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David Gauntlett – media & identity

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Fluidity of identity – an identity that has the potential to be changed and shaped frequently in many directions. 

This is often due to different representations of men and women in media and as a result people find themselves adapting and changing their identity’s in order to reciprocate said representations they are exposed to.

Constructed identity – an identity that has been built upon experiences, relationships and connections. A persons identity will differ depending on:

  • where they’ve been brought up
  • how they have been brought up 
  • who they have been brought up with 
  • their financial state and/or social class 
  • a persons faith 
  • life experience

The list if different influences is endless and each factor can also be affected by one another.

Negotiated identity – the process of which people reach an agreement of their identity and well as their relationships with other people’s identities – once the agreement is established, people are expected to remain faithful to their identity.

This establishes what people can expect from one another and therefore reinforces the inter-relations that holds relationships together.

Collective identity – cognitive and affective attained from belonging to certain groups (ethnic, gender, class, sexual orientation ect…) creating a sense of belonging to that group for the individual.

It seems that if someone begins to reciprocate certain practices of a group, such as they way they dress, their mannerisms etc, they will become part of that persons own individual identity and will develop a sense of belonging within that group. This can sometimes take over other aspects of a persons individual identity.

Traditional and Post-Traditional Media Consumption: Anthony Giddens

‘The notion of who we are is heavily determined by long-standing social forces’

Too often, people are basing their identity on what they are told is ‘right’ by surrounding influences such as institutions, media, family members, friends, religion etc, rather than how they actually want to present themselves. Although…

‘We are transitioning… to a distinctly different phase that he calls ‘late modernity’.’

meaning that certain social constructs of the past are relaxing and people are coming to realise that they have control over their identity and have the power to shape it themselves, despite what other influences tell them otherwise. However, in my opinion, as traditional conventions begin to die out, more conventions begin to appear which quickly become seemingly hard to exceed.

Reflex Identity Construction: David Gauntlett

‘audiences are now in charge of the remote control’

Whilst media attempts to influence our identities and encourage us to look and act in a certain way, it is actually up to us as consumers to decide how far we let those messages influences and therefore it is us who control how we want to look and how we want to act.

Media manufactures ‘narrow the the interpretations of certain roles or lifestyles’

Gauntlett suggests that the media does not present every aspect, good or bad, of certain identities which creates a huge issue when it comes to interpreting these representations as it can cause people to feel insecure in terms of how they perceive themselves as they begin to wonder – why doesn‘t my hair look like that? or, why does she look like that but i don’t? etc…

With regards to the power of media narratives, we can ‘borrow from these stories when shaping our narratives of the self’

He highlights a positive aspect of media, the way in which TV characters or video game characters influence they way in which we build upon our own character and often how we can become someone thing better. however, in some situations the power and influence of media narratives could be negative, depending on what type of characters you are exposing yourself to.

Audience, Exam Prep, Notes, Research

NOtes – Revision – Gauntlet & Butler

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David Gauntlet quotes / phrases :

  • “We are transitioning from a society in which our identities were constructed via rigid traditions to a distinctly different phase that he calls ‘late modernity” – Changed from a society of stereotypes to opinions.
  • “Tradition dominates the notion of who we are and is heavily determined by long standing social forces” – Traditions and hierarchy are a reason for our stereotypes to the present day.
  • “Social roles of gender in a traditionally ordered society”
  • “Marketing and advertising agencies construct multiple possibilities of who we might be through products branding” – Advertising giving us a glimpse of who we could become (potential ‘us’)
  • “Transformations offered suggest that our identities are not fixed” – Meaning in games, they lead with the main characters weaknesses to gain happiness, this can give us the right motivation to give us a chance to change who we are.

Judith Butler quotes / phrases :

  • “Myths reinforce male power as the norm because males are the more naturally dominant gender” – This displays that the idea of male dominant society is true.
  • “Micro performances that continuously signal our identity to ourselves and to others” – Explains that the way we act is a form of our own identity shown.
  • “Biological anatomies do not determine our gender” – This can related to people feeling as if they are more masculine than feminine even though they are a woman. A mental decision that our brains come to.
  • “Male and female identities are not naturally configured”
  • “Gender is not solely determined by primary experiences during childhood” – Meaning throughout our lifetime, people change their gender and sexual orientation, some people don’t stay the same gender they were when they were a child.
Notes

revision notes

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Butler –

‘Our bodies or sex do not define our gendered identities.’ – Meaning your identity is defiant of your gender not your outward appearance or DNA

‘ the media assists in the marginalisation of subversive identities through absent representations, abjection and parody.’ – meaning the media creates an idealised view of how each gender should perform, when in reality people should decide freely how they wish to act, according to their gender.

