Notes from the lesson
Watch this short extract from Orange is the New Black star Laverne Cox interviewing bell hooks at The New School in New York:
bell hooks is a highly influential radical black feminist.
She sees feminism as a struggle to end patriarchal oppression - it should be a serious political commitment rather than a fashionable lifestyle choice. “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression”
bell hooks also points to the importance of race and class when studying oppression.
Intersectionality
Intersectionality is defined as the common point of two forms of oppression and how they work against a particular group of people. For example, black feminism addresses both gender and race discrimination.
bell hooks suggests that race is so significant that the experiences of gender, class or sexuality-based discrimination cannot be fully understood without also considering race.
This is important when analysing power in society. For example, men generally have more power then women – but white, middle class western women generally have much more power than women from BAME backgrounds.
Liesbet van Zoonen
Liesbet van Zoonen is an influential feminist academic and linked gender roles and the media explicitly in her 1994 book Feminist Media Studies. Some of her key ideas:
Gender is constructed through media language
These constructions reflect cultural and historical contexts
The objectification of the female body is a key construct of western culture (building on Mulvey – male gaze)
If women have to be like men to be treated equally, then equality itself is repressive
1) What definitions are offered by the factsheet for ‘feminism ‘and ‘patriarchy’?
Feminism - a movement which aims for equality for women. For them to be treated as equal to men socially, economically, and politically. It is not focused on "hating men" or suggesting that women are superior to them but it is designed to highlight the oppressive nature of male dominance.
Patriarchy - male dominance in society.
2) Why did bell hooks publish her 1984 book ‘Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center’?
To identify the lack of diversity within the feminist movement and highlight the importance of having diversity in the main body of feminism.
3) What aspects of feminism and oppression are the focus for a lot of bell hooks’s work?
bell hooks encourages feminists to adopt a wider approach to tackling inequality, and suggests that feminists should focus on aspects such as sex, race, class and intersectionality. This is because many forms of oppression often work in conjunction with each other - causing further oppression that is harder to overcome.
4) What is intersectionality and what does hooks argue regarding this?
Intersectionality is the concept that two or more forms of oppression can often work together against a particular group of people. For example, black feminism discusses both racial and gender discrimination. bell hooks argues that the experiences of intersectional groups cannot be completely understood if the influences of racialisation are not understood. She argues that understanding intersectionality is fundamental in the journey to achieving political and social equality.
5) What did Liesbet van Zoonen conclude regarding the relationship between gender roles and the mass media?
She argues that there is a strong relationship between gender roles and the media, and that mass media often leads to much of the "observable identity structures in advertising, film and TV."
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?
Gender being socially constructed means that gender is not biologically fixed and is in fact non-binary - people can move between the genders etc. This relates to Judith Butler's theory that "gender is a performance" as it too suggests that gender is not biologically fixed.
7) How do feminists view women’s lifestyle magazines in different ways? Which view do you agree with?
There is conflict between the ways that feminists often view women's lifestyle magazines. Some feminists consider the magazines politically incorrect as they promote images telling women how to be "perfect mothers; lovers; wives; homemakers" etc - whatever society wants/needs them to be. On the other hand, while these magazines are designed for entertainment purposes, Van Zoonen argues that it is difficult to 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?
David Gauntlett - masculinity in crisis
9) What are the five aspects van Zoonen suggests are significant in determining the influence of the media?
Institution - commercial or public?
The platform (print or digital)
Genre (drama, entertainment, news etc)
Target audiences
The impact that the text has/ the place it holds in the audiences' lives
10) What other media theorist can be linked to van Zoonen’s readings of the media?
Stuart Hall - Reception theory -The idea that audiences can reject, challenge or completely accept the representations/viewpoints highlighted by the media.
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?
Hall - constructivist approach - the way that audiences respond to texts is impacted by their own viewpoints/perspectives and their own conceptual maps.
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?
This links to her ideas on intersectionality becasue it acknowledges the fact that there is not solely one form of oppression that affects audineces/people in society. There are "multiple relations of subordination" that can work together to oppress intersectional groups furthwer.
