Pinterest for Dudes

Pinterest For Dudes

By Troy Hunter

 

“ …Pinterest relentlessly reinforces gendered ideologies and norms, as the ‘good’ mom on Pinterest is ever-crafting, ever-cooking, ever-teaching, …Pinterest that seem so bent on enhancing and optimizing women’s work” (Wilson 3) Wilson points out the underlying theme and stereotype that accompanies Pinterest and that is that it is for women. As a man I too shared the idea that Pinterest was a female’s website and was only good for feminine, homemaker activities and projects and had no relevance to men. After exploring it however I discover that the demographic is so much more than make up tips and cleaning remedies. There are so many were for men to utilize Pinterest as much as women. This is why I made a board that applied to men and things that that I thought were not only interesting but useful for men and could be utilized. I found things like “How-to” instructions for drawling, Humorous memes, Men’s fashion tips, and interesting technology.

It is portrayed as a virtual cookbook for White upper class mothers to share and swap home recipes and remedies with one another like an online bridge club. Pinterest can be so much more. Not only is there relevant stuff for men but for anyone. There are many different categories that can be extremely useful for a large demographic. One category that I found particularly fascinating was the education aspect of it. Teachers can go on Pinterest and not only find new and fun crafts or ideas for decoration but useful teaching tools and ideas that can enhance the classroom, making Pinterest not only useful for making mundane housework bearable but actually a useful resource for professional and practical application to the work field.

I only made Pinterest so I could complete this assignment but after reviewing it I see that there are ways that people other than white home maker mothers can utilize it. I want to be a teacher so I see the value that Pinterest could have to educators and also to men. It is not irrational to say that I could possibly use Pinterest again now that I know the extent of its resources.

           My Pinterest Board

Works Cited

Wilson, Julie A. Yochim, Emily C. Pinning Happiness: Affect, Social Media, and Women’s Work. 2013.  Print.