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Feminist Critical Thinking

FEMINIST CRITICAL THINKING

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Toril Moi’s (1987) crucial set of distinctions between: ‘feminist’, ‘female’ and ‘feminine’.

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

1st Wave of Feminism

  • Late 1800’s to 1920’s
  • Suffragette and Suffragists movements. International Council of Women
  • Women campaigned for basic rights that were not given to them such as the right to vote, to go to school/university, to handle their own finances, to own a house etc.
  • Women were completely dominated and under the suffrage of their male counterpart and were not able to have any sort of freedoms or identity.

2nd Wave of Feminism

  • 1960/70’s
  • Societal counteraction towards previous feminist ideas and positive change sparked a feminist cultural movement that began to shift societies views on abortion, homosexuality, birth control and divorce etc.
  • Singular, one dimensional. Centred around middle class, white feminists.

3rd Wave of Feminism

  • Early 1990’s
  • Response to generation gap and contradictions between the 2nd wave of feminist movement
  • Naomi Wolf coined the term ‘3rd Wave Feminism’ in the 1990’s.
  • The third-wave sees women’s lives as intersectional, demonstrating a pluralism towards race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender and nationality when discussing feminism.
  • 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
  • The re-appropriation of derogatory terms such as ‘slut’ and ‘bitch’ and of how women are often over-sexualised by men, not only in the media but in reality.
  • Sex positivity
  • Ariel Levy invented the term ‘Raunch Culture’; Women who have previously been objectified take this and objectify and over-sexualise themselves in order to promote sex positivity and celebrate freedom of femininity.
  • “Raunch culture = 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 and Stephenson

4th Wave of Feminism

  • Began in around 2010-12 when the use of social media grew considerably.
  • Increasing use of social media platforms and online campaigns to promote feminist ideas.

“tools that are allowing women to build a strong, popular, reactive movement online” – Cochrane

  • Campaigns such as the #MeToo movement allowed victims of sexual violence and assault to come forward and share experiences in a safe and supportive network. And the #FreetheNipple campaign allowed women to express their own bodies in ways they want to rather than having this dictated by men. Miley Cyrus endorsed these campaigns alongside her radical music video ‘Wrecking Ball’ in which she takes ownership of the over-sexualisation of femininity and use it as a way to express her own identity.
Feminist Critical Thinking, Notes, Representation, Theory

BUTLER

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KEY IDEAS

  • Judith Butler is an ‘influential philosopher’ born in 1956, best known for her 1990 novel ‘Gender Trouble’ which looks at feminism and “gender as performance”. She describes gender as “an identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts.”
  • Butler believes that gender is fluid, meaning that things should not be categorised, we should be able to choose our gender based on how we choose to express ourselves
  • This juxtaposes the fluidity of gender expression in the human nature. She also expresses the idea that gender identity is volatile and changeable: we ‘perform’ and display different elements of our gender identity at different times, in differing situations and around different people. We also react to how other people express their own gender identity, making us feel more comfortable or less comfortable to express traits that contrast our ‘labelled gender’.
  • Butler’s theories link to David Gauntlet and his ideologies on identity.
  • According to Butler, the archaic, binary categories of gender (male and female) counteracts feminism and only promotes patriarchy because these movements completely separate these distinctions and put them up against each other, which does not do anything for the progression gender equality. Stereotypical representation of gender and sexuality for example, expression of femininity in men automatically equates to being homosexual.
  • Counteracts Sigmund Freud’s ideas that “same-sex affection” is a “form of melancholia”.

QUOTES

”Gender does not exist inside the body” – Sex is biological whereas gender is a form of identity and self expression. The definitions of the both have been blurred through societies expectations.

“Our gender identities are not a fixed object” – Gender is fluid, almost a spectrum. Our gender identity can change how ever often we want it too. Different elements of our personality relate to different gender even though we may identify ourselves as one.

“Media presentations of homosexuality often use exaggerate masculine or feminine behaviours in a comedic way” – Linking to Maybelline advert, Manny’s homosexuality is stereotyped and majorly over-exaggerated, this could be the brand’s way of making this representation outwardly known.

“Constructed through repeated actions” – Stereotypical gender traits constructed such as connected the clothes we wear to the binary: male or female, creates the impression that we should have a “seamless and permanent” gender identity. These “rituals” linked to different gender’s display our identity to ourselves and society.

“Non-heterosexual identities are socially suppressed in favour of heteronormativity” – Non-straight identities or couples are seldom displayed in the media, especially unless it is in connection with a pride campaign, for example. This is due to the fact that society assumes that people are automatically straight and have the ability to choose their sexuality from birth, whereas this is clearly not the case.

