Representation theorists

Question 1

Paul Gilroy

Answer 1

• Colonial discourses continue to inform contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity in the modern era
• ‘Civilisationism’ constructs racial hierarchies and sets up binary oppositions based of ‘otherness’

Question 2

Judith Butler

Answer 2

• Identity is constructed by the ‘expressions’ of that identity
• There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender
• Gender performance is not a singular act but a repetition of acts and a ‘ritual’

Question 3

bell hooks

Answer 3

• Feminism is a struggle to end patriarchy and the ideology of domination
• Feminism is a political commitment, not a lifestyle choice.
• Race and class also determine the extent to which individuals are exploited and discriminated against

Question 4

Liesbet van Zoonen

Answer 4

• Gender is constructed through discourse and this varies according to historical and cultural contexts.
• Women’s bodies as ‘objects’ is a core element of western culture
• the media language that constructs men’s bodies is different to that which objectifies women.

Question 5

David Guantlett

Answer 5

• the media provides us with ‘tools’ or resources that we use to construct our identities.
• In the past media conveyed simplistic messages about male and female identities. Now the media offers a more diverse range of representations that we may choose to help us construct our identities.

Question 6

Stuart Hall

Answer 6

• Representation of social groups, issues and ideas are constructed using the media language.
• stereotyping reduces whole groups of people to a few simple characteristics or traits.
• Stereotyping tends to occur where there are inequalities of power. Subordinate or excluded groups are constructed as different or ‘other’.