Feminist Analysis Flashcards
the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behaviour to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist
neutrally defined as a systematic form of purposeful persuasion that attempts to influence the emotions, attitudes, opinions, and actions of specified target audiences for ideological, political or commercial purposes through the controlled transmission of one-sided messages (which may or may not be factual) via mass and direct media channels
Propaganda
Masculinity
a. active/strong
b. provider/political (public)
c. rational/logical
d. sexual subjects (the beast myth)
Feminity
a. passive/weak
b. nurturing/domestic (private)
c. emotional/irrational
d. sexual objects (the beauty myth)
Conceptual shift within the popular understanding of feminism:
an evolution in emphasis from the oppression of all women to
the empowerment of individual women
Feminism and Postfeminism
Historical development
a. First Wave (19th & early 20th century)
b. Second Wave (1970s and 1980s)
c. Third Wave (1990s and beyond)
Characterized by . . .
a. sexual agency, reproductive & voting rights
b. personal choice
c. individual empowerment
Right to vote, gaining women’s suffrage, owing property, officially mandated inequalities
refers to a period of feminist activity during the 19th and early twentieth century throughout the world, particularly in the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands and the United States. It focused on de jure (officially mandated) inequalities, primarily on gaining women’s suffrage (the right to vote)
First Wave (19th & early 20th century)
preconceived and oversimplified idea of characteristics which typify a person, situation, etc.
Gender Stereotypes
i.e. Rosie the Riveter
First Wave (19th and early 20th century)
coined retroactively in the 1970s. The women’s movement then, focusing as much on fighting de facto (unofficial) inequalities as de jure ones, acknowledged its predecessors by calling itself second-wave feminism.
The term “first-wave”
i. e. Ford Ad – women working and doing work that men can do, I Am Woman (1975) feminist song, Virginia Slims
- using revolutionary to drive consumption and capitalism
Second Wave (1970s and 1980s)
distinctive sensibility, made up of a number of interrelated themes
femininity is is a bodily property
shift from objectification to subjectification
focus on individualism, choice, and empowerment
neoliberalism
More or less power? It is all about individual empowerment.
i.e. Burlesque (2010)
• no males; exclusively females
• Christina Aguilera’s role, dreams of being the dancer, we are placed on the stage performing with her
• Ogled as objects of desire
• Spotlight cannot be shared; girls are fighting for it
• Reinforcement of stereotype
Legally Blonde
• Can be feminine and be in law school
• Point of view
• Postfeminist hero
Marci X – Power in My Purse
• Vaginal symbol
• Power = fashion, purse, shopping (based on stereotypes and gender representations)
Wreckingball
• Power figure? Same behavior gets the power
Postfeminism
Focus on: Individual empowerment
Third Wave (1990s and beyond)
Feminism in a Global Context
Women’s rights have progressed significantly in the last two decades, but major challenges remain in order to end global gender discrimination. Edited by Minky Worden, The Unfinished Revolution: Voices from the Global Fight for Women’s Rights (Seven Stories Press) tells the story of the struggle to secure basic rights for women and girls, including in the Middle East where the hopes raised by the Arab Spring are yet to be fulfilled.
i.e. No Woman, No Drive
Consequences of Gender Stereotyping in the Media
- limited models for identification
- eating disorders and promotion of “ideal” body type
- work barriers
