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

1st Wave Feminism

‘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)

2nd Wave Feminism

‘the feminist literary criticism of today is the product of the women’s movement of the 1960’s’

(Barry 2017:123)

feminist – a political position

‘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)

after the first wave of feminism, which was galvanised by organisations such as, the British Women’s Suffrage Committee (1867), the International Council of Women (1888), the The International Alliance of Women (1904), and so on who, in early part of the 20th Century, worked to get women the right to vote.

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

Looking at the construction of being male and female. It is about civil rights. Equal rights for women, sex discrimination app. In 60’s, second wave of feminism. It started about 50 years ago, of the second wave of feminism.

The radical stance of #MeToo to the Free the Nipple campaign, which Miley Cyrus endorsed and supported (which may encourage you to re-evaluate your initial reading of her video Wrecking Ball above)

Feminist – Political Standpoint

Female – Gender (Matter of biology)

Feminine – A set of traits in society

“Sexism” was coined in the 1960’s along with “Racism” in the American civil rights movement. It refers to the ways in which men and women are brought up to view each other antagonistically.

Virginia Woolf was part of the first wave of feminism, and she stated that women should have the same opportunities that men have. She used the metaphor of Shakespeare being a woman as an example to show what we have missed out on culturally by not giving women the same chances that we have given men throughout the years.

The second wave of feminism started around the late 60’s early 70’s, and was based around women working for the right to vote

THIRD WAVE FEMINISM

Third wave feminism was coined in the late 90’s by Naomi Wolf, challenging and re-contextualizing some of the definitions of femininity during the second wave of feminism. The third wave of feminism sees women’s lives as intersectional. The third wave of feminism follows these characteristics:

• 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

According to Ariel Levy, in her book Female Chauvinist Pigs raunch culture is on the one hand, the idea of liberation involves new freedoms for sexual exhibition, experimentation and presentation,and on the other, it may well be playing out the same old patterns of exploitation, objectification and misogyny?

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

‘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

Intersectionality

The articulation of intersectionality began to take shape in 2013, “In an attempt to understand what it means to be oppressed as ‘a woman’, some feminist scholars sought to isolate gender oppression from other forms of oppression”. Although early ideas of intersectionality can be traced back to the 80’s through work by Kimberle Crenshaw or propositions asserted around Queer Theory.

Feminist/female/feminineFeminist-A political position

Feminist-A political position

Female = a matter of biology

Female = a matter of biology

First wave of feminism

‘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)

2nd Wave Feminism

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

Fluidity of identity – Having the ability to change how you see yourself and how men and women are represented in media, the world, and your actions. The “fluidity of identity” means that the person identity is always changing.

Constructed identity – Constructing identity involves life experiences, relationships and connections. People can now construct different genders and ideas to make an identity.

Negotiated identity – The processes where people reach agreements to determine who is who in a relationship or society.

Collective identity – Shared sense of belonging to a group, such as fitting into a group of people with common interests like friends, family, religion or gender.

David Gauntlett:

“Gender is socially constructed”

“Linked to family expectations and rigid social codes”

“Audience realise they can change their identities”

“Contemporary media practises mean that heteronormativity does not completely dominate”

“Media manufactures narrow interpretations of certain roles or lifestyles”

Judith Butler:

“Our bodies or sex do not define our gendered identities”

“Society also presents male/female relationships as the norm”

“Our gendered identities are not naturally given but constructed through repetition and ritual”

“The media assists in the marginalisation of subversive identities through absent representations, abjection and parody”

Gauntlett Text Notes

“The roles that men and women are expected to fulfil are tightly regulated” – this implies that men and women already have preset expectations which can not be worked around, and these are also constantly enforced with notable punishment for absconding to the ideas.

“Most story structures are concerned with the transformation of a central hero” – this could link to the idea that we can relate ourselves to the central core character in fiction and aspire to be like them in the challenges they face and overcome.

“Marketing and advertising agencies construct multiple possibilities of who we might be through products branding” – this could relate to the idea that there are multiple future identities we could attain, and that the potential range in identities that they could inspire have very few bounds.

“Gender is socially constructed” – this means that gender defers from the biological term of “sex” but is instead something made up by our society, and by the views of other people.

“Contemporary media practices mean that heteronormativity does not completely dominate” – this could indicate that heterosexuality is becoming less and less prevalent as time goes on and new ideas surface.

Butler Text Notes

“Gender does not exist inside the body” – this suggests that the biological idea of sex has no correlation to someone’s gender, and as such gender’s definition is a rather grey area.

“The normalisation of heterosexuality is established as a result of long-standing social rituals” – the idea that long ago, homosexuality was not typically accepted or even remotely believed in, and as such heterosexuality dominated in society.

“Alternatives to the gender binary exist but are presented as subversive.” – This means that genders that are not clearly labelled as male and female are disruptive to society and are therefore not needed or wanted.

“The absence of homosexuality in mythic stories provides evidence that our natural sexual inclinations are heterosexually orientated”- This shows that the dominant ideology is straight couples, and this has been shown to us in stories passed down from long ago.

Judith Butler :

“our gender identities are not fixed objects; they are constituted as a result of our behaviors”

“our gendered identities are not naturally given but constructed through repetition and ritual.” 

“Society also presents male/female relationships as the norm”

“Our bodies or sex do not define our gendered identities” 

“rituals and performative actions constantly reinforce our identities: the act of wearing makeup”

David Gauntlet :

“Gender is socially constructed”

“Audiences realise they can change their identities”

“media manufacturers narrow interpretations of certain roles or lifestyles”

“the characters we watch in television shows or on online games offer us examples of how we can transfigure ourselves”