exAM PREP

” Styles announced that he hoped to “dispel the myth of a binary existence”.

Harry Styles saying he wishes the act of being non binary being a wish to be dispelled brings others to become more interested in the matter and potentially get in on the action to get rid of the ‘myth’.

‘Undoubtedly, there is serious value in beauty now. In July, the global beauty industry was valued at $511bn’

This shows more stylized acts are seen more then others which proves some beauty products are more depended on than others claiming more popularity. Worth more and seen more often, constructed representation.

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?
  1. Gender and identity is represented in many ways, many ways in which are communicated by us subconsciously constantly. Depending on your gender and how you wish to be represented, we do specific actions physically, verbally and non-verbally to communicate our gender and identity automatically.
  2. For example, as a male you could represent your gender by dressing in a more masculine way, having facial hair or even by the way you smell.
  3. By doing these different actions, society puts you into these constructed identity groups.
  4. Judith counter-types these ideas that of gender representation. She doesn’t believe that certain actions should factor into how your gender is represented, such as why is body building regarded as a male thing to do? She thinks that these stereotypes and identifications are not fixed or definite states.

The Four Characteristics Of Representation

Fluidity of Identity

Gauntlett commented on the changing representation of men and women in mainstream media. For example, the depiction of the passive housewife throughout the twentieth century was being increasingly replaced by images of assertive women taking control of their lives, epitomised by the “girl power” endorsed by the Spice Girls. The representation of men being active and confident was giving way to a more introspective and emotionally-aware version of masculinity. Despite the old binary representations still finding their way to the front covers of magazines and forming the narrative of most Hollywood blockbusters, there is now a “greater diversity of identities”.

Constructed Identity

Although the representation of femininity and masculinity might be shifting, they will still offer a variety of cues we can use in the meaningful construction of our identity. The magazines we read or the films we watch all provide information about ways of living which we can purposely and knowingly integrate into our own relationships and lifestyles. For instance, we value the ideas expressed by the contemporary opinion leaders who dominate our social media feeds. If an influencer suggests we should visit a particular shop or buy a certain brand, we might act on that advice. The representation of characters in a sitcom or a film could help us discover our own identity. This concept of the constructed identity is similar to the symbolic modelling in Albert Bandura’s social learning theory which argues children learn behaviour from the role models they see on television.

Negotiated Identity

The media can help us establish our own identity – no matter what texts we choose to consume, there will certain representations of gender that will appeal to our own sensibilities. However, there might be some tension between this construct and how we present ourselves to the world. Whether it is our relationships, interests or careers, we want to engage with others but still retain some individuality. Therefore, as Goffman argued, we need to reach a “working consensus” or agreement regarding the roles each person will assume in any interaction. A negotiated identity is a balance between our own desires and meeting the expectations of others.

Collective Identity

In terms of media studies, collective identity refers to our sense of belonging to group, especially because there is shared interest or love for a media text. Fandoms are an excellent example of this cultural experience because they try to define and develop a way of life.

Gauntlett and identity

Fluid of identity

Fluid of identity is having the choice to change the way you come across however you like. If you don’t want to look a certain way fluid of identity creates the meaning of being able to change that and change how you perceive yourself as a person. Not only that Fluid of identity also means having the fluidity to change the way you act to something favoured or to something which can be categorised as normal. Fluid of Identity is the freedom to change who you are as a person from how you look to how you act if you prefer to-do that.

Constructed identity

Constructed identity is stereotypical. For example the fixed idea that a women should have long straight blonde hair with blue eyes and a man should be tall with big muscles and a brunette. These ideas have been constructed within society to change how we look at men and women. Constructed identity isn’t all about gender its also for who your preferred gender attraction is. Once again society has created ideal attraction preference, males are supposed to be attracted to women, and women are supposed to be attracted to men. Men aren’t supposed to like other men and women aren’t supposed to like other women, Society has constructed those identity’s for people which places pressure and shame onto those who are gay and do prefer people of the same gender.

Negotiated identity

Negotiated identity is when people come to an agreement of who is who and who identifies as something other than their birth gender. Men may come to terms and agree with the fact that they are a man and friends may be women or men and vice versa. Not only that people may agree that their friends may want to change from their assigned gender to become another gender as of which they are more comfortable being in. Not just that in gay relationships both partners come to terms of who is who in that relationship. This can be described as “wearing the pants in the relationship” which is basically who takes on the dominant role within the relationship.

