Identities: applying feminism

Media factsheet #86


1) What are the five types of feminism outlined on the first page of the Factsheet?

Radical Feminism=The type of feminism that see the cause of women's oppression as men. They conduct extreme protests to get their points across

Liberal Feminism = The type of  feminism is mainly concerned with gender socialisation in order to show that gender roles are not biologically determined

Marxist- Feminism= This feminist approach looks women's oppression to capitalism and the class system

Black  Feminism= this approach is primarily concerned with black and Asian women's experiecnes of oppression and exploitation

Postmodern  Feminism= This type of  Feminism is associated with third wave feminists. It acknowledges the 
diversity amongst women and encourages individual women to find feminist ideas that combine with their own experiences.

2) Which category would Judith Butler fit into? What about Angela McRobbie? Laura Bates and Everyday Sexism? Explain your answers.

Judith Butler= Liberal Feminism, gender roles not being biologically fixed 

McRobbie = Post modern feminism, empowering and women taking control 

Laura Bates= looked at subverting Marxist feminists

3) What was the difference between suffragists and suffragettes? Which approach do you agree with?

Suffragists was the more passive side of the movement. It involved legally agreed protests whereas the suffragettes could be describes as the more radical feminist as they engaged with violent protests and took more radical action to get there right to vote.

4) What was Laura Mulvey's argument regarding Hollywood film? Do you agree with it? Why?

I It looked at how women were being objectified and that they were filmed in the eyes of men, this brought about the idea of the male gaze. I think to an extent this is true and that Hollywood displays the more attractive parts of women and their cleavage in hope that it would appeal to more men especially.

5) Watch this YouTube video extract on Jean Kilbourne's Killing Us Softly series and list five examples she gives of the media objectifying women:

• TV guides (Opera's head on another women's body)
• TV advertisements ( Loreal advert)
• Magazines (glamour)
• Beauty knows no pain advert

6) What is Killbourne's argument regarding the representation of women in advertising?

The representation of women in the media is so mediated that it provides young women and others a highly over-exaggerated representation of them. For women it makes them believe they to can look like the women they see on TV or in magazines but its just false hope because women in the media and in fashion magazines are took apart and put back together again with impossible features. Killbourne talks about airbrushing in the digital age and how one image of one women can actually be made up of several women and the editors pick out the best features.

7) What is Naomi Wolf's argument in The Beauty Myth?

Part of it looks how Men's opinion's of women are changing because of the myth that is presented to them in adverts and magazines and it shows the standards that a woman should adhere to, to look beautiful.

8) Why is the representation of women in music videos a controversial topic for feminists?

On the one hand some feminists argue that it can empower women by dressing provocatively as it is not for male pleasure but for their careers. However, other feminists see women in music video like the newer hip-hop ones as significantly degrading to women as it goes against what they believe feminism is as they think its just women parading about to attract male attention.

9) What is your view of female artists such as Nicki Minaj or Beyonce - do they empower women or reinforce sexist, patriarchal views?

Some of their more provocative videos in my opinion cannot be said to not reinforce sexist, patriarchal views because of the sheer nature of the videos and  how explicit some of them can be but the power of these two women some how make it empowering. These 2 women are portrayed in the media to be independent and they stand for something, for example even though Beyonce is a mother she still sings and preforms and stands for something. The meanings there videos carry are ambiguous, they can be explicit to attract men but also empower women. 

10) Has new and digital media given women an opportunity to challenge sexist views or is it simply another media platform for women to be oppressed? Explain your view.

To an extent yes, NDM has given women an opportunity to challenge sexist views, for example the everyday sexism project started by Laura Bates was made with just that in mind and it gave not just women but everyone to challenge sexism. But NDM has brought social media along with it and social media acts on sexism in two different ways, there are accounts that are pro sexism and are successful in starting movements and there are also accounts that despise feminists and there are trolls that fit into this group as well.

week 21: story 42

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/mar/08/bbc-focus-too-middle-aged-and-middle-class-says-ofcom-chief

BBC focus too middle aged and middle class, says Ofcom chief

This article looks at how the BBC aims to many of its shows at the middle class. The BBC say they want to diversify there range more and will  try to look at more class and age groups in the future.This story comes off the criticisms certain people are giving that they're classes are being negatively representations. The BBC also have been involved with the regulatory body over this, OFCOM and they are telling the BBC to deal with complaints more and do more to diversify their target audience by listening to their customers

I think it is good that the BBC is deciding to diversify its shows as even though the middle class probably has the largest audience base a lot of other people are paying for their tv licenses and not getting anything that may appeal to them in return.

week 21: Story 41

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/03/bbc-crew-attacked-in-china-says-reporter 

BBC crew attacked in China and forced to sign confession

This article from the Guardian looks at how China are restricting press freedoms and they are blocking journalists from entering villages. The Chinese government even seem to have the people on board with their regime as the locals are the ones which stopped the interview from taking place.

This just goes to show how bad the rules and regulations are in China. Even though China is now one of the biggest economies in the world they still haven't changed with the times and still follow communist attitudes. They blocked an un-biased news channel from simply reporting on a small local issue. For a country now as successful and as powerful as China i think they should let the west in, not to change them and not to flood them with out ideologies because that would never work against such a powerful country.

Identities: Feminism and new/digital media

1) Why did Laura Bates start the Everyday Sexism project?

She started it based on personal experiences of sexism. The particular example which was used was how she experienced three sexist comments and inappropriate behaviour in the space of a week. She also wanted other women to share their stories of sexism that they had faced, not just women but everyone who had had something said or done to them. She felt like not enough people were standing up for themselves and each other.