HARRY STYLES ARTICLE (GUARDIAN MAG):

  • Harry Styles has recently set up a ‘life brand’ called ‘Pleasing’. He has released a range of beauty products including nail polishes. With him being a influential opinion leader, him counteracting gender normality allows people to see themselves represented and allows them to validate their own expression of gender, sexuality and personality as a whole.
  • “There is a sense that this brand is about celebrating what is already there and encouraging customers to be themselves.”
  • Styles echoes Butler’s theories that we can celebrate the differing elements of our gender identity regardless of societies expectations.
  • Through Styles’ “unique aesthetic” he aims to “blur the boundaries” of the traditional gender binary and project the idea that anyone, regardless of their gender, can wear beauty products, can dress how they choose to and can act how they want to.
  • The article also makes reference to money, which could be interpreted as Styles going against the male stereotype and using this ‘alternative’, unique gender expression as a way of regaining fame and making money. “In July, the global beauty industry was valued at $511bn”

EXAM STYLE PARAGRAPHS:

SCORE:

The male character is at a higher physical position to the female characters looking up at him. This could connote to the patriarchal, superior, dominating and more powerful position he holds, reflecting the views that men were of a higher position, men were meant to be earning money whilst their wife would stay at home, during the late 1960’s. The female characters are over-sexualised through their clothing and body language/position. This reflects the gender stereotype that women were objects of male pleasure linking to Laura Mulvey and The Male Gaze. Butler’s theories suggest that this representation of contrast between gender expression only promoted patriarchy and women being used only for sexualisation. This representation of over-emphasised femininity is unnecessary and has no link to the product being advertised. This also links to the theory of voyeurism – “One of the most obvious persuaders in advertising is sex”

MAYBELLINE:

This production is a counter-typical representation of gender and truly encapsulates Judith Butler’s ideas that gender is fluid, it is not fixed and set in place. Gender is changeable and can be expressed differently during different situations. The Maybelline advertisement also has links to sexuality and how sexuality is often attached to stereotypes as well as gender. Manny (MUA), featured in the video advert, is a gay male and the first male make up artist to be the face of the brand and be featured in a advert. Immediately, he creates a new representation of what ‘being a man’ looks like. His portrayal completely de-constructs the traditional binary that suggests that men should be overly masculine, heterosexual and should only be interested in playing sports, for example. His representation is quite feminine and the fact that he wears makeup and is connected to a makeup brand juxtaposes the archaic idea that only girls can use makeup.

JUDITH BUTLER:

Judith Butler’s ideas counteract Laura Mulvey’s ideas that gender is fixed as male and female which are seen as completely separate and different from each other. Her views complement modern identities such as non-binary and gender fluid, where people don’t feel represented as one, set gender, they see themselves as having elements of different genders and don’t stay in line with the ‘traditional’ binary. Butler says that gender is a social construct which categorises everyone into a stereotype. She emphasises the difference between sex and gender. Sex being the biological category assigned at birth (male or female), whereas gender being a social construct which encapsulates the idea that almost everything, from careers and clothing fit into a feminine or masculine category, either (boy or girl).

Notes, Representation, Theory

GAUNTLETT

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Identity is ‘the distinguishing character or personality of an individual’.

Gauntlet’s theories on identity look at how identity is personal to an individual being, it is also a way of grouping and identifying similar people together, forming a stereotypical identity, and it is something that is constructed as we grow, learn and develop.

Fluidity of Identity encompasses the idea that identity is everchanging, (and can even change on a daily basis), especially as we are influenced, as we adapt and experience new things.

Constructed identity is the idea that the public is passive and don’t think for themselves, they are influenced by powerful opinion leaders (such as the Media, and social influencers who people trust the opinions of). Constructed identity follows along with archaic stereotypical binary. For example, the constructed belief that heterosexuality is the ‘perfect’ sexuality.

Negotiated identity is the ‘middle ground’, in which we (as people with personal identities and self-expression) can decide how we present ourselves whilst also being influenced by the identities projected by the media, meeting the expectations of societal norms and those around us.

Collective identity is the theory that groups of people who share a similar interest or personality are often stereotyped together and are categorized and defined by this shared identity. As an example, football fans are grouped together as supporters of their team and given a typecast identity.

DAVID GAUNTLET: QUOTES

“Gauntlett suggests that marketing and advertising agencies construct multiple possibilities of who we might be.” – The media often present the most ‘idealistic’ or ‘perfect’ identity which is true to societies expectations and traditional binary representations.

