Feminist theory - blog tasks
1) What are the two texts the article focuses on?
Pan am aired on BBC2 with the popular destiny's child song "independent woman" and it showed glamorous air stewardesses.
beyonces attractive and sexy outfits
1950's clothes
3) Do texts such as these show there is no longer a need for feminism or are they simply sexism in a different form?
In ways i do think its still sexist in different forms as females are still looking attractive and do still have attractive mannerisms even if does state its not for the male gaze, it still does make them seem suggestive in that they are still trying to attract someone.
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.
nostalgia– A sentimental longing for the past ,often only remembering the positives of the time.
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.
beyonce is using her attractive traits and 1950's fashion to over exaggerate and ,through butlers theory, 'perform' her femininity and female stereotypes aswell as challenge them which in the 1950's may have been seen as taboo
2) Does this video reinforce or challenge the view that women should perform certain roles in society?
in my opinion , this video challenges women's role in society and that they dont need to rely on men to live successfully nor do they need to be seen as fragile and sensitive when it comes to love as beyonce uses her own success to prove this
3) Would McRobbie view Beyonce as an empowering role model for women? Why?
yes, as beyonce uses her own success to prove that women can be happy, wealthy and successful without a male figure in their life which is a massive female stereotype and the shots of beyonce dusting her grammys in the music video subtly hint this. This supports mcRobbies theory as it challenges traditional feminism.
I see both sides of the argument as i definitely see how beyonce can empower women through certain lyrics in her song such as "I even put money in the bank account,Don't have to ask no one to help me out" which indicates that she doesn't rely on anyone and doesn't need to.This is clearly empowering for women. However, she can be seen as reinforcing traditional female aesthetics for the male gaze , this is because of her outfits and how she moves aswell as her mannerisms. She is seen in a lot of revealing clothing and is often wearing red lipstick which is see as a classic "sex" lip colour. Though she could be seen as mocking these characteristics by over exaggerating and therefore reverting back to empowering women.
1) How does the video suggest representations of masculinity have changed in recent years?
2) What does David Gauntlett suggest about representations of men in the media over the last 20 years?
He disagrees that the idea that masculinity is in crisis and suggests that the representation of men in the media is different to women.
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?
In my opinion , the representation of men and masculinity is hugely different to what it use to be. This is due to the support and platform of social media which has allowed men to express themselves how they want and how they wish to act without sticking to a frigid norm of being strong, brave , emotionless and fearless etc..
As mentioned , social media is a huge factor that has let to this change and has led to this huge change is male aesthetic. For example , the biggest change is how men are now able to freely speak out about their sexuality and come out as gay, bisexual etc... this has also led to men being allowed to be more flamboyant and express who they are instead of repressing their "true" identity and hiding behind the "hard front " of male masculinity.
Also, the artist is of Asian decent and Asian norms have come to surface in the western world a lot in the last 10 years This is partly due to the rise of K pop ( Korean pop) and to the rise of the boy band BTS who are known for breaking gender norms and stereotypes and have shown its okay to wear makeup,wear tight clothes etc.. this is because in Korea and Asia it is the male beauty norm to have fair skin and be more feminine than it is in the westernised world in UK, USA etc...
Furthermore, men are also allowed to express themselves through fashion thanks to celebrities like jayden smith , David Beckham who have also broken gender stereo types and worn items such as skirts etc... people like this have empowered and inspired men who feel they dont fit into the ideal male aesthetic and feel free to push boundaries in society and be supported no matter what.
- Pan Am
- beyonce
Pan am aired on BBC2 with the popular destiny's child song "independent woman" and it showed glamorous air stewardesses.
beyonces attractive and sexy outfits
1950's clothes
3) Do texts such as these show there is no longer a need for feminism or are they simply sexism in a different form?
In ways i do think its still sexist in different forms as females are still looking attractive and do still have attractive mannerisms even if does state its not for the male gaze, it still does make them seem suggestive in that they are still trying to attract someone.
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.
nostalgia– A sentimental longing for the past ,often only remembering the positives of the time.
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.
Music video analysis
1) How might this video contribute to Butler’s idea that gender roles are a ‘performance’?
2) Does this video reinforce or challenge the view that women should perform certain roles in society?
in my opinion , this video challenges women's role in society and that they dont need to rely on men to live successfully nor do they need to be seen as fragile and sensitive when it comes to love as beyonce uses her own success to prove this
3) Would McRobbie view Beyonce as an empowering role model for women? Why?
yes, as beyonce uses her own success to prove that women can be happy, wealthy and successful without a male figure in their life which is a massive female stereotype and the shots of beyonce dusting her grammys in the music video subtly hint this. This supports mcRobbies theory as it challenges traditional feminism.
4) What are your OWN views on this debate – does Beyonce empower women or reinforce the traditional ‘male gaze’ (Mulvey)?
1) How does the video suggest representations of masculinity have changed in recent years?
The video suggests that men dont need to be extremely strong or never need to show any emotion or pain, it also shows that men dont need to be cold hearted and only care for sport and see women as "sex objects". This would've been the complete opposite 50 years ago which shows how masculinity has changed and become more flexible in the past years
2) What does David Gauntlett suggest about representations of men in the media over the last 20 years?
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?
In my opinion , the representation of men and masculinity is hugely different to what it use to be. This is due to the support and platform of social media which has allowed men to express themselves how they want and how they wish to act without sticking to a frigid norm of being strong, brave , emotionless and fearless etc..
As mentioned , social media is a huge factor that has let to this change and has led to this huge change is male aesthetic. For example , the biggest change is how men are now able to freely speak out about their sexuality and come out as gay, bisexual etc... this has also led to men being allowed to be more flamboyant and express who they are instead of repressing their "true" identity and hiding behind the "hard front " of male masculinity.
Also, the artist is of Asian decent and Asian norms have come to surface in the western world a lot in the last 10 years This is partly due to the rise of K pop ( Korean pop) and to the rise of the boy band BTS who are known for breaking gender norms and stereotypes and have shown its okay to wear makeup,wear tight clothes etc.. this is because in Korea and Asia it is the male beauty norm to have fair skin and be more feminine than it is in the westernised world in UK, USA etc...
Furthermore, men are also allowed to express themselves through fashion thanks to celebrities like jayden smith , David Beckham who have also broken gender stereo types and worn items such as skirts etc... people like this have empowered and inspired men who feel they dont fit into the ideal male aesthetic and feel free to push boundaries in society and be supported no matter what.
Comments
Post a Comment