Feminist theory: blog tasks

 Media Magazine reading - two articles on feminism and theory

Read Playing With The Past: Post-feminism and the Media (MM40, page 64 - our Media Magazine archive is here). This is a great example of sophisticated media analysis and an indication of the level we want to be writing at by the end of the two-year course.

1) What examples are provided from the two texts of the 'male gaze' (Mulvey)?

-HBO’s Pan Am and Beyoncé’s music video for ‘Why Don’t You Love Me’, both  which use the historical setting of the Fifties and early Sixties, a time before the Feminist movement, to reinforce post-feminist ideologies.

2) Do texts such as these show there is no longer a need for feminism or are they simply sexism in a different form?

-In the pilot episode of Pam Am we see Laura having her weight and appearance checked this shows we do still need feminism as it acknowledges the terrible sexism the women experience, and even punishing male characters who behave in a sexist way.

Beyoncé declares herself as an independent woman, whilst objectifying herself for the camera and reinforces the ‘male gaze’. Her dress and costume is highly sexualised however she could be representing the struggles of sexism and being a women in the 1950s

3) Choose three words/phrases from the glossary of the article and write their definitions on your blog.

-Male Gaze – The gaze referring to Laura Mulvey’s seminal article ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ which argues that main stream Hollywood films subject female characters to the ‘male gaze’ of the camera, fragmenting and objectifying their bodies.

-Patriarchy – An ideology that places men in a dominant position over women.

-Feminism – A movement aimed at defining, establishing, and defending women’s rights and equality to men.

Now read The Theory Drop: Gender Performativity (MM69, page 25) and answer the following questions.

1) How does the writer suggest gender performativity is established from a young age?

-She argues that gender is a social construction: it is taught to us by external influences and it’s ingrained at such a young age that we often mistake it as ‘nature’ rather than ‘nurture’. In short, having male genitalia has no bearing on whether or not you like cars, nor does having a womb make you obsessed with unicorns and mermaids.

2) What does the phrase 'non-binary' refer to and how does it link to Butler's theory?

-The phrase ‘non-binary’ refers to someone who doesn’t define themselves as either wholly male or female.

3) How and why does the media help reinforce gender stereotypes? The writer provides several examples in the final section of the article.

-When females (and non-white, working class, LGBTQ+, disabled etc.) are presented as inferior,

males (white, wealthy, heterosexual, able-bodied etc.) come out as superior (see Theory Drop: Hegemony MM65). Of course the mainstream media relies on gender stereotypes for other reasons, mostly as a shortcut to meaning. Narratives (in film, TV, print, online) are easier for audiences to understand if the characters, subjects and storylines conform to a set of ideas that are already fixed in our heads from an early age.

Watch the Beyonce video for ‘Why Don’t You Love Me?’ again: 

1) How might this video contribute to Butler’s idea that gender roles are a ‘performance’?

-Butler believes gender roles are ‘a performance’, a pattern of repeated acts or rituals such as putting on make-up or dressing a certain way. This video clearly shows butler's theory is correct as she is showing a lot of skin and is wearing heavy makeup, and this may be because society has told women over time they need to make themselves more 'feminine' and they can do this by doing these things.

2) What might van Zoonen suggest regarding the representation of women in this video?

-Van Zoonen believes the media plays a crucial role in establishing gender roles and the media presents the female body as ‘spectacle’ – sexualised for the benefit of male audiences. This video clearly shows the theory is true as she is at home being a house wife and doing house work, whereas there is not man to help her do any of the work .

3) What are YOUR views on this debate – does Beyoncé empower women or reinforce the traditional ‘male gaze’ and oppression of women? 

-She reinforces the idea that women are meant to be submissive, obedient and an object sexualised for men's pleasure, she does this by showing a lot of skin and  over sexualising herself by every task she does.

Watch Will Jay's video for ‘Gangsta’ again:

1) How does the video suggest representations of masculinity have changed in recent years?

-The video clearly shows that masculinity is not as it was presented in the past. He is doing ballet, which some see as a 'feminine' sport that a man wouldn't usually do.

2) What does David Gauntlett suggest about representations of men in the media over the last 20 years?

-The representation has changed in the last 20 years and he disagrees that masculinity is in crisis.

3) What is YOUR view on the representation of men and masculinity? Are young men still under pressure from the media to act or behave in a certain way?

-Young men are currently still under pressure from the media to act in a way that makes then seem more masculine and manly. They have to dress and act a certain way so that they can be portrayed as a 'man', for example they should not be acting 'feminine' and shouldn't show their feelings.