Feminist theory - blog tasks

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

 Pan Am, first broadcast on ABC in 2011, In her music video for the song ‘Why Don’t

you Love Me’ Beyoncé

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

3) 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.

Third wave feminism – Was a movement

that redefined and encouraged women to be

dominant and sexually assertive.

1) How does the writer suggest gender performativity is established from a young age?
through media.

2) What does the phrase 'non-binary' refer to and how does it link to Butler's theory?
 enoting, having, or relating to a gender identity that does not conform to traditional binary beliefs about gender, which indicate that all individuals are exclusively either male or female.. This links to Butlers theory as butler says that gender is socially and culturally built.

3) How and why does the media help reinforce gender stereotypes? The writer provides several examples in the final section of the article.
  The media can reinforce gender stereotypes by acknowledging the fact that men go to work and females stay at home and look after the kids in the movies.

1) How might this video contribute to Butler’s idea that gender roles are a ‘performance’?
 Beyoncé was wearing revealing clothes and singing the words you don't love me. This links to the theory as they are acting hopelessly without a male.

2) What might van Zoonen suggest regarding the representation of women in this video?
  He might have said that she is objectifying herself as Beyoncé was wearing revealing clothes. 

3) What are YOUR views on this debate – does Beyonce empower women or reinforce the traditional ‘male gaze’ and oppression of women? 

  Beyoncé does empower women because of her lyrics and in the music video she is doing jobs which are stereotyped to men such as fixing cars and watering plants. Furthermore her wearing such revealing clothes may be to criticise the male gaze and how men would look at females anyway.

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

Yes as men are now represented as mens roles in movies have changed in movies to the 'female roles'

2) What does David Gauntlett suggest about representations of men in the media over the last 20 years?
 suggests that they aren't actually oppressed but they are evolving. 

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?

 My view is that nowadays when men act like men, people refer to this as toxic masculinity even though toxic masculinity is when men oppress females. Young men are now being influenced to act certain ways in the opposite of acting like men such as changing their sexuality.