression "pack a bigger punch" to describe superheroines who have above human fighting skills, the author warns the reader that the strong force of impact these females have because of their unattainable prowess is ironically bad. The danger is that instead of making viewers feel empowered by their example, the super females make women feel bad about themselves.

See article:

• Watch out, as these superheroines pack a bigger punch: Relative to control participants, women who watched the X-Men montage reported lower body esteem. They also ranked the importance of physical competence more highly. (¶9)
  

8.  (1 point)  How are paragraphs 7, 8 and 9 related?

Student A: They all report on the findings of the study, each paragraph covering a different group of participants.

9.  (2 points)  TWO of the six choices below (a-f) can complete the blank in: According to the study, _____ and

a.  watching Spider-man influenced women to have a better body image of themselves

b.  men tend to prefer women who responded positively to Spider-Man

c.  in some cases, the results for the control group were similar to those of the women who were shown both movies

d.  women who were shown images of superheroines felt more equal to men

• The superheroine montage did nothing to improve egalitarian views about gender roles, though at least it did not lower those views. (¶8)

e.  the strong female characters in The X-Men had no effect on women’s belief that both sexes should be equal

f.  the depiction of women in movies like Spider-Man increased women’s insecurity about their appearance

10.  (1 point)  Find the word in the same paragraph that has the same meaning as "mark." (¶10)

victim

11.  (1 point)  The sentence below is removed from the final paragraph of the article. Decide where (A, B, or C) in the paragraph it should be inserted.

One recent study even found that regular viewers of a reality television show featuring pregnant teens had more favorable attitudes about teen pregnancy and believed that the benefits of teen pregnancy outweigh the risks.

B

12.  (4 points)  Decide whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F). Then support your answer with evidence from the article.
T  a. The aim of the experiment discussed in this article was hidden from the participants.
    Evidence: (¶ 6) A number of other measures (e.g., movie-going habits, enjoyment of different film genres) were included to camouflage the purpose of the study
     

F  b. The superheroines in movies may be physically strong and attractive but they are usually not intelligent.
    Evidence: (¶ 3) …each of whom wields a unique special ability and displays impressive cognitive and physical competence        
     

F  c. The subjects of the study were female adults from all walks of life.
    Evidence: (¶ 6) Pennell and Behm-Morawitz asked female college students to watch a 13-minute video montage of scenes that either featured female victims from the Spider-man series or female heroines from the X-Men series.
      

T  d. The findings of this study correspond to those of earlier research on a similar topic.
    Evidence: (¶ 11) These new findings add to a growing literature demonstrating that the gender-related information conveyed in popular media can affect personal perceptions and cultural standards about gender.

13.  (3 points)  What do the following refer to?

a.  they (¶1)  

Student A: the researchers

Student B: Hillary Pennell and Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz

Student C: Pennell and Behm-Morawitz

See article:

• New research by Hillary Pennell and Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz at the University of Missouri suggests that, at least for women, the influence of superheroes is not always positive.  Although women play a variety of roles in the superhero genre, including helpless maiden and powerful heroine, the female characters all tend to be hypersexualized, from their perfect, voluptuous figures to their sexy, revealing attire.  Exposure to this, they show, can impact beliefs about gender roles, body esteem, and self-objectification. (¶1)
  

b.  either film montage (¶6)  

Student A: film clips from the Spider-Man or the X-Men series

See article:

• Pennell and Behm-Morawitz asked female college students to watch a 13-minute video montage of scenes that either featured female victims from the Spider-Man series or female heroines from the X-Men series. After watching one of these video montages, participants completed a survey that assessed gender role beliefs, body image, and self-objectification. A number of other measures (e.g., movie-going habits, enjoyment of different film genres) were included to camouflage the purpose of the study, and in a control condition, participants simply completed the survey but did not watch either film montage. (¶6)
  

c.  they (¶10)  

Student A: superheroines like those in the X-Men series

Student B: the superheroines

See article:

• [...] the superheroines, like their victim counterparts, are undermining rather than improving women’s perceptions of their own bodies and physical competence. And they are doing nothing to improve beliefs about women’s roles in society. (¶10)
  

13.   14. (3 points)  Supply a synonym or a definition for the words below. Pay attention to the part of speech.
a.  voluptuous (¶1)

Student A: sexy

Student B: sexually attractive

Student C: curvy

See article:

• [...] the female characters all tend to be hypersexualized, from their perfect, voluptuous figures to their sexy, revealing attire. (¶1)
• [...] sexy and beautiful. What she lacks in strength and cunning she makes up for in kindness and curves. (¶2)
• [...] today’s superheroines, like their female victim counterparts, are often unrealistic, sexualized representations of female figures, with large chests, curvaceous backsides and unattainable hourglass dimensions. Their skin-tight outfits accentuate their sexuality with plunging necklines and bare skin (¶4)
  

b.  wields (¶3)

[The synonym that can replace wields should be a present tense verb for the singular third person subject she ("each female character") and collocate with "ability" with the sense that the heroine exercises or possesses that talent. Owns does not collocate very well with "ability" or power; one usually owns a thing (physical, concrete), not a special power (an abstract characteristic)]

Student A: has

Student B: uses

Student C: holds

See article:

• The X-Men films, for example, feature a number of empowering female characters like Storm, Jean Gray, and Dazzler, each of whom wields a unique special ability (¶3)
  

c.  feats (¶9)     __challenges, challenging/difficult unrealistic acts

[A good choice for synonym here should be a plural noun that indicates achievements that require incredible effort.]

Student A: challenges

Student B: difficult impossible acts

See article:

• [...] engage in unrealistic physical feats (e.g., saving the world in spiked heels) (¶9)
  

• Lizzie Velasquez, "How Do You Define Yourself?," TEDxAustinWomen  (2013; 13:10 min.)

• Embrace Documentary Trailer, Body Image Movement (2014; 4:59 min.)

• Our Supersized Kids: What Do We Do?, KSPS Public TV (2013 documentary; 30:00 min.)

• Miss Representation, dir. Jennifer Siebel Newsom (2011 documentary)

• Geena Davis, "The Effects of Hyper Sexualization of Girls in the Media," Kids in the House (2013)

• That's What She Said: Beauty and Body Image, SoulPancake (2014 conversation)