Media (Feminism)

Question 1

Mulvey (1973)

Answer 1

Used the concept of the ‘male gaze’ to describe how the camera ‘eyes up’ female characters, encouraging viewrs to assess their bodies and their attractiveness, fro male prespective.

Question 2

Lauren (2014)

Answer 2

Found that women accounted only 18% if all directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers and editors

Question 3

Marxists feminists

Answer 3

Argue that nothing much will change until both capitalism and the patriarchy that thrives under it are overthrown.

• They see the media as promoting an ideology of masculinity and feminity that reinforces concentional values and norms that support capitalism.

E.g Traditional portrays of male breadwinners and female housevives.

Promoting the ‘beauty myth’ encourging women to consume beauty and dietrary products.

Question 4

Critque for the view

Radical and marxist feminists

Answer 4

Would argue that while the variety of role of women may seem greater, the characters often contain aspects associated with tradinational feminitiy

Question 5

Oyěwùmí (1997) ‘The Invention of Women’ - Critque

Answer 5

A post-colonial (Nigerian/Yoruba) feminist critique. The idea of the gaze, emphasis on beauty and the physical body, and the concept of gender itself, is Eurocentric.

Other ways of seeing exist – the Yoruba ‘world-sense’

Therefore, it does not apply to all media and audiences

Question 6

Criticisms - Womens ability to resist the ideology

Answer 6

Some feminist are critised for failing to acknowledge the ability of women to resist the ideology of feminity tat comes across in the media, such as in women’s magazines.