Videogames: Further feminist theory

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1) What definitions are offered by the factsheet for ‘feminism ‘and ‘patriarchy’?

  • Feminism:  A movement which aims for equality for women – to be treated as equal to men socially, economically, and politically. Feminism is focused on highlighting the power and suppressive nature of the patriarchy. 
  • Patriarchy:  Male dominance in society.

2) Why did bell hooks publish her 1984 book ‘Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center’?

  • bell hooks decided to publish the book 'Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center' because of the fact that there was a lack of diversity in the feminist community.
  • She stated that the 'diverse voices had been marginalised'.

3) What aspects of feminism and oppression are the focus of a lot of bell hooks' work?

  • bell hook focuses on sexual and ethnic oppression in and amongst the feminist community.

4) What is intersectionality and what do hooks argue regarding this?

  • Intersectionality: used to describe overlapping or intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination or discrimination.
  • bell hooks' argues that intersectionality is necessary for social equality; improving the political system.

5) What did Liesbet van Zoonen conclude regarding the relationship between gender roles and the mass media?

  • van Zoonen concluded that there is a correlation between the strong relationship between gender (stereotypes, pornography and ideology) and communication.
  • The mass media is said to structure these gender specifics through adverts and TV.

6) Liesbet van Zoonen sees gender as socially constructed. What does this mean and which other media theorist we have studied does this link to?

  • Gender being socially constructed suggests that society has implemented a set of criteria 'men' and 'women'  must follow so they can fit into their resected category- men being strong and breadwinners whereas women as domestic and fragile.
  • Judith Butler also suggests this- she suggests 'Gender is a performance' 

7) How do feminists view women’s lifestyle magazines in different ways? Which view do you agree with?

  • Some feminists have criticised women's lifestyle magazines as they typically suggest domestic and 'typical feminine' content such as cooking, makeup and beauty.
  • Other feminists praise these magazines of empowering self-love content. 
  • I personally agree with both as each woman is different has different interests and they should be free to decide which content they prefer.   

8) In looking at the history of the colours pink and blue, van Zoonen suggests ideas gender ideas can evolve over time. Which other media theorist we have studied argues this and do you agree that gender roles are in a process of constant change? Can you suggest examples to support your view?

  • David Gauntlett suggests that gender roles are in a process of constant change
  • The Maybelline 'Boss Life' Mascara advert can reinforce this idea with the masculine non-conforming youtube influencer Manny MUA. 

9) What are the five aspects van Zoonen suggests are significant in determining the influence of the media?

  • Whether the institution is commercial or public.
  • The platform upon which they operate (print versus digital media)
  • Genre (drama versus news).
  • Target audiences.
  • The place the media text holds within the audiences’ daily lives


10) What other media theorist can be linked-to van Zoonen’s readings of the media?

  • Stuart Hall's theory of reading can be linked to van Zoonen. His idea of negotiated readings and her interpretations suggest that media content and the audience receiving the content do a certain amount of encoding and decoding.
  • she states that the media "implies acknowledgement of gender construction as a social process in which women and men actively engage.”

11) Van Zoonen discusses ‘transmission models of communication’. She suggests women are oppressed by the dominant culture and therefore take in representations that do not reflect their view of the world. What other theory and idea (that we have studied recently) can this be linked to?

  • Stuart Hall's 'Approaches to Representation' theory eludes to the fact that women are oppressed by the dominant 'culture' of society. 
  • They take in false representations of the world and build on it personally.

12) Finally, van Zoonen has built on the work of bell hooks by exploring power and feminism. She suggests that power is not a binary male/female issue but reflects the “multiplicity of relations of subordination”. How does this link to bell hooks views on feminism and intersectionality?

  • bell hooks' talks about intersectionality which is the common point of two forms of oppression.
  • An example is a woman from a BAME community who is also part of the LGBT community.


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