Feminism

Question 1

Sexism;

Answer 1

The belief (usually held by a man) that a person’s (usually a woman’s) gender affects their abilities in unrelated areas

Question 2

Misogyny;

Answer 2

Hatred and resultant degradation of women

Question 3

Patriarchy;

Answer 3

A social system in which men dominate, women are systematically disadvantaged

Question 4

Male Gaze;

Answer 4

Laura Mulvey’s theory that in the film world women are always views from a male point of view. This means that as a woman you are forced to watch the text as if you were a man (this has been extended to refer to any female media image)

Question 5

Radical feminism;

Answer 5

Aims to challenge an overthrow patriarchy by opposing standard gender roles and oppression of women

Question 6

Post feminism;

Answer 6

A movement that embraces pre-feminist values and sees, for instance, the focus on home and family as a valid choice for women. Sees women as ‘equal but different’ from men and celebrates ‘girl power’, encouraging women to use their female attributes in a positive and assertive way

Question 7

3rd wave feminism;

Answer 7

Recent developments in feminist thought say that women (and men) should be free to choose to express their identity from a wide range of possibilities. Some 3rd wave feminists are concerned about the sexualisation and fetishisation of female bodies in recent years and advocate a return to 2nd wave principles

Question 8

Androgyny;

Answer 8

Blurred boundaries between male and female identities. 3rd wave feminism encourages this

Question 9

Commodification;

Answer 9

Treating inappropriate objects or concepts as things which can be bought or sold e.g the human body. For instance, using the body to sell consumer goods/music/films/cosmetics

Question 10

Coyeurism;

Answer 10

Looking at something you’re not supposed to be seeing, usually at people engaged in private/personal behaviour or sexual intimacy

Question 11

Narcissism;

Answer 11

Obsession with one’s own image. In film women are represented putting on make-up/trying on clothes/trying to present the ‘perfect’ body/image. In the media world is it fed by celebrity images that present women with an ‘ideal’ self with which they align themselves and which they strive to attain

Question 12

Fetishism;

Answer 12

Prioritising and being obsessed with particular parts of the human body (or items of clothing) with sexual connotations e.g breasts, lips, legs, bras, heels

Question 13

Objectification;

Answer 13

Treating the human as an object or ‘thing’, seeing people in terms of their sexual characteristics rather than as a whole

Question 14

Passivity;

Answer 14

In the media world men tend to be portrayed as active and women as passive; there to be acted upon rather than acting

Question 15

Symbolic annihilation;

Answer 15

The absence of accurate or true female representation. Two dimension female roles, usually as support for male protagonists

Question 16

Dual Systems theory;

Answer 16

An amalgamation of radical and Marxist approaches; oppression is the product of complex inter-relationships between patriarchy and capitalism

• women have subordinate roles both in the home and in the workplace (glass ceiling) and this is subtly reinforced by dominant ideology and socialisation
• it’s difficult for women to reach high-earning employment or positions of power (glass ceiling) because our cultural attitudes (society doesn’t favour powerful women, it’s seen as a male attribute)