‘Society also presents male/female relationships as the norm’ – meaning society’s idealised view of a relationship is one between two different genders not the same.

‘Alternatives to the gender binary exist but are presented as subversive.’ – meaning genders of which are not labeled male and female are disruptive and not needed.

‘Our gendered identities are not naturally given but constructed through repetition and ritual.’ – meaning the way we construct ourselves by gender, is only the persona that society wish to see.

Gauntlett –

‘Contemporary media practices mean that heteronormativity does not completely dominate’ – meaning a more inclusive community is apparent now, and that heterosexuality is not seen as the only accepted sexual orientation.

‘Audiences realise they can change their identities’ – meaning we are starting to create our own identities and are ignoring the idealisation created by society

‘Front covers of magazines such as Vogue and Men’s health are shop windows to amore sexier, more successful future self for their reader-ships’ – meaning identity is something constructed by the media and not by ourselves

‘Gender is socially constructed’ – meaning gender is only something constructed by the media and what we see day to day

‘Linked to family expectations and rigid social codes’ – meaning depending on your gender, there are different expectations to adhere to

Notes, Research, Uncategorized

notes on butler:

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Judith butler talks about how in society, how gender roles play a part in day to day life.butler suggests that specific qualities and other features don’t define what gender you are and that gender is a choice. Butler suggests that gender is fluid, changeable, plural a set of categories to be played out and performed by individual subjects in individual moments in time and space. butler suggests things like lipstick lesbian, butch and femme and girly girl and how these traits determine the gender of the people based on attributes behavior and that being born male or female will indefinitely be the way a person acts or chooses to associate to.

“Lipstick lesbian” is slang for a lesbian who exhibits a greater amount of feminine gender attributes, such as wearing make up(t dresses or skirts.

Butch and femme (French language, meaning woman) are terms used in the lesbian subculture to ascribe or acknowledge a masculine (butch) or feminine (femme).

Girly girl is a term for a girl or woman who chooses to dress and behave in a traditionally feminine style, such as wearing pink, using make-up, using perfume, dressing in skirts, dresses and blouses, and talking about relationships and other activities which are associated with the traditional gender role of a girl.

Exam Prep, Notes, Research

Revision notes – Home

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David Gauntlet

“Audiences are in control of the media – adapting and assimilating ideas about themselves through the various representation that the media presents.” – This illustrates how the audience adapts themselves to fit in to society and it is naturally happening. They create the person that they want to be to represent their true self.

“Gender is socially constructed” – The way that both genders behaviours change is naturally reoccurring.

“Audiences realise they can change their identities” Society have no power over them to choose who they can become. For example a male can act as a female, and a female can act as a male.

“The media provides a range of products in which a huge diversity of identities is portrayed.” – In our society there is a huge amount of individuals who portray themselves with a varies of different identities.

“Audiences use global media to offer alternatives to the identities that society constructs for them.” – Social media gives the impression that they change people’s identities and that their behaviour changes.

Judith Butler

“Our gendered identities are not naturally given but constructed through repetition and ritual.” Individuals change their identities over and over again through the act of others.

“Our bodies or sex do not define our gendered identities” – Male or female can choose their identity.

“The performance of gender trouble is a difficult, sometimes painful, process given the entrenched nature of heteronormativity” – Individuals suffer from people who judge them for changing there identities to be who they want to become.

“Gender is not solely determined by primary experiences during childhood” – You behaviour does not change from childhood, it is just naturally happens.

“Our genders are culturally rather naturally formed” – Society influences and interacts with the audience which changes people’s behaviour.

Exam Prep, Maybelline, Notes, Representation, Score

Home notes

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Judith Butler

Judith Butler discusses the ideas of gender representation such as gender is fluid, changeable, and plural a set of categories to be played out and performed by individual subjects in individual moments in time and space.

