My argument in this essay will be based upon sexism, feminism and the standards we have to face to fit in with society and some borders we need to face as women.My first approach will be based upon how women were and are still treated with societal standards and stereotypes to fit in to. “If one is ‘woman’ that is surely not all one is; the term fails to be exhaustive,…because gender intersects with racial, class, ethnic, sexual, and regional modalities of discursively constituted identities”. She criticizes how gender crosses not only your ethnicity or the identity you choose but is depicted by the way you act as a ‘woman’ and everything you do that fits into the womanly category..

Third-wave feminism began in the early 1990s, it was a response to the generation gap between the feminist movement of the 1960’s and ’70’s, challenging and re-contextualising some of the definitions of femininity that grew out of that earlier period. In particular, the third-wave sees women’s lives as intersectional, demonstrating a pluralism towards race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender and nationality when discussing feminism.  Barker and Jane regarded third wave feminism having following recognisable characteristics.

Societal changes to do with sexism have developed slightly since the 1960’s, women were made to cook and clean the house/ do all the housework and please the husband whilst also looking after the children. It was only around the 70’s in some places where rape in marriage became illegal. Women were abused in relationships or even whilst not and even still are, being seen as the lower less dominant sex is still a large issue, sexualised to the max and degraded even more when sexual images and videos got easier to access.

Nowadays weare still the lower sex than the male and are still sexualised maybe not as much as we once were but the vulnerability towards women still stands. There are still boundaries to what women and even girls can and can’t wear which is very sad as it isn’t helping with making a statement that we aren’t seen solely for our body and the way we are seen, it is the males problem how the see us and we should we not have to work our way around the male gaze. Abortion laws in someplaces were only made legal in 1973 and are still illegal in most places, these laws are made by men giving women no say in how they want to deal with their body, for example if they are so against killing a foetus then how would they feel if they were married but got another women pregnant, what would they say then? If men feel oppressed about being made out to look like they’re in the wrong then they should start to do more about the issue instead of women.How are women the lower sex when we are significantly as equal to men? We produce the same work, live the same lifestyle and are still treated beneath them in work industries or perhaps in general. ‘Jokes’ that boys make towards girls isn’t a step forward to equality, in fact it is another step backwards, thinking that is the right way to inform us they are higher up in the system is in every way possible wrong.

Laura Mulvey says “In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female…In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-less” this is linking to the fact men see women as objects, not all but overall this is how we are progressively seen being the in dominant sex. Sexual attraction is equal to men and women but typically it is men that take that attraction to objectifying us as something they can use for their own pleasure.

The advert ‘score’ where there are females surrounding a man in the jungle in little tops and mini skirts with soft looking legs relates to Laura Mulvey’s ‘the male gaze’ ; this is not showing fluid identity as their identities are fixed, man is seen as a man and the women are seen as women.In the Maybelline advert fluid identity is shown as there are people of color shown and a range of sexuality. There is no fixed identity, it is fluid.

Relating to my arguments, I think that the way the media has portrayed women throughout time is extremely wrong, sexualised from teenage years and treated wrongly is not how women should be treated through the media, affecting lifestyles and creating a view of how they should act and be seen. Feminism should not be frowned upon for sticking up for what is right even if it is contradictory to what society says is right or wrong, there is no wrong in trying to make a change for what should be right.Finalizing my thoughts, more should be done to stop this way of how women are perceived and treated creating stability between both men and women.

• Feminist = a political position
• Female = a matter of biology
• Feminine = a set of culturally defined characteristics

‘sexism was coined by analogy with the term racism in the American civil rights movement in the early 1960s. Defined simply, 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‘(Michelene Wandor 1981:13)

1st wave feminism included the facts of womens rights not being equal to men’s and the lack of inequality.~ Barry

2nd wave feminism during counter cultural movements becoming more prominent and pronounced.

‘the feminist literary criticism of today is the product of the women’s movement of the 1960’s’(Barry 2017:123)

‘rebellion of younger women against what was perceived as the prescriptive, pushy and ‘sex negative’ approach of older feminists.’ (344)Barker and Jane (2016 p. 344)

‘a product of the unresolved feminist sex wars – the conflict between the women’s movement and the sexual revolution‘ .Ariel Levy (2006:74)

Raunch culture is the sexualised performance of women in the media that can play into male stereotypes of women as highly sexually available, where its performers believe they are powerful owners of their own sexuality’Hendry & Stephenson (2018:50)

you cannot ‘understand Black women’s experiences of discrimination by thinking separately about sex discrimination and race discrimination’ (ibid)Sigle-Rushton & Lindström, 2013 p131

identity can be a site of contest and revision‘Butler (2004:19)

‘all this should not be seen as a straightforward displacement of dominant conservative attitudes‘ .(Johnathon Dollimore 1983:59)

characteristics of third wave feminism~ (barker and Jane)~

• an emphasis on the differences among women due to race, ethnicity, class, nationality, religion
• individual and do-it-yourself (DIY) tactics
• fluid and multiple subject positions and identities
• cyberactivism
• the reappropriation of derogatory terms such as ‘slut’ and ‘bitch’ for liberatory purposes
• sex positivity

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.

Fluidity Of Identity –having the ability to change how you look at yourself ,the world and actions.

Constructed Identity – There are a lot of things people could use to construct their own identities. Media helps to build an identity for ourselves to suggest ways of living by acting on advice or recognising ourselves in a character of a film.

Negotiated Identity – where your desired appearance to other people meets the expectation that other people perceive you as. Showing how we want a balance between our own desires and with others and retaining our own strong identity. 

Collective Identity – Our likeliness to try to ‘fit in’ with others and engage. we refer to our sense of belonging to group, weather that be out of a shared interest/experience or even something in common. Our desire to engage with others and “fit in”. These groups could be social, religious, occupational or gendered.

For my product, it will mostly be aimed towards women, as it is a women’s fragrance mainly leaning towards older women (20-50). My advertisement of the product will be the product in front of a blank screen so the product is made to look more bold and outstanding so the attention is only based on the perfume.

I will be using a male and female in my advert as a reactionary advert saying ‘this perfume attracts men’ and my my radical i may use two girls ‘explore beyond society’s expectations’.

This product can be for anybody but as it is a women’s fragrance more women may tend to buy it.

As my advert is aimed mainly towards women, it gets rid of diversity that is potentially needed for good sales. To make it more diverse i made sure to include the fact it is for different age groups so more groups of people are buying the product, making more ages known to the product as a lot of different age groups will be talking about it making it more widespread and known.