Judith Butler describes gender as “an identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts”. In other words, it is something learnt through repeated performance. How useful is this idea in understanding gender is represented in both the Score and Maybelline advertising campaigns?
Judith Butler presents different ideas about gender, implying that it is “an identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts”. In this essay I will be stating arguments about this idea and the waves of feminism.
Firstly Judith Butler discusses many ideas involved with gender representation such as gender fluidity and changeability. She states that gender is a “Social Construct” and that our gender identities aren’t established at birth, childhood or adolescence, but are formed through our consistent performances of gendered behaviour. She has stated that historically, gender has been viewed in a binary fashion which is divided into categories based on stereotypes and characteristics that can’t be changed. It basically means that gender is ever changing and never fixed based on society, and how it acts and changes. In the first wave of feminism Barry makes the point that although the women’s movement was not the start of feminism. In other words, the issue of women’s inequality has a history that pre-dates the 1960’s, for example Mary Wollstonecraft, (1792) A Vindication of the Rights of Women. In the 1960s sexism was referred to in a systematic way, like a patriarchal society where men were seen as most dominant and superior to women. For example Michelene Wandor stated that “sexism refers to the systematic ways in which men and women are brought up to view each other antagonistically, on the assumption that the male is always superior to the female”. Which also links to the male gaze, which is the representation of women in video games or any form of media, over sexualising them for the male attention presuming the viewer/player is a straight male. Laura Mulvey focused on the male gaze in films and how women were over sexualised for the visual pleasure for men. This also applies to the score CSP as it reveals much more women and shows more body parts. The advertisements implies that you would appear to have more women with you if they were to use your product.
Third wave feminism is different to the feminism of the 60s and it tries to encourage multiple plural identity’s called intersectionality. Barker and Jane wrote “rebellion of younger women against what was perceived as the prescriptive, pushy and ‘sex negative’ approach of older feminists.” They also said third wave feminism is regarded as having begun in the mid 90’s with characteristics such as the differences among women due to race, ethnicity, class, nationality, religion and fluid and multiple subject positions and identities. This can be seen in the Maybelline advert as the the main person in the advert is gender fluid.
- Introduce the overall aim and argument that you are going to make
- Establish your first main critical approach (I would suggest Gender as Performance by Butler, but you could start with feminist critical thinking, or . . . )
- Develop this approach by using key words, phrases and quotation (Mulvey, Kilbourne, Moi, Wander, Wollstonescraft, Woolf, de Beauvoir, Woolf)
- Apply your theoretical ideas to either or both of the set CSP’s
- Show some historical knowledge about societal changes – particularly to the historical context of post-war society ie 1950’s-1970’s see this link)
- Establish a secondary theme or idea that you wish to raise (eg 2nd wave feminism)
- Develop this approach by using key words, phrases and quotation
- Apply your theoretical ideas to either or both of the CSP’s
- Move forward to the present day to show some historical knowledge about societal changes – (ie non-binary world, intersectionality, use of new media etc)
- Establish a contradictory argument that shows your ability to think and engage
- Develop this approach by using key words, phrases and quotation (3rd wave feminism Butler, Levy, Dollimore, hooks, Van Zoonen, Raunch Culture, Queer Theory, Intersectionality etc)
- Apply your theoretical ideas to either or both of the set CSP’s
- Apply your theoretical ideas to either or both of the set CSP’s
- Summarise your main arguments
- Ensure you have a summative, final sentence / short paragraph