Feminist theory: blog tasks

Read Playing With The Past: Post-feminism and the Media (MM40, page 64 - our Media Magazine archive is here).

1) What are the two texts the article focuses on?

The two texts are Pan am and Destiny Child

2) What examples are provided from the two texts of the 'male gaze' (Mulvey)?

Pam am and “why don’t you love me are both media products that use male gaze as a form of attracting views and interest. Pam am is constructed to be aspiring for women and entertainment for men; the song “why don’t you love me” is full of playful and sexual actions to not only appeal to women when it comes to the the standard of beauty they should “aspire” to achieve, and also to supply entertainment for the male gaze.

3) Do texts such as these show there is no longer a need for feminism or are they simply sexism in a different form?

I think these texts represent the idea that feminism is an evolving concept and that we’ve reached a new representation of that feminism

4) Choose three words/phrases from the glossary of the article and write their definitions on your blog.

Feminism: A movement aimed at defining, establishing, and defending women’s rights

and equality to men

Post-feminism – An ideology in culture and

society that society is somehow past needing

feminism and that the attitudes and arguments

of feminism are no longer needed.

Nostalgia – A sentimental longing for the past,

often only remembering the positives of the

time.

1) How might this video contribute to Butler’s idea that gender roles are a ‘performance’?

Throughout the text, Beyonce performs and backs the stereotypes of women from the time period that is being shown in the music video (1950’s to 1960’s). This contributes to Butler’s theory (the idea that gendered behavior is a social phenomenon, not a biological one) as she clearly shows the difference of what is expected from women in the 1950-1960’s compared to what is expected from them in today's society

2) Does this video reinforce or challenge the view that women should perform certain roles in society?

It’s a little bit of both, while her performance seems like a quite stereotypical misogynistic view of what a female provides to society, the satirical nature of the video, and the fact that the performer is Beyonce (a internationally renowned women's rights figure) says otherwise

3) Would McRobbie view Beyonce as an empowering role model for women? Why?

Beyonce in the video is using her sex appeal of a form of empowerment, feminism in the 90’s was mainly focused on the idea that women need to regain their feminity and their “sex appeal” in order to be empowered.

4) What are your OWN views on this debate – does Beyonce empower women or reinforce the traditional ‘male gaze’ (Mulvey)?

I believe that Beyonce uses the male gaze in an intelligent and profitable way. She acknowledges her sex appeal to attracts the male gaze for economic reasons, while still using that sex appeal to help tell other women to regain their femininity.

1) How does the video suggest representations of masculinity have changed in recent years?

The entirety of the video is explaining to men that you don't need to be a “macho man” to fall in love, you can be emotionally understanding and supportive too now.

2) What does David Gauntlett suggest about representations of men in the media over the last 20 years?

DG suggests that masculinity is evolving and that evolution towards something new is not necessarily a bad thing

3) What is YOUR view on the representation of men and masculinity? Are young men still under pressure from the media to act or behave in a certain way?

I believe masculinity (and femininity) is whatever the hell you want it to be, we’ve gotten to a point in society where boundaries and definitions are being constantly changed (for the better), to a point where trying to place a single representation and or definition of what it means to be masculine is pointless. I will say although is that there are sources do try still give masculinity a single image, and that image is pressured onto younger minds, but due to social media and globalization, those ideals are bound to be challanged.