Watch this short extract from Orange is the New Black star Laverne Cox interviewing bell hooks at The New School in New York:
bell hooks is a highly influential radical black feminist.
She sees feminism as a struggle to end patriarchal oppression - it should be a serious political commitment rather than a fashionable lifestyle choice. “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression”
bell hooks also points to the importance of race and class when studying oppression.
Intersectionality
Intersectionality is defined as the common point of two forms of oppression and how they work against a particular group of people. For example, black feminism addresses both gender and race discrimination.
bell hooks suggests that race is so significant that the experiences of gender, class or sexuality-based discrimination cannot be fully understood without also considering race.
This is important when analysing power in society. For example, men generally have more power then women – but white, middle class western women generally have much more power than women from BAME backgrounds.
Liesbet van Zoonen
Liesbet van Zoonen is an influential feminist academic and linked gender roles and the media explicitly in her 1994 book Feminist Media Studies. Some of her key ideas:
Gender is constructed through media language
These constructions reflect cultural and historical contexts
The objectification of the female body is a key construct of western culture (building on Mulvey – male gaze)
If women have to be like men to be treated equally, then equality itself is repressive
1) What definitions are offered by the factsheet for ‘feminism ‘and ‘patriarchy’?
Feminism - a movement which aims for equality for women. For them to be treated as equal to men socially, economically, and politically. It is not focused on "hating men" or suggesting that women are superior to them but it is designed to highlight the oppressive nature of male dominance.
Patriarchy - male dominance in society.
2) Why did bell hooks publish her 1984 book ‘Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center’?
To identify the lack of diversity within the feminist movement and highlight the importance of having diversity in the main body of feminism.
3) What aspects of feminism and oppression are the focus for a lot of bell hooks’s work?
bell hooks encourages feminists to adopt a wider approach to tackling inequality, and suggests that feminists should focus on aspects such as sex, race, class and intersectionality. This is because many forms of oppression often work in conjunction with each other - causing further oppression that is harder to overcome.
4) What is intersectionality and what does hooks argue regarding this?
Intersectionality is the concept that two or more forms of oppression can often work together against a particular group of people. For example, black feminism discusses both racial and gender discrimination. bell hooks argues that the experiences of intersectional groups cannot be completely understood if the influences of racialisation are not understood. She argues that understanding intersectionality is fundamental in the journey to achieving political and social equality.
5) What did Liesbet van Zoonen conclude regarding the relationship between gender roles and the mass media?
She argues that there is a strong relationship between gender roles and the media, and that mass media often leads to much of the "observable identity structures in advertising, film and TV."
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?
Gender being socially constructed means that gender is not biologically fixed and is in fact non-binary - people can move between the genders etc. This relates to Judith Butler's theory that "gender is a performance" as it too suggests that gender is not biologically fixed.
7) How do feminists view women’s lifestyle magazines in different ways? Which view do you agree with?
There is conflict between the ways that feminists often view women's lifestyle magazines. Some feminists consider the magazines politically incorrect as they promote images telling women how to be "perfect mothers; lovers; wives; homemakers" etc - whatever society wants/needs them to be. On the other hand, while these magazines are designed for entertainment purposes, Van Zoonen argues that it is difficult to 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?
David Gauntlett - masculinity in crisis
9) What are the five aspects van Zoonen suggests are significant in determining the influence of the media?
Institution - commercial or public?
The platform (print or digital)
Genre (drama, entertainment, news etc)
Target audiences
The impact that the text has/ the place it holds in the audiences' lives
10) What other media theorist can be linked to van Zoonen’s readings of the media?
Stuart Hall - Reception theory -The idea that audiences can reject, challenge or completely accept the representations/viewpoints highlighted by the media.
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?
Hall - constructivist approach - the way that audiences respond to texts is impacted by their own viewpoints/perspectives and their own conceptual maps.
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?
This links to her ideas on intersectionality becasue it acknowledges the fact that there is not solely one form of oppression that affects audineces/people in society. There are "multiple relations of subordination" that can work together to oppress intersectional groups furthwer.
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