2) How does the Everyday Sexism project link to the concept of post-feminism? Is feminism still required in western societies?

This is another case to promote feminism as people are still finding it okay to shout inappropriate comments at women and women still don't talk up about it because they feel like its normal. That shows that there is still no balance and that men see women as sexual objects.


3) How can you apply Judith Butler's theory of gender as a 'performance' to the creation of the Everyday Sexism project?

The everyday sexism project hasn't divided the website into men and women. Not just women are allowed to share their opinions but it was made clear that anyone and not just men, people who recognise themselves as no gender or trans can post stories.

4) How does Angela McRobbie's work on female empowerment link to the Everyday Sexism project?

It subverts the whole project because the idea of the project is to give women and others a voice about the comments and actions that they have dealt with. McRbobbie's work on female empowerment encourages women to be glamorous as it is empowering for them and it is not done for men to see, 'male gaze'.

Read the article: The Fourth Wave? Feminism in the Digital Age in MM55 (p64)

1) Summarise the questions in the first two sub-headings: What is networked feminism? Why is it a problem?

Networked feminism is the idea that the proposed new wave, the fourth wave, uses new digital technology like the internet and social media to agrue and protest women's rights from a new perspective.

2) What are the four waves of feminism? Do you agree that we are in a fourth wave ‘networked feminism’? 

The first wave of feminism was in the early 1900's and mainly involved the suffragette movements post world war 1. The second was is in 50's through til the 90's where the third wave started and this protested for more equality between men and women. The fourth wave is a newly proposed wave that includes the use of technology to fight and appeal for women's rights

3) Focus on the examples in the article. Write a 100-word summary of EACH of the following: Everyday Sexism, HeForShe, FCKH8 campaign, This Girl Can.

Everyday sexism:
Laura Bates started the everyday sexism project. This involved a website where not just women but a person of any identified sex could go and share stories about sexist comments or harassment they faced in everyday life. It grew rapidly and had many sharers and commentators. It brings up the argument to prove that there is still a need for feminism if women and others are still being treated as below men. 

HeForShe
This was a campaign started by Emma Watson to encourage more men to learn about and understand that feminism isn't just about women and that men can play that part in fighting for equality for women and themselves. Other feminists did see the disadvantages as they are letting men in on a thing which was meant to be about women,

FCKH8
This is a for-profit organisation that spreads awarness of partly radical feminism through viral youtube videos. They also try to sell t-shirts by using 'new' techniques to engage people with feminism

This girl can
One of their petitions they started was to stop putting taxes on tampons as they compare it to other items like crocodile steak not being taxed and that an essential is now classed as a luxury.  

4) What is your opinion with regards to feminism and new/digital media? Do you agree with the concept of a 'fourth wave' of feminism post-2010 or are recent developments like the Everyday Sexism project merely an extension of the third wave of feminism from the 1990s?

I don;t think that there is a fourth wave of feminism because technology has just offered a new way of mediating an s spreading peoples thoughts on a larger scale and hasn't brought many new ways to bring equality between men and women.

week 20: story 40

   

Twitter accounts really are echo chambers, study finds

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/feb/04/twitter-accounts-really-are-echo-chambers-study-finds

This article talks about a study conducted by the think tank Demos which surveyed 2000 twitter users who supported different UK political parties. They found that twitter is just an online echo-chamber where people supporting a specific political party follow and retweet items related to or in support of their political party. However, for UKIP members they found that they would stray from the far right of UK politics to the far right of some US groups which have been criticised many times for their circulation of fake news.

I believe that this is true as people tend to have this tunnel vision when it comes to politics and aren't willing to listen to other peoples opinions. Also, the highly partisan nature of political parties in the UK could be the driving force behind the reasons why supporters of the party retweet and tweet about their party without considering the arguments from other parties. 

week 20: story 39

With the power of online transparency, together we can beat fake news

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/03/online-transparency-fake-news-internet

This article talks about some of the fake news incidences this year and how it has grown so much in recent years and finally in 2017 people seem to be taking some notice and want to do something about it. Also the article says that since the invention of the internet there has always been something 'fake' whether that be via scams or fake emails, its just this misleading information has always existed and its just been brushed off and ignored 

until it got worse and worse.

I believe that fake news is something that will be difficult to eradicate and a more suitable solution would be to educate people to be able to spot fake news and not to become influenced by it. Online transparency is something very difficult to achieve so this approach may not work as it wouldn't just reveal fake news but most likely breach people's personal information.

Identities: Feminist theory and blog task

1) How might this video contribute to Butler’s idea that gender roles are a ‘performance’?

The whole music video is designed to be a theatrical performance as with all the editing and effects used to make it look as though it was filmed in the 50's/60's. The clothes Beyonce was dressed in also added to the olden time look and fit the description of what a woman would've looked back then.

2) Would McRobbie view Beyonce as an empowering role model for women? Why?

McRobbie talks about empowering other women through being glamorous and this video definitely reinforces this idea as Beyonce is seen to be dresses in sexual clothing. However this video does have two perspectives because the other side that Beyonce is portrayed as is as a housewife and that isn't made to look glamorous and McRobbies wouldn't think this empowering it would be the opposite for young women as it is reinforcing traditional values.

3) What are your OWN views on this debate – does Beyonce empower women or reinforce the traditional ‘male gaze’ (Mulvey)?

This video does reinforce the male gaze as a semi-naked women in a music video would appeal to most men but it does empower women because the majority audience for this video would be females and the lyrics for the song is made to empower other females and the dressing up to 'impress' men may not be the only option for Beyonce as it is another empowering technique.