Further feminist theory
Read Media Factsheet #169 Further Feminist Theory and answer the following questions:
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.
Patriarchy- male dominance in society
2) Why did bell hooks publish her 1984 book ‘Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center’?
She had identified a lack of diversity within the feminist movement; hooks argues that feminism’s goal to make all women equal to men is flawed; not all men are equal to men as a result of oppression, sexuality, ethnicity. hooks used her work to offer a more inclusive feminists theory that advocated for women within a sisterhood to acknowledging and accepting their differences.
3) What aspects of feminism and oppression are the focus for a lot of bell hooks’s work?
hooks challenged feminists to consider gender’s relation to sex, race, class and intersectionality. She argues that male involvement within the equality movement was important, encouraging men to do their part. hooks has forcefully argued that poor black women have more in common with poor black men, than with the white middle-class feminists, and this had been ignored by white academic feminists.
4) What is intersectionality and what does hooks argue regarding this?
Intersectionality is used to describe overlapping or intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination or discrimination. This essentially means that multiple identities mix together and work together to create a new identity (these can include gender, race, social class, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, age, mental disability, physical disability, mental illness, physical illness)
hooks argues that understanding intersectionality is vital to gaining political and social equality and improving our democratic system. hook describes intersectionality as something which can create and maintain systems of oppression and class domination. “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression”
5) What did Liesbet van Zoonen conclude regarding the relationship between gender roles and the mass media?
Van Zoonen concludes that there is a strong relationship between gender (stereotypes, pornography and ideology) and communication, but it is also the mass media that leads to much of the observable gender identity structures in advertising, film and TV. Meaning that the mass media has played a big role in constructed gender roles.
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?
van Zoonen sees gender as socially constructed, meaning that we act the way we think we should due to what we have seen around us. These ideologies have been engraved into our society since the beginning of time and they continue to be reinforced. This is linked with Judith Butler's theory 'gender roles are a performance.'
7) How do feminists view women’s lifestyle magazines in different ways? Which view do you agree with?
1) Feminists criticise women's magazines as commercial sites of exaggerated femininity which serve to pull women into a consumer culture on the promise that the products they buy will alleviate their own bodily insecurities and low self-esteem.
2) Feminists of the 1970s saw the ‘media-created woman’ – the wife, mother, housekeeper, sex object – as a person only trying to be beautiful for men.
3) Van Zoonen argues that women’s magazines mediate images that tell women “how to be a perfect mother, lover, wife, homemaker, glamorous accessory, secretary – whatever suits the needs of the system”.
Personally, I believe that each of the observations serve as some truth.
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?
Colours can be used to signal sex difference; the association of pink with femininity and blue with masculinity was made in 19th century France. In the 18th century, however, a pink silk suit was regarded as appropriate attire for a gentleman. Gender should therefore not be seen as a fixed property of individuals, but rather as a part of an ongoing process where subjects are constituted, often in paradoxical ways as van Zoonen suggests.
This links with David Gauntlett's ideas regarding the changing representation of masculinity and Gelfer's 5 stages of masculinity. The Maybelline that Boss Life mascara advert is an example of how gender roles have evolved and are no longer constricted, rather, they are becoming non-binary and more fluid.
9) What are the five aspects van Zoonen suggests are significant in determining the influence of the media?
Van Zoonen argues that the influence of the media is dependent on:
•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?
Van Zoonen builds on Stuart Hall’s negotiated readings, arguing that the negotiated readings focus on the way meanings are encoded and decoded “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?
This is linked to Stuart Hall's 'Intentional approach'; the producer of the text constructs the world as they see it and the audience accepts those values encoded in the text.
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?
This links to bell hooks' views on feminism and intersectionality because it discusses how power imbalance cannot be simply defined as being between males and females. van Zoonen discusses how bringing in other intersections complicates power. For example- we can say that males have more power than females in society, but, when we bring in other matters like race and sexuality, this changes. For example, a white-American heterosexual female is likely to have more power and acceptance in society than a black-American homosexual male.
