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) . 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)?

• In the pilot episode of Pan Am we first meet the stars of the show – the stewardesses – through an image of Laura, one of the main characters, on the front of a magazine cover. It is interesting to note that this first image of the Pan Am stewardesses is one which is highly constructed and mediated, an image whose purpose is to be admired and aspired to by women, and visually enjoyed by men.
• In her music video for the song ‘Why Don’t you Love Me’ Beyoncé parodies the stereotype of the 1950s housewife, clearly intertextually referencing the iconic 1950s pin up girl Betty Paige by taking on the persona of B.B Homemaker, a frustrated housewife.

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

• Texts like these do not show that there is no longer a need for feminism as while they both display some criticism towards the conventional media representations of women, they are still objectifying them.

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

• Feminism – A movement aimed at defining, establishing, and defending women’s rights and equality to men.
• Post-feminism – An ideology in culture and society that society is somehow past needing feminism and that the attitudes and arguments of feminism are no longer needed.
• Nostalgia – A sentimental longing for the past, often only remembering the positives of the time.

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?

• Children are taught to perform their gender from early on so that they align themselves with certain tastes and behaviours befitting their gender category.
• 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’.

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.
• The younger generation are gradually becoming more comfortable using the gender neutral pronoun ‘they’ to refer to people who do not identify as either ‘he’ or ‘she’ and increasingly media products made for the younger generation deal more openly with LGBTQ issues with more variety in the representations of multiple genders.

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

• 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.

Music video analysis

Finally, write up our analysis of the two music videos we studied in class. This is your opportunity to develop your own opinions on these crucial media debates.

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’?

• In the music video, Beyoncé dresses in sexual outfits while performing traditionally feminine acts such as cooking, cleaning and gardening portraying the character of a 1950's housewife. By doing this she is consciously performing in order to portray how she is the perfect women for a man who can be both sexual and subservient.

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

• The music video focuses on women's sexuality, with Beyoncé portraying herself as a submissive housewife that can take care of the home and satisfy a man's sexual needs hoping to be seen as easy to love. This is a good example of women being seen as a spectacle in media as Beyoncé's persona is intentionally portraying himself as a spectacle for the audience.

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

• I believe that this music video can be taken in both directions as some people may say that she is empowering women and reclaiming their sexuality by mocking traditional stereotypes surrounding women however other people may take it as her reinforcing the stereotypes as she's showing that even a women like her who seems to have everything still isn't good enough to receive love from a man.

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

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

• This music video suggests that recently men are less bound to performing hegemonic masculinity as they were before, they now have the option to be more open with their emotions and can express their masculinity through ways other than violence.

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

• David gauntlett suggests that masculinity isn't in crisis and is actually evolving due to the increase in media consumption in the 80s-90s that gave audiences a chance to develop their identities.

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?

• I believe that men and masculinity are going under a change as there are becoming more and more open to change and more willing to do things that are traditionally seen as feminine however that is not true for all men as there are still many people who are unwilling to change how they behave and instead continue to follow traditional male beliefs, this is further pushed by influencers like Andrew Tate who are exposing younger boys to these beliefs and making them believe that this is what it means to be a man.