Feminism

Feminism
-Feminists seek to challenge the unfair and unequal treatment they still recieve in todays society.
-A fair society, is one based on male rules and domination
- Feminists are particularly interested in the contribution made by the media to society's dominant ideas about gender roles.
-Feminists feel the modern world rules still disempower women within different societies.


Gender Roles
- The mass media play a crucial role in teaching us how to behave and think in ways that our culture finds acceptable
-Sex is BIOLOGICAL, gender is CULTURAL

Traditional Gender Roles

Femininity                                              Masculinity
-Caring                                                   -Tough
-Nurturing                                              -Providing
-Emotional                                             -Rational
-Domestic                                               -Public
-Sensitive                                                -Active
-Passive                                                   -Rough
-Soft                                                        -Hard
-Gentle


Stereotyping
-Feminists have made great progress in attempting to get rid of traditional stereotypes
-However, some may argue that they have been replaced by equally typical stereotypes e.g. Vicky Pollard


First Wave Feminism
-Mid 19th-early 20th century
-Fight for social and political equality
-Struggle for women's suffrage(right to vote):
1918 granting the vote to women over age of 30
1928 women received the vote on equal terms as men
-Key concerns included education, employment and marriage laws
-Successes: higher education for women, married women's property rights and the widening of access to professions such as medicine

Second Wave feminism
-Liberation movement of 1960s and 1970s
-Largely to do with struggles for equal pay, equal rights at work and better representation in public bodies such as parliament
-Access to contraception (Increasing use of contraception and the growth of women's power in decisions about having children)
-Stereotype of humourless, dowdy, man-hating feminist


Third Wave Feminism
-1980s and 1990s
-Less emphasis on battles for equality
-More emphasis on the positive nature of ambiguity and difference (not all women are the same)
-Spice girls and power
-Inspiring role models (Buffy and Xena)


Post Feminism
-Doesn't represent women as an object but an identity
-Positive endorsement of consumerism as people are treated much more equally than ever
-Sometimes seen as 'anti feminism'
-If women know that femininity is a construct, then they can play with its signs, symbols and identities from a position of power
-Semiotic guerrilla warfare: meaning of signifiers such as high heels/lipstick/designer clothes can be shifted from powerless to powerful