Feminist theory

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

Pan Am and Beyonce's 'Why don't you love me?' music video.

2) Do texts such as these show there is no longer a need for feminism or are they simply sexism in a different form?
They show that feminism is still needed as women are still sexualised even if it's shown to be empowering. it still fits into the theory of male gaze.

3) Choose three words/phrases from the glossary of the article and write their definitions on your blog.

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.

Patriarchy - An ideology that places men in a dominant position over women.

Now read The Theory Drop: Gender Performativity (MM69, page 25) and answer the following questions.

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

Her children’s t-shirts are good examples of this. Her son's shirt ‘Mummy’s little monster’ has permission to be a scallywag, to be disruptive, chaotic and monstrous, even and the main woman in his life will never disown him. Her daughter's shirt ‘Dancing with my friends makes the sun shine’ has a duty to be nothing more than agreeable, pleasant and pretty in order to make the world a better, sunnier place.

2) What does the phrase 'non-binary' refer to and how does it link to Butler's theory?

Non-binary refers to when an individual who doesn't define themselves as wholly male or female.

3) How and why does the media help reinforce gender stereotypes? The writer provides several examples in the final section of the article.

Films that presents a range of non-stereotypical feminities (Tuca and Bertie, Russian Doll and Killing Eve) but the lazy stereotypes that are easy to spot in historical texts, (sexist Quality Street, Tide or Old spice ads).

Music video analysis

Watch the Beyonce video for ‘Why Don’t You Love Me?’: 

1) How might this video contribute to Butler’s idea that gender roles are a ‘performance’?

There are multiple shots of her in over sexualised costumes which could be a performance of femininity as stereotypically women are objects to look at.

2) What might van Zoonen suggest regarding the representation of women in this video?
Van Zoonen suggests that gender is a social construct which would make her think that women are represented in a mostly stereotypical way since she is overly sexualised and main goals revolve around a man.

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

I think overall she reinforce the traditional 'male gaze' and oppression of women because she uses her femininity to over-sexualise herself to attract some fans but she does try to portray herself as empowered.

Watch Will Jay's video for ‘Gangsta’:

1) How does the video suggest representations of masculinity have changed in recent years?
It suggests men have freedom to be who they want without sticking to traditional masculine behaviours however, it's not all fixed yet since some men still stay traditionally masculine and conform to what their gender stereotypically should do. 

2) What does David Gauntlett suggest about representations of men in the media over the last 20 years?
He disagrees that masculinity is in crisis.

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?

I think young men are still pressured to act a certain way however, it is improving over the years as people are becoming more open and free about their gender and sexuality.