Identities

Lipstick Lesbian – It’s a slang word that means feminine gender attributes. Lipstick Lesbian is used to demonstrate the feminine gender expression of bisexual women.

Butch and femme – This is a term for lesbian subculture. The relationship of the lesbian community is organized principle for sexual relating that is varied over the course of the 20th century.

Girly girl – The term for this is to behave in a feminine way. This explores the range of gender positions where a girly girl is seen as fluid and partially embodied.

Representation, Identity & Self

Identity gives us the impression about the idea of knowing and understanding the self in relation to others. Judith Butler explains how women are females with feminine traits, being heterosexuals who desire is directed at men. Men are males with masculine behavioural traits, being heterosexuals. Butler argues that being born a male of female does not determine behaviour, she believes that individuals behave in different ways to fit into society. “The idea of gender is an act, or performance.” which gives us the concept that it produces a series of effects. There can be no gender identity before the gendered acts because the acts are continuously constituting the identity.

Score

Score considers its historical, social and cultural contexts, as it relates to gender roles, sexuality and the historical context of advertising techniques. The Score advert was produced in the year of decriminalisation of homosexuality and as such, the representation of heterosexuality could be read as signalling more anxiety than might first appear. Butler believes that there can be no gender identity as it can produce a series of effects. There are 5 women and one man to suggest that you will get all the females if you buy the product. They also use a lot of words that are repeatedly repeating itself. The audience responses to the narrative because it influences and manipulates the men into something different. Butler gives us the idea that gender is an act or a performance.

Maybelline

The video ad touches on issues of gender representation, ethnicity and lifestyle. The ad, like its 1960s counterpart, uses an aspirational image showing two friends who do not conform to masculine and feminine ideals but are nonetheless powerful: happy in their own skin, confident in their bodies and their sexuality. This relates to Judith Butler as she explains that being born a male of female does not determine behaviour. The whole campaign is youthful and empowering. Slogans like ‘let’s get bossed out’. After the recent demise of gay icon George Michael, several gay men had paid tribute to the singer recalling how he was a huge inspiration when they were growing up and helped make their coming out easier, furthermore Judith Butler suggests that that’s why people behave different so they fit into society.

Exam Prep, Notes

Home School Work – Essay Notes

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“What it means to be a woman does not remain the same from decade to decade” as stated by Judith Butler indicates that the general society’s ideas and expectations around women are constantly changing as time goes on. For example, a long time ago, women were generally expected to not leave the house very much and focus on cleaning up after the man, and not work very strenuous jobs. While this view is still relevant to some degree today, it is far less prevalent, with women having no general “expectations” and they are allowed and not confined to particular jobs and hobbies.

“The historical meaning of gender can change as its norms are re-enacted, refused or recreated” as stated by Judith Butler suggests that gender is never fixed and is ever changing, based on how we as a society act towards the normal behaviors of certain genders, or even create trends which could become very prevalent. This possibility is very realistic when ideas like the two step flow model as depicted by Lasarfelt are taken into account, and the idea that if you use famous and influential people as advertising to encourage certain things, then a lot of people may follow suit and in turn this provides people with a lot of influence and power over the impressionable public.

“When we are “girled”, we are entered into a realm of girldom that has been built up over a long time” – this indicates that people are grouped into certain categories which have been created by people from places and times far away from the present. I don’t think this is a positive idea as people are constantly being forced into stereotypes which they have no say in, and are often misrepresented in this way.

Notes

Notes

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Notes from the article –

‘“bring joyful experiences and products that excite the senses and blur the boundaries”.’

‘There is a sense that this brand is about celebrating what is already there and encouraging customers to be themselves.’

‘His signature look’

Notes

Gauntlett

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Fluidity of identity

Gauntlett commented on the changing representation of men and women in mainstream media. He states “Identity is complicated; everyone’s got one.” It is clear there is a twentieth century set of beliefs present in advertisement linking back to ‘the typical housewife’ and the ‘dominant male’.

Constructed identity

The magazines we read or the films we watch all provide information about ways we should go about our lifestyles. For example we are influenced by the ideas of which are expressed by the y opinion leaders who dominate our feeds and screens.

Negotiated identity

The media can help us establish our own identity. 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

Collective identity refers to our sense of belonging to group, especially because there is shared interest or love for a media text.

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).