Use our Media Factsheet archive and find Media Factsheet #169 Further Feminist Theory, read the whole of the Factsheet 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. It is a movement that is focused not on ‘hating’ men, or suggesting that women are superior. Instead, 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’?
Because she had identified a lack of diversity within the feminist movement, and argued that these diverse voices had been marginalised, being put outside the main body of feminism
3) What aspects of feminism and oppression are the focus for a lot of bell hooks’s work?
“Women in lower class and poor groups, particularly those that are non- white, would not have defined women’s liberation as women gaining social equality with men since they are continually reminded in their everyday lives that all women do not share a common social status.” Here 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
4) What is intersectionality and what does hooks argue regarding this?
The term intersectionality is used to describe overlapping or intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination or discrimination. Multiple identities intersect to create an individual identity that can include gender, race, social class, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, age, mental disability, physical disability, mental illness, physical illness. bell hooks argues that experiences of class, gender, sexuality etc cannot be completely understood if the influences of racialisation are not considered. hooks argues that understanding intersectionality is vital to gaining political and social equality and improving our democratic system
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
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 which means that gender roles have been formed by society rather than having any objective evidence. Arguably, we can apply Judith Butler's theory of gender as performance to van Zoonen because she suggests that we are conditioned to adhere to social norms that society has developed
7) How do feminists view women’s lifestyle magazines in different ways? Which view do you agree with?
Feminists view women's lifestyle magazines in ways that perhaps 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. 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”. I agree with the view that women's lifestyle magazines emphasise women's femininity in order to appeal to consumer culture
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?
van Zoonen suggests gender ideas can evolve over time. This has also been argued by David Gauntlett who presents the idea that things change over time and that identity is becoming more fluid. Gender roles are undeniably in a constantly changing suggested by the growing support towards the LGBTQ+ community and the inclusion of options other than the traditional male and female gender identity
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 and subsequent 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?
van Zoonen discusses ‘transmission models of communication’ and suggests women are oppressed by the dominant culture and therefore take in representations that do not reflect their view of the world. Paul Gilroy's double consciousness is another theory that links to this
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?
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