Mr. Juniata

Mr. Juniata is a wonderful spectacle on campus that gives to charity. I always make it a priority to go and to support Circle K. This year was especially interesting, as I found myself paying increased attention to the gender innuendos.

The first gender stereotype occurred with a banana. Many of the guys in Mr. Juniata wore tight costumes. One of the contestants put a banana in his pants (which he pulled out at the end of his act and ate), exemplifying the societal pressures for men to have large penises. Bananas are also items that society sees as phallic, raising the idea of phallic-associated items vs. vaginal-associated items in society. I feel the phallic association of everyday items was best pioneered by Freud, as phallic and vaginal symbols were significant in his interpretations of dreams. This Mr. Juniata skit definitely shed light on gender ideals in our society.

A second, interesting, gender idea occurred in the Indiana Jones skit. Here, the contestant used the idea of the "male conqueror" for his skit. This theme of men as conquerors is constantly in the media today. I loved this skit, and I thought it portrayed our idea of men in Hollywood to a tee.

The last gender stereotype I am going to discuss was present in the escort portion of Mr. Juniata. One of the contestants gave his 2 escorts a pan and a bottle of laundry detergent. While this was meant to be ironic and funny, I found it to be an interesting statement about what society still thinks of women. Even though associations between women and housework are slowly being broken down, they are still extremely prevalent.

Mr. Juniata was wonderful this year. I found it especially interesting to analyze the gender statements throughout the show. I am glad that Circle K used the show to help a charity and that it is a successful fundraiser.