Collective identity

Collective identity is associating with a group or a group associating as something. An example of this is drag queens. These people identify as men but have feminine traits and perspectives. Majority of these men are gay but love to dress up as women and do make up. Collectively these men all identify as drag queens. Also religions, many people collectively identify as Christian or Hindu, which society don’t have a problem with as its something they believe in but some people in society may argue that drag queens are wrong due to stereotypes that men should work for the family whereas the women are supposed to dress up to please them and apply make up to look pretty for the men. Everyone is apart of a group that have a certain identity, for another example actors. They all identify as actors same with the scouts they all identify as a scout until they leave the group but the traits and skills they learnt as a scout will stay with them for life.

Essay Prep

Fluidity of Identity – The idea that identity can change over time due to changes in circumstances. For example, you may develop different ideas about your identity as you grow older and become more mature, or you could even experience it when something as simple as just moving house or country occurs.

Constructed Identity – The process of people developing certain ideas about themselves and their identity based on their experiences. – follow opinion leaders – two step flow

Negotiated Identity – The idea that many people can discuss and have different views about someone’s identity, and communicate this to change views. This can lead to changes in identity based on the input of other people.

Collective Identity – The idea that people are grouped into certain stereotypes. This may be for many different reasons, such as physical features, where someone is from or how someone acts. This often may not be positive, as countertypes ar very common in society, sometimes even more so than stereotypes.

Styles Notes

“The mission of this venture is to bring joyful experiences and products that excite the senses and blur the boundaries” – I think this is disingenuous because due to the idea of negotiated identity as described by David Gauntlett, the experiences that Styles describes as “joyful” may not always be such. because the opinions and viewpoints of others may affect the user of the counter typical make up’s experiences and thus change their identity.

Judith Butler describes gender as “an identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts”. In other words, it is something learnt through repeated performance. This means that gender is not fixed, and is rather achieved by things you do and the ways in which you do them. This makes you find your gender in yourself, and also prove to others that your gender is what you say it is. For example, girls are allowed to be more fun and silly, compared to boys being more serious and mature, with boys partaking in more strenuous activities and girls appearing more “soft” and more caring.

judith butler – gender theory

  • Gender and identity is represented in many ways, many ways in which are communicated by us subconsciously constantly. Depending on your gender and how you wish to be represented, we do specific actions physically, verbally and non-verbally to communicate our gender and identity automatically.
  • For example, as a male you could represent your gender by dressing in a more masculine way, having facial hair or even by the way you smell.
  • By doing these different actions, society puts you into these constructed identity groups.
  • Judith counter-types these ideas that of gender representation. She doesn’t believe that certain actions should factor into how your gender is represented, such as why is body building regarded as a male thing to do? She thinks that these stereotypes and identifications are not fixed or definite states.

Harry Styles brand article

  • This brand is trying to break out of gender boundaries and groups by including typically more feminine products to be targeted and sold to men and all genders ad identities. Against repetition of gender performance.
  • The mission statement for his brand is: “bring joyful experiences and products that excite the senses and blur the boundaries”.
  • He states how this brand is more than a celebrity endorsement, this can be considered disingenuous and follows 2-step flow ideas.

“Styles announced that he hoped to “dispel the myth of a binary existence”

“Undoubtedly, there is serious value in beauty now. In July, the global beauty industry was valued at $511bn”

“Styles’s first business venture includes a range of nail polishes, an illuminating primer serum, and a dual-purpose eye and lip oil.”

Judith Butler’s idEA OF GENDER PERFORMANCE

Notes : Judith Butler

  • The idea that men are identified as men due to their masculine repetitive actions such as sitting with their legs spread out, where as, women cross their legs in a feminine manner. Our physical appearance also contributes to our identity and our repetitive acts by the way be ‘do things’ women shave and men typically don’t, women dress with pink, purples and nude colour clothing where as men it’s white, black, blue, red and green. This is because we have constructed and made colours, certain products, objects specific to genders.
  • We live in a fabricated world, where everything is constructed and one thing is one thing, men are men, women are women.
  • Repetition of gender performance.

Notes : Harry Style’s Brand

  • Pleasing includes, nail polishes, illuminating primer serum and a dual purpose eye, lip oil.
  • Harry is trying to aim his brand towards men to make “makeup is for women” a myth, to encourage men to also wear makeup and no feel ashamed.
  • Aim – “bring joyful experiences and products that excite the senses and blur the boundaries”. Styles announced that he hoped to “dispel the myth of a binary existence”.
  • Disingenuous
  • Could be just doing it for the money?
  • Popularity?
  • “Styles announced that he hoped to “dispel the myth of a binary existence”
  • “Undoubtedly, there is serious value in beauty now. In July, the global beauty industry was valued at $511 billion”

notes

Judith Butler talks about “an identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts”. This can be shown through the acts of male and female and the stereotypical acts of females and males and what is a typical act for both of these genders. The typical act of a female could be to wear makeup or straighten their hair. A typical act for a male could be to drink a pint or play football. This can also be shown through photographs. For example, if a male was to hold up a sign with their hands or be standing in a certain stance. However, for females it could be to be stood in a certain more feminine stance and be playing with their hair this would represent both genders as it it the most stereotypical things that these genders would be doing to represent that gender. This is presented as a female doing or acting in a certain way that would represent that gender.

 the global beauty industry was valued at $511bn- some acts of stylised repetition are worth more money than others therefore you would be able to see it more often than others.