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.
Patriarchy- male dominance in society
2) Why did bell hooks publish her 1984 book ‘Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center’?
She had identified a lack of diversity within the feminist movement; hooks argues that feminism’s goal to make all women equal to men is flawed; not all men are equal to men as a result of oppression, sexuality, ethnicity. hooks used her work to offer a more inclusive feminists theory that advocated for women within a sisterhood to acknowledging and accepting their differences.
3) What aspects of feminism and oppression are the focus for a lot of bell hooks’s work?
hooks challenged feminists to consider gender’s relation to sex, race, class and intersectionality. She argues that male involvement within the equality movement was important, encouraging men to do their part. hooks has forcefully argued that poor black women have more in common with poor black men, than with the white middle-class feminists, and this had been ignored by white academic feminists.
4) What is intersectionality and what does hooks argue regarding this?
Intersectionality is used to describe overlapping or intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination or discrimination. This essentially means that multiple identities mix together and work together to create a new identity (these can include gender, race, social class, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, age, mental disability, physical disability, mental illness, physical illness)
hooks argues that understanding intersectionality is vital to gaining political and social equality and improving our democratic system. hook describes intersectionality as something which can create and maintain systems of oppression and class domination. “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression”
5) What did Liesbet van Zoonen conclude regarding the relationship between gender roles and the mass media?
Van Zoonen concludes that there is a strong relationship between gender (stereotypes, pornography and ideology) and communication, but it is also the mass media that leads to much of the observable gender identity structures in advertising, film and TV. Meaning that the mass media has played a big role in constructed gender roles.
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?
van Zoonen sees gender as socially constructed, meaning that we act the way we think we should due to what we have seen around us. These ideologies have been engraved into our society since the beginning of time and they continue to be reinforced. This is linked with Judith Butler's theory 'gender roles are a performance.'
7) How do feminists view women’s lifestyle magazines in different ways? Which view do you agree with?
1) Feminists criticise women's magazines as commercial sites of exaggerated femininity which serve to pull women into a consumer culture on the promise that the products they buy will alleviate their own bodily insecurities and low self-esteem.
2) Feminists of the 1970s saw the ‘media-created woman’ – the wife, mother, housekeeper, sex object – as a person only trying to be beautiful for men.
3) Van Zoonen argues that women’s magazines mediate images that tell women “how to be a perfect mother, lover, wife, homemaker, glamorous accessory, secretary – whatever suits the needs of the system”.
Personally, I believe that each of the observations serve as some truth.
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?
Colours can be used to signal sex difference; the association of pink with femininity and blue with masculinity was made in 19th century France. In the 18th century, however, a pink silk suit was regarded as appropriate attire for a gentleman. Gender should therefore not be seen as a fixed property of individuals, but rather as a part of an ongoing process where subjects are constituted, often in paradoxical ways as van Zoonen suggests.
This links with David Gauntlett's ideas regarding the changing representation of masculinity and Gelfer's 5 stages of masculinity. The Maybelline that Boss Life mascara advert is an example of how gender roles have evolved and are no longer constricted, rather, they are becoming non-binary and more fluid.
9) What are the five aspects van Zoonen suggests are significant in determining the influence of the media?
Van Zoonen argues that the influence of the media is dependent on:
•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?
Van Zoonen builds on Stuart Hall’s negotiated readings, arguing that the negotiated readings focus on the way meanings are encoded and decoded “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?
This is linked to Stuart Hall's 'Intentional approach'; the producer of the text constructs the world as they see it and the audience accepts those values encoded in the text.
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?
This links to bell hooks' views on feminism and intersectionality because it discusses how power imbalance cannot be simply defined as being between males and females. van Zoonen discusses how bringing in other intersections complicates power. For example- we can say that males have more power than females in society, but, when we bring in other matters like race and sexuality, this changes. For example, a white-American heterosexual female is likely to have more power and acceptance in society than a black-American homosexual male.
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