TASK #2

Books:

1) Feminism, femininity, and popular culture By: Hollows, Joanne. Manchester University Press (2000)

The ‘image of women’ debate:

• The media (‘effect’) message which presented stereotypical image of women, it claimed, not only socialised children into ‘traditional sex roles’ but also taught them that they ‘should direct their hearts towards heart and home’ (PP.21-24)

This suggests that this gender fix is constructed between male and female from a young age.
Women as image: women’s genre: text and audiences

• If ‘man’ and ‘masculinity’ signify activity, then ‘women’ and ‘femininity’ can only signify its absence, passivity. (Cook and Johnston,1988,27-8)

This quotes shows that men are represented as active whereas women are portrayed as passive. This has been shown throughout history.

• Mulvey’s ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’: women are an object of visual pleasure for the men spectator. The erotic pleasure in ‘looking at another person as an object’. She argues, it is a woman who is coded as an erotic object for a male gaze.

Mulvey’s theory suggests that women are being objected in music videos or any another media text in order to appeal to the male gaze and the male audience. Women are constructed to in this way to appeal to the man audience.

• Mulvey: ‘in a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female’ (PP.43-50)

This implies that there is not an equal division between men and women as man are still dominant and women are subordinated by them.

Fashion and beauty practice: (PP. 138-139) chap 7:

• ‘black and white women are objectified differently’

This quote signifies that women of different race or ethnicity are represented in different ways such as black women as aggressive and violent whereas white women are inviting the sexual gaze.

Youth cultures and popular music: (PP.162-167) chap 8:

• According to Sarah Thornton’s ‘club cultures’ – subcultural capitalism had a large increase amongst women: - subcultural capital is ‘objectified’ or embodied’ in having the right look, the right record collection. ‘’ girls are not actually one of the boys’.

This suggests that women are not considered to be as one of the men even though they construct their image and looks in certain ways.

Love songs and teen bop: (PP.174-181)

• Mavis Bayton commented that pop music is important in women’s live. She argues that ‘rock is serious’ music- ‘there are some sort of ‘natural’ sexuality which rock expresses’- this allows women to become more dominant as it ‘allows for direct physical and psychological expressions of sexuality.

Bayton quote signifies the idea that women can express their feelings, sexuality and become more dominant through the use of ‘rock music’ which is more aggressive and powerful.

• The spice girls have, in turn, spawed their own female fans, and their slogan’ girl power’- (popular feminism) identified by the British media.

This means that through the use of popular feminism girls gain more power and created more dominant girl group in music such as the spice girls, pussycat doll or girls aloud.

2) Hartley, J. (2002). Communication, cultural and media studies: the key concepts (3. edition.). London, Routledge.

'Stereotype has entered public life as a term that is used to describe how fixed qualities or traits may be attributed to groups in the way they are represented in various media'

This quote suggests that different stereotypes are shown through various media text which allows audiences make different interpretation of each text or image.

3) A message for the media, young women talk- Jane Waghorn (editor) (P.49)

'The media are helping to perpetuate the divisions between men and women'

This means that the media is allowing the division between men and women to take help as this often divides them into different groups and classes.

4) Johnson, Allan G. “Patriarchy, The System: An It, Not a He, a Them, or an Us.” The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy. Temple University Press, (1997) (P. 94)

“From the expression of emotion to economics to the natural environment, gaining and exercising control is a continuing goal of great importance [in a patriarchal culture]”

This quote suggests that man have to feel the need to be needed, in control and masculine as this is how they are able to express their emotions.

5) David Gauntlett- Media, Gender and Identity (1995)
‘Masculinity crisis- women show that they can do everything that men can, this provider role becomes diminished’

Gauntlett suggests that men were more likely to be aggressive, whereas women were likely to be passive. This means that women are considered to be weak whilst ineffectual, victimised, and supportive. men are represented more active and strong,adventurous and victorious.

6) Gaye Tuchman-symbolic annihilation

‘Madonna’s erotica album blurred gender confusions, fluidity of sexuality, and transgression of masculine and feminine stereotypes’

This suggests that Madonna was a sexual icon in 1980-90s challenging traditional assumptions about female sexuality which made her a great role model for women and a pop icon.

Books STILL TO READ:
1))Gender,Race & Class in Media -by: Gail Dines & Jean M.Humez (editors)
2))Media Studies Therapies Approadies-by Dan Laughey(2009)