Further feminist theory

Further feminist theory: blog tasks

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.
Patriarchy: male dominance in society

2) Why did bell hooks publish her 1984 book ‘Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center’?

She had 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.

3) What aspects of feminism and oppression are the focus for a lot of bell hooks’s work?

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. She argues that male involvement within the equality movement was important, encouraging men to do their part.

4) What is intersectionality and what does hooks argue regarding this?

The term intersectionality is used to describe overlapping or intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination or discrimination. It means that multiple identities intersect to create a whole that is different from separate component identities.

5) What did Liesbet van Zoonen conclude regarding the relationship between gender roles and the mass media?

Van Zoonen concludes that There's a strong relatioship between gender and communication but also suggests that the mass media leads to a lot of the gender related structures created. 

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?

This means that expectations that society have for each gender has been constructed over the years through stereotypes and we all as a society just believe we need to follow these constructions. Scientific feminist research always includes 3 perspectives: the individual, the social and the cultural influences in order to understand the different meanings of media content. For van Zoonen, culture is seen as “ways of life”

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. 

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?

The association of pink with femininity and blue with masculinity was made in 19th century France. In the 18th century however, a pink silk suit was regarded as appropriate attire for a gentleman. Gender should therefore not be seen as a fixed property of individuals, but rather as a part of an ongoing process where subjects are constituted, often in paradoxical ways as van Zoonen suggests.

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

- Whether the institution is commercial or public
- The platform upon which they operate (print versus digital media)
- Genre (drama versus news)
- Target audiences
- The place the media text holds within the audiences’ daily lives

10) What other media theorist can be linked to van Zoonen’s readings of the media?

Stuart Hall's negotiated readings, arguing that the negotiated readings and subsequent focus on the way meanings are encoded and decoded "implies acknowledgement of gender construction as a social process in which women and men actively engage.”

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?

Stuart Hall's constructivist approach which is about how the way audiences respond to texts is impacted because of their own perspectives and conceptual map. 

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?

It successfully links to Bell Hooks theory on feminism and intersectionality as it debates the power imbalance between males and females.