feminism Flashcards
Mulvey - Liberal Feminism
She carried out a semiology (study of communication), producing qualitative data meaning high validity. All Hollywood movies are structured around the male gaze and women are the passive object. ‘Rear Window’: women are invalid, they are sexualised, close ups. ‘Vertigo’: ultimate male gaze film, man transforms woman into what he wants, females are watched by men and pressured to look a certain way.
Male gaze theory is women are viewed through the gaze of heterosexual men and are portrayed to please them. Eg, Transformers - sexualisation, and Disney Princesses - unrealistic images for young girls and they are unhappy until they fall in love.
There are now more women in versatile roles and not patronised by men. Eg, Katniss Everdeen in Hunger Games.
Lauzen - Liberal Feminism
Only 16% of all directors, executive producers, writers, cinematographers and editors are female. A decrease of 2% since 2012, things aren’t changing.
Wolf - Radical Feminism
Beauty Myth - The media present these images as the ideal. Radical feminists see this ideal as a backlash against the women’s movement and potential developments that have been made. These ideologies ensure that women develop a false consciousness that distracts them from seeking to improve their position within society. Eg, the Katy Perry ad - skinny, wins men’s attention.
Tuchman - Radical Feminism
Symbolic annihilation - Women have a very narrow range of roles in the media, women are not socially valued in the media and so are only represented in a hegemonic/passive way.
Beechey - Marxist Feminism
Unemployed people brought in during an economic boom and booted off during a recession because they’re easy to dispose of and are low paid (unskilled work, many fighting for the jobs). Beechey thinks women are in the Reserve Army of Labour; they stay at home and take care of their husbands to keep them in running order to benefit capitalism and give their labour when capitalism needs them.
Whelehan - Recent Feminist Research
They promote laddish culture where women are objectified and changes in gender roles can be dismissed as an ironic joke.
However, Gauntlett said lads mags did also touch on changing gender roles and did not just pass on one message about the objectification of women. Whelehan’s findings are superficial.
McRobbie - Recent Feminist Research
Magazines do have an impact on the identity of their readers and promote hegemonic femininity. Eg, ‘Heat’ and ‘Closer’. “Such publications trap their readers into cycles of anxiety, self loathing and misery that have become a standard mark of modern womanhood.” Women are discontent about body image, never being beautiful enough, success and fear and failure about not finding a husband at just the right moment. The girl becomes a self-judging person.