“We now live in a post-traditional society” – Society is slowly moving away from archaic ideologies and celebrating diversity that contrasts to societies ‘norm’

“Contemporary mass media has helped to mainstream non-heteronormativity” – New, contemporary and diverse media has impacted the views of society as a whole. Not only has the mass media normalised diversity through gender identity, self-expression and allowed non-traditional identity to be accepted more freely, it has also helped society to move away from the stereotypical heterosexual lifestyle which is often presented as the ‘perfect’ way to live.

“Audiences are active, they control the representations they want to engage with” – Even though audiences are passive in a sense and are manipulated by opinion leaders who project representations which are made out to be ‘right’. Audiences are also active and can decide which of these representations they are influenced by, often the one that relates to themselves the most suitably.

“The positive thing we have now is the online culture made by everybody” – Everybody who uses social media has their own control over what they post and choose to put out to be seen. This modern type of media is a way of showcasing diversity as reality, in which all types of representations are collated together in one place, reflective of contemporary society.

Institution

LEVESON – 10 YEARS ON

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The Leveson Inquiry was a public inquiry into the ethics of the British Press. This inquiry was sparked by the ‘News International, phone hacking scandal’ and was advised by Prime Minister, David Cameron. The inquiry was chaired by Lord Justice Leveson (Brian Leveson).

This ‘scandal’ came about after many newspaper journalists were accused of phone hacking . Investigations from 2005 to 2007 showed that this was mainly directed towards celebrities and public figures (such as politicians). However, in 2011, further investigation displayed that members of the public, such as victims of the ‘7th July London Bombings’, were also hacked.

The Leveson Report was published in November 2012, this reviewed the British media. It also proposed a recommendation for a new organisation to take over the ‘Press Complaints Commission’. This new organisation would be recognised by the UK Government.

Following events at ‘The News of the World’, Part 2 of the inquiry was delayed. In 2017, this was dropped. Matt Hancock confirmed this in 2018. David Cameron appreciated the evidence although didn’t followed through with new legislation.

Production

PRODUCTION – ADVERT (SOI)

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I intend to create two print adverts to advertise a ‘Vaseline’ lip balm product. I aim to create a separate radical and reactionary product to display different representations. I loosely followed the “curious cat”, EOS lip balm campaign as my style model.  I will include iconic signifiers of the products, a dominant signifier of my model’s face, anchorage with information about the product, a slogan and indexical signs that relate to the campaign connected to the product. However, in the historical advert, the main image will be in black and white to create the impression that the advert was produced in the past. 

The radical product will be a modern advertisement. The Vaseline lip balm I will be using for the radical representation includes the iconic signifier of the pride flag and information regarding the ‘LGBT+ Switchboard’. I will create a campaign in support of the LGBTQ+ community. I will also use a male model to create a counter-typical representation and to juxtapose ‘societal gender norms’ in beauty and skincare adverts which use female models to play to a social stereotype, linking beauty with femininity only. To reflect these modern views, I will use the slogan, “celebrate our differences”, in my advert. I intend for a ‘young’ audience to consume my product. It will be advertised to appeal to young women (aged 14-35), to play to the gender stereotype, and young LGBTQ+ individuals who see themselves represented through the diversity of the brand’s support . Generally, the advert would most likely appeal to ‘The Mainstreamer’ and those of the working class,  who can afford to buy from high street beauty stores, but aren’t willing to spend money on high end products. I believer that a mainstream beauty magazine, such as ‘Cosmopolitan’ or ‘Elle’ would generate my product as they often contain a range of adverts which aim to project to counter-typical identities and groups of people of ranging financial classes. 

The reactionary product will be set in the 1950’s historical period. The Vaseline lip balm I will be using will not include the iconic sign of the pride flag and it will be plain, normal branding to communicate the lack of diversity within the beauty industry at this time. I will blur the main image of my model to ensure that her lips and the product, which were in colour, will stand out. I will create a highly edited image which removes any blemishes to also represent the beauty standards at this time. I will include the slogan “give the perfect kiss with Vaseline”, this reflects Laura Mulvey’s theory of the ‘Male Gaze’ and how historical representation of women and femininity was for the pleasure of men. I intend for an ‘older’ audience to consume my product. It will be advertised to appeal to heterosexual, married women (aged 25-40), who are positioned to believe that using this product will help “give the perfect kiss” or give pleasure to men. I think that a mainstream 1950’s beauty magazine would produce my advert. 

Advertising, Maybelline, Notes

CSP – MAYBELLINE

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Maybelline has featured its first gay male, brand advocate (Manny Gutierrez), as well as selectively representing a female person of colour (Shayla Mitchell). They are both ‘influencers’ who post beauty content online.

