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Feminist Critical Thinking

Toril Moi defines and differentiates the following as:

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

THIRD WAVE FEMINISM

  • Began in the early 1990s
  • Coined by Naomi Wolf
  • A response to the generation gap between the feminist movement of the 1960s and ’70s
  • Sees women’s lives as intersectional
  • It demonstrates a pluralism towards race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender and nationality when discussing feminism
  • 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

Raunch Culture
According to Ariel Levy, in her book Female Chauvinist Pigs, ‘raunch culture’ is the idea of liberation and involves new freedoms for sexual exhibition, experimentation and presentation. However, it may also be playing out the same old patterns of exploitation, objectification and misogyny.

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

bell hook
bell hook (always spelt in lower case – real name: Gloria Jean Watkins) advocates media literacy, the need to engage with popular culture to understand class struggle, domination, renegotiation and revolution.
in a postcolonial context, women carry the double burden of being colonized by imperial powers and subordinated by colonial and native men

Revision Notes

David Gauntlett

Prof Talks – 7. Creativity w/ Dr. David Gauntlett

“Contemporary media practices mean that heteronormatitvity does not completely dominate” – Heterosexuality doesn’t have full control of modern media.

“Gender is socially constructed” –  As a social construct, gender can vary in different societies and is liable to change over time.

“Audiences realise they can change their identities” – They can be whoever they choose to be and they cannot be held back by society.

“Audiences are active. They control the representations they want to engage with and can actively reject those that do not appeal.” – An active audience will engage and respond to forms of media in different ways and are capable of challenging the ideas within it.

“The media provides a range of products in which a huge diversity of identities is portrayed.” – In society, there are many people who choose to present themselves with a variety of identities.

Judith Butler

Judith Butler on the culture wars, JK Rowling and living in  â?oanti-intellectual timesâ??

“Society constructs a binary view of gender” – A binary view is a social construct made up of two parts that are framed as complete opposites (e.g. male and female).

“Society also presents male/female relationships as the norm” – The world view is that heterosexuality is the normal or preferred sexual orientation.

“Audiences learn how to perform gender via the media.” – The media in today’s society constructs our own gender identity for us.

“Alternatives to the gender binary exist but are presented as subversive.” – Genders other than male and female exist but are seen as disruptive.

“The media reinforces heteronormativity through heteronormative representations” – The current media supports heterosexuality as the norm by only representing heterosexual relationships.

Notes At Home

Judith Butler

Judith Butler is an American gender theorist who goes by ‘she’ or ‘they’ pronouns and is legally non-binary. Butler states that gender is ‘performative’ and a ‘social construct.’ She believes that our gendered identities aren’t established at birth, nor in childhood or adolescence, but are formed through a continuous performance of gendered behaviour. Butler argues that the dominance of heterosexuality representation in media maintains typical male and female identities as a social norm. She critiques the notion that gender exists inside the body and suggests that these gendered identities are realised through our desires, sexual contacts and physical expressions of love – they are not a fixed object and are created as a result of our behaviours.

Score

The women in the Score advert are young, slim and are wearing sexualised outfits that reinforce the idea of the male gaze. They are carrying a man above their heads on some form of pedestal as though he is a godlike being and are looking and reaching out to the man in awe. The exotic setting also fulfils male fantasies and promotes escapism. The text on the advert, “Get what you’ve always wanted” directly addresses the viewer which makes it more personal and implies that the product will make women attracted to you and fulfil your fantasies.

Maybelline

The Maybelline advert touches on issues of gender representation, ethnicity and lifestyle. Shayla Mitchell and Manny Mua are significant as they are makeup artists, beauty bloggers and brand ambassadors of Maybelline. They therefore act as a form of celebrity endorsement/box office draw, particularly to younger audiences who are likely to know of these influencers, therefore encouraging them to keep watching as it features people, they are interested in. The connotations of gold, the setting of New York and the slow motion sequencing of the mascaras being thrown on to the bed immediately focus our attention on the narrative of two friends having a fun weekend away with luxury and glamour.

David Gauntlett

Fluidity Of Identity – Having a fluid identity means having the ability to change how you see yourself, the world, and your actions. David Gauntlett states that we have a “greater diversity of identities”.

Constructed Identity – There are many things people may use to construct their own identities. Media helps to “construct” an identity for ourselves suggesting ways of living by acting on their advice or recognising ourselves in a character of a film.

Negotiated Identity – The line where your desired appearance to other people meets the expectation that other people have of you. Showing how we want a balance of being with others and retaining our own strong identity. 

Collective Identity – A reference to the natural human desire of belonging, specifically to a group. Our likeliness to try to ‘fit in’ with others and engage.

Leveson: 10 Years On

Sir Brian Leveson hails Kingston University's online archive of landmark  public inquiry in to journalism during Discover Leveson project launch  event - News - Kingston University London

The Leveson Inquiry, led by judge Sir Brian Leveson, was a public inquiry that looked at the culture, practices and ethics of the British press, following the phone hacking scandal in 2011. A series of public hearings were held throughout 2011 and 2012 and a report was published in November 2012. The Prime Minister at the time, David Cameron, under whose direction the inquiry had been established, said that he welcomed many of the findings, but declined to pass the necessary law. The second part of the inquiry was meant to be an investigation into the relationship between journalists and the police, but the Conservative Party‘s 2017 manifesto stated that the second part of the inquiry would be dropped entirely, and this was confirmed by Matt Hancock in a statement to the House of Commons in March 2018.

Statement of Intent: Advertisement

I intend to advertise the product ‘Celebrations’ – a miniature chocolate bar collection by Mars, Incorporated. I will create two different adverts – one radical and one reactionary.

For my radical advert, I am going to base it around an 80s and 90s themed advertisement. I want to present the excitement of a literal celebration to appeal to all ages and races (specifically a younger audience ranging from ages 7 – 25), so I will include bright colours and lights. I also want it to be aimed towards friends and families – so it might include a diverse group of people, to show that the product is available to share with everyone. This will also coincide with the ‘Celebrations’ tagline: “Share the joy”, which I shall include in a bold font with a contrasting colour to the background to make it stand out. The product being advertised will be the dominant signifier and this will be placed at the front of all the layers to draw attention to it.

For my reactionary advert, I am going to design it in the style of a modern advertisement. I want to feature Laura Mulvey’s idea of the male gaze. My dominant signifier will be a man in the centre of the advert surrounded by women gazing lustfully at him. This will entice other men into purchasing the product due to the voyeurism that consumes the hegemonic masculinity in our society.

dominant signifier /

ideology

paradigm

icon

index

symbolic

signifier

signified

David Gauntlett

fluidity of representation

collective identity

male gaze /

patriarchy

voyeurism /

dominant ideology

hegemony /

Uses and Gratifications

NEEDSRESEARCH PRODUCT 1RESEARCH PRODUCT 2MY PRODUCT
Understanding Self
EnjoymentBright colours
EscapismFruit with personality
Knowledge About The WorldLearning about different fruits
Self Confidence, Self EsteemFeels good after drinking
Strengthen Connections With Family And/Or FriendsParents buy the product for their childA box of chocolates that you can share with others
Any Other Category Or Theme

RESEARCH PRODUCT 1: