The Many Faces of Love PDF

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Running head: The Many Faces of Love

The Many Faces of Love Sam Houston State University

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The Many Faces of Love

2 Abstract

Today’s society we reflect love a different way than in the past presenting more sexual content than before and coming more open to talking about the subject. This essay is about the face of love and how society looks at love in the year of 2019. Focusing on greeting cards and how those greeting cards approach these subjects. Dealing with sexual content, homosexual relationships and marriages.

The Many Faces of Love

3 Observation

My observations for this report was one of a kind. I chose to go into Target because I am a past employee. I was worried about getting judgements of different people wondering what I was doing as I was taking pictures of thirty different cards and reading and analyzing them. I went at a time the store was not busy an hour before closing. A few people were in the isles of the store to pass by, or to grab a card for a love one. I notice looking at the cards that there were not many options to chose from for love. All the cards had similar sayings and the same meanings repeating the same words. Instead of having anniversary cards for marriages, or wedding cards. I decided to look at birthday cards and realized that birthday cards have more of affection of love and more visual photos than wedding cards and bridal showers. People watched me go from isle to isle looking at cards wondering what I was doing standing around reading cards for an hour in a half. I notice that the people kept looking at me funny when I am a young woman reading romantic wedding cards for a husband wondering what I was doing for being so young. Switching back and forth from isle to isle reading different brands of cards but the same type. I found a homosexual wedding card and people were around and walking by I found myself not wanting to pick up the card and taking a picture while people were around. It is not that I am against homosexuality, but I did not want the people to think of me as some sort of way. I felt awkward picking up the card with people around and reading it. I found myself getting on my phone when someone walked by or came in the isle with me since I was taking pictures and reading cards without buying any. I also observed that in the stores they split up the cards into categories and brand. They have a category for anniversaries, birthdays, cards for him, cards for her, sympathy, friends. Content Analysis

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My observations reading the cards I noticed that all the cards have the same meaning. One card might be gender neutral meaning one can go to a man and one to a woman for an anniversary card and you will not be able to notice the difference. I noticed that the cards all have the same meaning and have the same point trying to come across. Some cards are more serious than others and trying to be a serious and romantic while other cards were silly and romantic. The cards have more cartoon characters like Micky and Minnie Mouse. Having more drawings of animals instead of real-life people on the card. I noticed on the anniversary cards that are gender neutral that the colors on the cards are not specific meaning pink means a more feminine color, or a blue to make it manlier. The companies make the color gender neutral and the words gender neutral for a card for both sexes. The anniversary cards also have cards that are not to each other, but cards that are from someone else. An example will be is from a parent to their children and their children spouse. If the parent wanted to wish their children and in-law a happy anniversary. The cards directed to a wife in the section of the isle “for her” I notice the creators use more of female colors and use the words “kind, caring, smart, and sexy” and how lucky the husband is to have his wife. The cards were more on the sweet and sensitive side as woman are portrayed in society. In the section cards “for him” I noticed cards that had characters like Super Man on the card to show how the wife wants her husband to know he is super man and strong and similar he is to that character. Also, in that section there are cards that show the legs of woman to show the sexual side of women to their husbands and a tease to them. In that section there was also a card that is “How to be” in small letters and in bold letter “Amazing Husband” from the wife to tell the husband of the small dos and don’ts to be a better husband an example is how to be attentive, supportive and more. Some Anniversary cards had pictures of couples on the front of the card

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with the people picturing of the card with conversations as an old marriage couple would talk, or how everyone says men and women talk to each other in society. The woman asking her husband “Do I look fat” and the husband replying “Do I look stupid” as everyone knows no one should tell a woman when she asks, and the man knows how not to answer. There were also anniversary cards that showed body language in the cards as the man and woman were sitting in a dinner with woman’s legs were wrapped around the man’s legs while his hand was on her thigh and her hand on him. The picture shows a nonverbal behavior while talking to someone showing how interested someone was to the other. I noticed a certain type of greeting card company had more meaning to a card than others and in the bottom corner was a bible verse to show where those words come from and what the meaning behind them mean. I thought that was an important part to place on a card since society is trying to take God out and that is a different way to show love and where it comes from. I notice for anniversary cards that they are more sweet gesture and talking more about the other person and how life is better with the other person. Being on a sweeter passionate side with them and leaving sexual relations out of the content. Some greeting cards that were for weddings mention booze and reception at the wedding and had pictures of cocktails on the card. I thought symbolizes an American wedding and how Americans usually drink alcohol beverages at weddings and throw a party after the wedding ceremony. The wedding cards to a new bride and groom will also write about how after the wedding there a toast and some cake and then to get a room. Opening the idea that everyone after a wedding and the reception in America the bride and groom have sexual intercourse. In the wedding category of the greeting cards there is a card that the title is “The Perks of Getting Married” and tells different humorous ways as the perks of marriage of how popular the couple can be on social media and how showering together saves money. I notice in the section of the wedding category

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that the cards that are to a couple getting married majority of the cards talked more about sexual intercourse in marriage and opening the idea of talking about sex in public when sex used to be a secretive thing to do in older societies. There were many anniversary and wedding greeting cards about love, but I decided to go outside the box and look at birthday cards because that is a type of anniversary for one person, but someone can show their love to them as well from a birthday card. Birthday cards can be passionate and tell someone how much they mean to a person, but also humorous. I noticed with birthday cards and how some are passionate like anniversaries, but birthday greeting cards are also like wedding greeting cards. These types of cards have more sexual content and expressing sexual content in an acceptable way like the America culture has now days accepting it. These cards will have a man in his under garments with a Dachshund in between the man’s legs for the reason that the nickname for a Dachshund is wiener dog and the dog takes place of a mans penis as a joke. Other birthday cards was a checklist and checking marks with words saying “you, me cake, naked” with checks down the card and that is another example of how the America culture has accepted sexual context in writings and simple greeting cards. However many cards there was in the store I only found one homosexually greeting card. The card was from a person invited to the homosexual wedding of two men. The card was a picture of two men touching hands with the words Mr. and Mr. inside their hands wishing the couple happiness inside the card. The cards that I have found were not any for a certain race, or interracial marriages as all greeting cards were open to any type of person and relationship. Conclusion In Conclusion all greeting cards in America in the Target Corporation store in Huntsville, Texas had four isle of greeting cards in sections of “for her” “for him” “anniversaries” and “weddings”. All cards had a sort of emotional words to them to express their love ones of what

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they have thought about them. All greeting cards were for men, women, homosexually couples and did not have specific cards for races and interracial marriages. Greeting cards in America come to accept the new generation of people and the society to accept everyone. Including accepting to write about sexually content on a greeting card to a significant other.

The Many Faces of Love

8 References

Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2018). Experiencing intercultural communication: An introduction. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education....