Styles announced that he hoped to “dispel the myth of a binary existence”.

‘stylized repetion of acts’/ gender

judith butler quotes– ‘an identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts’

This may be coming across as your identity (male/female) and the acts you do, if you’re a female you may repeatedly get your eyelashes done, straighten your hair or get your nails done and these acts wh8ich are constantly repeated are considered as who you are and what your identity is overlooked as. This relates to gauntlets constructed identity.

” Styles announced that he hoped to “dispel the myth of a binary existence”.

Harry Styles saying he wishes the act of being non binary being a wish to be dispelled brings others to become more interested in the matter and potentially get in on the action to get rid of the ‘myth’.

‘Undoubtedly, there is serious value in beauty now. In July, the global beauty industry was valued at $511bn’

This shows more stylized acts are seen more then others which proves some beauty products are more depended on than others claiming more popularity. Worth more and seen more often, constructed representation.

Judith Butler – Gender

  • Certain acts and ideas depict your gender.
  • The idea of what you do, what you drink, how you talk and how you stand decides who you are, what you are and how you act all the time. It also can put you into one of society’s many groups, where people are all the same or act similarly.
  • However Judith is implying that there is no “repetitive” acts that can depict who you are, its all a false idea created by humanity because that’s what is normal, however as we move and and as me mature we realise everyone does what they want and people don’t live by what others think or depict of them. Some people are born a gender but then change because they feel that isn’t who they are, and as the days go on, that is more and more publicly accepted by humanity and people will not need to put on a façade to be a certain way to fit in.

Harry styles article: Quotes

“Styles announced that he hoped to “dispel the myth of a binary existence”” – This displays how Styles see’s the current state of society as not correct and that it needs to change, however I feel as if he has gone the wrong way around it.

“Styles’s first business venture includes a range of nail polishes, an illuminating primer serum, and a dual-purpose eye and lip oil.” – The reason I state I believe that Styles has gone the wrong way around this is because instead of maybe doing a show or charity event to raise money to donate to charities such as Human Rights Campaign Foundation or The Trevor Project he made a company he could profit off of.

“Undoubtedly, there is serious value in beauty now. In July, the global beauty industry was valued at $511bn” – This quote proves to me that Styles see’s this as a money grab more than anything else, with his large following he could amass an incredible amount of money and a big business, one like Lada gaga or Beyoncé.

Judith Butler – Gender Performativity

Judith Butler describes gender as “an identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts”. In other words, it is something learnt through repeated performance.

Butler is illustrating that our gender identities are constructed by the institutions we have been brought up with and exposed to and are often presented to us as objective – for example boys must play football and girls must wear dresses. However, by saying this she implies that this is the opposite of what gender is and in reality we are just made to believe gender is objective when in actual fact it is completely subjective – for example girls can also play football.

She theorises that it is your behaviour that fabricate your gender, most significantly your repeated behaviour, and in saying that, she highlights that no one is just born with an identity but as people grow up, as people are exposed to new knowledge and experiences and hardships; that is when one’s identity evolves and is created. This links to not only the idea of fluid identity, but also constructed identity, for example one may construct their identity based on their experiences throughout childhood, however as one becomes older and is exposed to more knowledge and experiences their gender/identity evolves and becomes more fluid.

‘rituals and performative actions constantly reinforce our identities

She highlights that through repeating certain practices which may be unique to one’s chosen gender, whatever gender that may be, we are able to present to other people our identity and gender. This is also subjective as just because a certain practice may be typically performed by a girl, such as painting your nails, does not mean that it cannot be performed by a male or any other gender.

Biological anatomies do not determine our gender’

Butler stresses the importance of understanding that just because someone is born with a certain body part, does not mean that that corresponds to their gender identity meaning that more than anything, gender is a mentality rather than a physical state.

‘to maintain an identity that falls outside of heterosexual norm in our society is , she suggests, a subversive act that takes a great deal of effort to maintain.’

Because being anything other than heterosexual is not as common and sometimes not widely accepted, it is difficult for people to fully express themselves.