“a gay YouTube star has become the first male model for international cosmetic giant Maybelline.”

That Boss Life Analysis | Close Study Product (CSP)

This representation was a spark for change within the beauty industry. Not only was it one of the first representation of a homosexual male in the forefront of a makeup advertisement, it included many features of diversity such a race, social class (lifestyle), gender and sexuality.

The representation of Manny’s sexuality is quite exaggerated and definitely plays to the social stereotype. Linking to Gauntlet’s theory on identity and the way in which social groups are often categorized based on a constructed reality and stereotype. The decriminalisation of homosexuality creates a contrast to representation in ‘Score’, meaning that brands now have more freedom to selectively represent those of diverse identities.

The advert itself is on the borderline of being ‘cringe’ and ‘annoying’, however, this sparks conversation on representation and Maybelline as a brand, therefore subtly promotes sales. Another advertising strategy used in the advert, is the iconic sound effect of a ‘magic wand’ which is a way of saying that using the product can transform your appearance and make you look like ‘a boss’, to quote the campaign.

Advertising, Notes, Score

CSP – SCORE

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CSP 3 – SCORE ADVERTISEMENT

In the scene, the dominant signifier of the male character is being put in a position of power over the female characters.

Textual Analysis :

  • Advert slogan – “Get what you’ve always wanted”
  • Image of products
  • Information on product
  • 1 Male Character and 5 Female Characters
  • The advertisement contains iconic signs of a ‘safari’ scene with use of animal print, plants, leaves,.
  • A shotgun is used, linking to the male character’s pride and masculine identity. The gun connotes to violence, conflict and dominance – the toxic masculinity being portrayed
  • The male character is being held on a platform, carried by the women. He is not only physically above them, but, the advert also suggests that he is superior to them socially.

The male character is seemingly heterosexual, he seems to be enjoying the female attention he is being given. He creates as reactionary representation and stays in line with the social stereotype. Specifically the lack of homosexual representation at the time of production, (1967). All of the characters being portrayed are white, there is no representation of people of colour. This advert is racist in a sense as it could be suggesting that people of colour are at an even more inferior position.

The advertisement is also classist. The male and female characters are seemingly of a high class due to their well groomed appearance (in the A1 social class bracket). Evidently, the product is for ‘The Aspirer’ although it would be found for a relatively inexpensive price at a high street store so would most likely appeal to ‘The Mainstreamer’ and those in a middle class bracket.

The female characters are dressed in revealing clothing and are over sexualised and their body’s, over emphasised. This is yet another example of the way in which the female body is used to satisfy the male gaze (Laura Mulvey), a form of pleasure for male gratification. This representation of femininity is unnecessary and has no link to the product being advertised. This also links to the theory of voyeurism – “One of the most obvious persuaders in advertising is sex”

The narrative being portrayed is that, before the man used Score’s new hair product – ‘Score Liquid Hair Cream’, he was at the same level and status as everybody else. Now, he is put on a platform of dominance, on which he can ‘get what he has always wanted’. The advert leads the audience to believe that, in the future, the man will always have the female attention and toxic masculine identity he was deprived of before using the product. The advertisement also links to gender roles and how, at the time of production, women were obliged to attend to a man’s every need. The male role was to sit back and relax.

The use of the slogan/tag line ‘Get what you’ve always wanted’ positions the passive audience to believe that this product has the power to elevate your social status.

Audience, Notes, Theory

QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE

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  • Qualitative Data = Interpretative
  • Quantitative Data = Numerical

Research Product 1 : EOS Lip Balm

  • Working class/ Young workers/ Students (C2/C1 Social Grade)
  • Mid range income (Those who can afford mid-range priced products from high street stores)
  • Ages: 14-35
  • Young women, such as the woman represented on the advertisement
  • Good education
  • The Mainstreamer
  • The Reformer

Research Product 2 : Vogue Lipstick

  • Middle class/ Young workers (AB Social Grade)
  • Mid/High range income (Vogue is a high-end income magazine which promotes high end products)
  • Ages: 25-40
  • Young women, LGBTQ+ Individuals, anyone who wears makeup
  • Good educational background
  • The Aspirer
  • The Succeeder

Advertisement Product : Vaseline

  • Working class/ Young workers/ Students (C1/C2 Social Grade)
  • Mid range income (Those who can afford mid-range priced products from high street stores)
  • Ages 14-35
  • Young women who would normally buy lip balm products such as Vaseline. In this case, with the use of the pride campaign and support of the community, LGBTQ+ individuals who have struggled with their identity and see themselves represented through this product
  • Good educational background
  • The Mainstreamer