How are feminine identities changing Flashcards
How are Feminine Identities changing?
Female achievement at all levels in education outstrips that of males (important to note that some working class women still underachieve) and also in the workplace, such as the music industry, law and medicine. The idea of ‘being feminine’ has now changed.
Why are Feminine Identities changing?
Five answers
- Structural changes in the education system, such as the introduction of the National Curriculum which enabled girls to study any subject they chose. Some would also argue that the education system has undergone a ‘feminisation process’, or has become more ‘girl-friendly’.
- Increase in female role models within the family have changed from being a housewife to now being a strong, assertive, career woman with a sense of independence.
- In the media where women are being seen in a more positive, less stereotypical light.
- The labour market has changed in the last few decades, such as the rise in the service sector (suits women’s skills) and the impact of globalisation has led to a decline in manufacturing in the UK (men’s skills). The focus now is on the service sector, such as retail and banking, white collar jobs, which are seen to be gender-neutral which puts women on a more equal footing for being successful.
- Wilkinson (1994) – The “feminisation of the economy” and the workplace has led to an increase in women’s ambitions. Wilkinson argues that family commitments no longer have priority in many women’s live and young women are now being defined according to their career and economic independence.
What did Natasha Walter note in 2010 about Feminine Identity?
Whilst this may all be positive, Natasha Walter (2010) notes that although women do have more career opportunities and do have greater financial independence, new forms of sexism are creating problems for women. Rather than having to conform to their traditional roles as a housewife or mother, it is all now about physical appearance. There is a greater pressure placed on women to conform to patriarchal cultural values which demands women’s identity to be based around physical appearance and their heterosexual attractiveness.
With the change of Feminine Identity, how is the rise in women’s economic independence changing the media?
With the rise in women’s economic independence, women are now seen as significant consumers. The media is now targeting products at single women and therefore young women are more likely to see consumption (buying things) and leisure (going out, cinema, sport etc.) as key parts of their identity.
With the change of Feminine Identity, how is the women’s behaviour changing?
These processes of consumption and leisure have led to ‘girl power’ and ‘ladettes’ who are increasingly adopting male forms of behaviour, such as drinking, smoking heavily, being sexually aggressive. Whelehan (2000) is sceptical that consumer freedom can really allow women to choose their identity or merely pressurise young women to conform to patriarchal identities that are both sexualised and sexist.
How is the decline in traditional Feminine Identity affecting convergence in Identity?
Whilst there does seem to be a decline in traditional feminine identities, there seems to be the increase in CONVERGENCE, or similarity, between masculine and feminine identities. The rise of feminine identities has now seen the rise of ‘ladettes’ where girls are taking on aspects of boys masculine identities, such as risk taking, violent, sexually aggressive in dress and behaviour, girl gangs etc. The World Health Organisation (2006) found that girls in the UK were among the most violent in the world, with 1 in 3 Scottish/English girls admitting to being in a fight in the past year. It seems that violent ladette behaviour is linked to the consumption of a binge drinking culture. Jackson (2006) researched 13-14 year old girls and found that this ladette behaviour existed in schools where girls were adopting the more assertive, boisterous forms of behaviour traditionally associated with boys.
