Further feminist theory: blog tasks

Further feminist theory: blog tasks

Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) to find Media Factsheet #169 Further Feminist Theory. Save it to USB or email it to yourself so you have access to the reading for homework. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What definitions are offered by the factsheet for ‘feminism ‘and ‘patriarchy’?
-->Feminism is a movement which aims for equality for women – to be treated as equal to men socially, economically, and politically. It is a movement that is focused not on ‘hating’ men, or suggesting that women are superior. Instead, feminism is focused on highlighting the power and suppression nature of the patriarchy (male dominance in society). Feminists see the patriarchy as a limitation to women receiving the same treatment and benefits as their male counterparts.

2) Why did bell hooks publish her 1984 book ‘Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center’?
--> She identified a lack of diversity within the feminist movement and argued that these diverse voices had been marginalised, being put outside the main body of feminism. hooks argues that feminism’s goal to make all women equal to men is flawed; not all men are equal to men as a result of oppression, sexuality, ethnicity. hooks used her work to offer a more inclusive feminists theory that advocated for women within a sisterhood to acknowledging and accepting their differences.

3) What aspects of feminism and oppression are the focus for a lot of bell hooks’s work?
-->"Women in lower class and poor groups, particularly those that are non-white, would not have defined women’s liberation as women gaining social equality with men since they are continually reminded in their everyday lives that all women do not share a common social status.”

4) What is intersectionality and what does hooks argue regarding this?
-->Intersectionality is used to describe overlapping or intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination or discrimination.bell hooks argues that experiences of class, gender, sexuality etc cannot be completely understood if the influences of racialisation are not considered. hooks argues that understanding intersectionality is vital to gaining political and social equality and improving our democratic system.

5) What did Liesbet van Zoonen conclude regarding the relationship between gender roles and the mass media?
-->For van Zoonen “gender is a, if not the, crucial component of culture”, in particular when investigating the production of mass mediated meanings.Van Zoonen has a postmodernist understanding of science as something which is socially constructed and grounded in the social experiences of its practitioners.

6) Liesbet van Zoonen sees gender as socially constructed. What does this mean and which other media theorist we have studied does this link to?

-->For van Zoonen, culture is seen as “ways of life” or, as she quotes theorist John Corner, “the conditions and the forms in which meaning and value are structured and articulated within a society.”Feminist media studies focus on how gender is communicated within the media. For van Zoonen “gender is a, if not the, crucial component of culture”, in particular when investigating the production of mass mediated meanings.

7) How do feminists view women’s lifestyle magazines in different ways? Which view do you agree with?
--> Feminists have criticised women’s magazines as commercial sites of exaggerated femininity which serve to pull women into a consumer culture on the promise that the products they buy will alleviate their own bodily insecurities and low self-esteem. But it is difficult, when applying a feminist perspective, to reconcile the pleasure women get from consuming women’s magazines, and the political correctness surrounding hegemonic constructions of gender identities.

8) In looking at the history of the colours pink and blue, van Zoonen suggests ideas gender ideas can evolve over time. Which other media theorist we have studied argues this and do you agree that gender roles are in a process of constant change? Can you suggest examples to support your view?
-->Colors suggest what gender a child is and a child is shown from birth what type of color they must like such as pink being female and blue being male. The idea of gender changing is very complex but I believe that it can change as the ideas fo this has changed as the rise of feminism has come to be.

9) What are the five aspects van Zoonen suggests are significant in determining the influence of the media?

--> Van Zoonen argues that the influence of the media is dependent on:
•Whether the institution is commercial or public
•The platform upon which they operate (print versus digital media)
•Genre (drama versus news)
•Target audience
•The place the media text holds within the audiences’ daily lives
Van Zoonen builds on Stuart Hall’s negotiated readings, arguing that the

10) What other media theorist can be linked to van Zoonen’s readings of the media?
-->Stuart Hall's reception theory can be linked as it shows the different perceptions of his theory.

11) Van Zoonen discusses ‘transmission models of communication’. She suggests women are oppressed by the dominant culture and therefore take in representations that do not reflect their view of the world. What other theory and idea (that we have studied recently) can this be linked to?

12) Finally, van Zoonen has built on the work of bell hooks by exploring power and feminism. She suggests that power is not a binary male/female issue but reflects the “multiplicity of relations of subordination”. How does this link to bell hooks views on feminism and intersectionality?

--> Van Zoonen considers power as a key element of feminist thought and suggests that it is used or is evident in the following ways:
As a non-issue when it is emphasized that women are a disadvantaged, minority group that needs equality and rights more than they need
power.
Something an individual possesses, for example, the power to criticize men or a group of men for the power they have over women.
As an offspring of material conditions, when economic power relations of capitalism are named as the cause of women’s oppression.
Van zoonen believes that men and women need to be in the of helping get rid of subordination and that hooks also suggests that men and women are required equally to help push the idea and belief forward.