bell hooks - feminist theory - ‘Feminism is for everybody’
Intersectional feminism. Welcomes everybody, trans women, sexual identity, appearance (pretty privilege), ethnicity, age, ability etc. Certain groups are more vulnerable than others. Feminism is also important for men, hooks argues because the expectations about gendered identity extend to men as well.
Feminism is a political belief. We must challenge the world around us. For example, hooks referred to Beyonce as a ‘terrorist’ for self sexualising herself. Rather than simply being hegemonically attractive or having lots of money, other ways of being successful include having a tight knit family, having close friends, education, happiness
Applying hooks to Woman magazine - many examples of the sexualisation of young white hegemonically attractive women constructs the ideological perspective not only that women exist to appeal to the heterosexual male gaze. It also suggests that the hegemonic ideal of beauty is to be young, white and hegemonically attractive. The producers here are reflecting the dominant ideology of the 1960s in order to minimise risk and maximise profit.
Black Mirror - San Junipero - a good example of intersectional and complex representations of women. One character is bisexual, the other a lesbian, one is black and one is white, and one is in a coma and the other is also considering euthanasia. The episode is also highly involved in the cultural situations of the 1980s, including themes of homophobia. However both characters are highly hegemonically attractive, in order to appeal to a wider audience
Judith Butler - gender performativity
Sex - a biological distinction
Gender - an identity
Gender performance - the actions that we carry out every day to construct our gender. Examples of this can be seen in the front cover of Adbusters, which constructs an oppressive, strong and intimidating re-presentation of masculinity. This is the complete opposite of the Tide advert, which constructs a conventional performance of gender, with her hegemonically appropriate and attractive hair and makeup, constructing the image of a perfect hyperreal housewife.
Gender performativity - how our performance of gender shapes the world around us. The ways in which our performance of gender creates reactions
Les Revenants - the tracking shot of Simon entering the Lake Pub constructs Simon as a hegemonically attractive and smartly dressed young man. He is moody, angry, and motivated. Lena’s reaction is highly seductive, and she uses seductive gesture codes to attempt to get Simon’s attention. However, Simon completely rejects her advances, which subverts the narrative expectations of the audience. This scene both conforms to and rejects Butler’s theory of gender performativity, and in doing so constructs a very complex representation of gender.
Sam Fender - Fender’s costume is casual and stereotypical working class, demonstrating the area he is from and his working class roots. It constructs a reliable and attainable performance of gender that will appeal to his younger target audience. This is a complex representation of masculinity and portrays Fender as a vulnerable and emotional man.