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)?

Pan Am - The last sequence opens with a mid-shot of the four stewardesses’ fragmented legs as they walk in unison through the airport, allowing the audience to relish in the rhythm of their walk and their bodies. As we cut to a long shot, slow motion provides even more visual pleasure as we can take in all the detail of their uniforms and their perfect hair and make up. They cause male characters in the airport to turn and stare.

Beyoncé -  In her music video for the song ‘Why Don’t You Love Me’ Beyoncé parodies the stereotype of the 1950s housewife, intertextually referencing the iconic 1950s pin up girl Betty Paige. Throughout the video she plays at being a housewife, humorously burning dinner, parodying mopping floors and dusting, all the while playfully gazing at the camera providing the audience with knowing winks in her ‘sexy outfits’. This self-conscious address allows Beyoncé to be objectified, welcoming the male gaze but simultaneously also avoiding feminist criticism through this use of parody and humour.

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

These 'post-feminist' texts serve to show that feminism is still needed in society today because they are examples of how women are only able to "empower" themselves through appealing to the male gaze with traditional feminine stereotypes intended to objectify 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.

Third wave feminism – Was a movement that redefined and encouraged women to be dominant and sexually assertive.

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?

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?

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.

The mainstream media relies on gender stereotypes as a shortcut to meaning. Narratives are easier for audiences to understand if the characters, subjects and storylines conform to a set of ideas that are already normalised. 

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 Beyoncé 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 continuously displays behaviours and costume that are from the traditional feminine standards for women in the 1950's. By doing this she is consciously performing in an attempt to communicate that she is the perfect woman for a man, who can both be sexual and subservient.  

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

The music video blatantly focuses on women's sexuality, with Beyoncé playing the persona of a submissive housewife that would both do household chores and passively satisfy a man's sexual needs, in her attempt to be "easy to love". This serves as a perfect example of women as a spectacle in media, with Beyoncé encouraging the male audience to look at her in an objectifying way.

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

I do not think that the intention of this music video was ever to empower women - nowhere in the lyrics or mise-en-scene is this ever suggested as a possible preferred reading of the text, with the song itself depicting a struggle to understand why the man she is interested in won't love her despite her efforts to appeal to the patriarchal image of an ideal woman, which in theory should have made her loved and respected by men. Beyoncé communicates this concept both by reinforcing the male gaze and utilising humour by deliberately exaggerating the gender stereotypes and role of being a housewife to ensure that her audience isn't made uncomfortable and is instead given an opportunity to laugh.

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

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

The music video suggests that in recent years, men are not as bound to performing hegemonic masculinity as they were before, instead they now have the choice to be more emotional and do not have to express their manhood through engaging in violence.

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

David Gauntlett suggests that masculinity is not in crisis and is instead evolving due to the explosion in media consumption in the 1980s and 90s that gave audiences a chance to actively construct 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?

While the representation of a man's gender presentation has not deviated much from the norm in mass media, there is less of a focus on being reserved and repressing your emotionality as there was before, with young men being encouraged to be more open and speak about topics such as mental health. However, there has also been a backlash to this progress in recent years that should also be acknowledged, with figures such as Andrew Tate encouraging young men to take on a traditional and hegemonic model of masculinity again.