What does Miley Cyrus' reinvention tell us about society and women in the media?
Angle
What impact is Miley Cyrus having on audiences, especially young girls who see her as a role model.
Hypothesis
Miley Cyrus is doing what 'sells' in the music industry and her provocative image and attitude is what attracts audiences and fans. It tells us that society have an influence on Miley as she catches audiences attention and their needs influence her decisions. Miley's reinvention tells us that women in the media have to sell themselves as 'sex sells', otherwise they would not be as successful as they are.
Linked production piece
Music video.
MIGRAIN
Media Representations:
Miley Cyrus is being represented by the media e.g. journalists and news reporters. Miley is represented in a negative way due to her innocent background where she began her career on Disney channel which compares her to the way she is now. The representation is accurate as it shows the true picture of Miley's behaviour, however it is not fair because it only shows her in a negative manor due the comparison of how she was when she was 13 years old. Miley chooses to represent herself in this way as it reflects her personality. For the following questions I will focus on her single 'Wrecking Ball'.
Media Languages and Forms:
Miley Cyrus's music videos have connotations and denotations that have to do with the lyrics and video of the song. For example in 'wrecking ball', she states 'you wrecked me'. The connotation of this would be that she is giving this message out to someone, perhaps a past lover. Which in fact seemed like was to her ex fiance Liam Hensworth, although she denied it during interviews. However, the denotation of the video is her breaking walls and knocking down buildings using a bulldozer. In this particular video there are close ups shown of Miley face crying at the start of the video to emphasise her emotion and feeling empowering the song. She is wearing little clothing (white underwear) which could connote her innocence in the song. She uses props such as a hammer to knock over building and a wrecking ball, which is also the title of the song. The setting is significant as it represents the lyrics to the song. Also, the mise-en-scene in the music video is all relevant to the song, emphasising the lyrics and creating more feeling for the audience. The soundtrack is the main focus of the song and helps Miley get her message across. The iconography in the video help bring across emotion. For example, Miley crying shows the audience that she is sad and the song will be about a topic that has affected her. The fact that the video uses slow motion allows Miley's feelings to be emphasised and the lyrics match the pace. For example when she is singing slowly the pace is very mellow, however speeds up when she starts to express anger/hurt. Also, there are a range of camera angles used including close ups, long shots, medium shots, tracking, panning and low and high angles. These are all used to show a different perspective to the music video.
Miley Cyrus is being represented by the media e.g. journalists and news reporters. Miley is represented in a negative way due to her innocent background where she began her career on Disney channel which compares her to the way she is now. The representation is accurate as it shows the true picture of Miley's behaviour, however it is not fair because it only shows her in a negative manor due the comparison of how she was when she was 13 years old. Miley chooses to represent herself in this way as it reflects her personality. For the following questions I will focus on her single 'Wrecking Ball'.
Media Languages and Forms:
Miley Cyrus's music videos have connotations and denotations that have to do with the lyrics and video of the song. For example in 'wrecking ball', she states 'you wrecked me'. The connotation of this would be that she is giving this message out to someone, perhaps a past lover. Which in fact seemed like was to her ex fiance Liam Hensworth, although she denied it during interviews. However, the denotation of the video is her breaking walls and knocking down buildings using a bulldozer. In this particular video there are close ups shown of Miley face crying at the start of the video to emphasise her emotion and feeling empowering the song. She is wearing little clothing (white underwear) which could connote her innocence in the song. She uses props such as a hammer to knock over building and a wrecking ball, which is also the title of the song. The setting is significant as it represents the lyrics to the song. Also, the mise-en-scene in the music video is all relevant to the song, emphasising the lyrics and creating more feeling for the audience. The soundtrack is the main focus of the song and helps Miley get her message across. The iconography in the video help bring across emotion. For example, Miley crying shows the audience that she is sad and the song will be about a topic that has affected her. The fact that the video uses slow motion allows Miley's feelings to be emphasised and the lyrics match the pace. For example when she is singing slowly the pace is very mellow, however speeds up when she starts to express anger/hurt. Also, there are a range of camera angles used including close ups, long shots, medium shots, tracking, panning and low and high angles. These are all used to show a different perspective to the music video.
The narrative is linear and goes in chronological order as the song is used to tell a story. The audience are positioned to perhaps feel sympathy for Miley as she sings about a person experience. Villains are created in the song as Miley states 'you wrecked me', which is a message she is directing to someone who hurt her. Miley is alienated in her music video as she is alone and no one else is shown in the video. The role of the sound, iconography and music is to create feeling for the audience to help Miley get her message across. The edit shows a chronological order, reinforcing the linear narrative. The narrative embodies values to believe in yourself and never give up on hope as Miley states 'don't you ever say i just walked away'.
Genre:
The music video is a power pop and romance genre as Miley is singing about love and heartbreak. The major generic conventions are a hero and villain. The iconic features are the tools Miley uses such as her hammer and bulldozer as she is essentially showing how she has been knocked down emotionally and mentally. The audiences generic expectations are fulfilled in my opinion. Th expectation is to produce a song and music video that portrays the lyrics and feelings of the character, which is what Miley does. The characteristics of the video conform to the genre as Miley displays her feelings through the use of props. The music video features only Miley Cyrus who the song is about and she is associated to it as it is her personal story that she is telling.
Media Institutions:
The producers of 'Wrecking ball' are RCA Records. The video has been influenced by RCA to create power pop type music. The company has also worked with singers such as Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson who embrace a similar genre in their music. RCA is the name of three different co-owned record labels. The music video has been distributed massively. It was on all the music channels which feature latest hit songs such as Kiss and MTV. It was also on popular radio stations and of course the internet on sites such as YouTube and mileycyrus.com.
Media Values and Ideology:
The major values underpinning the text is a deeper meaning of what the lyrics of the song actually are. Miley is singing about how a lover has heart her and compares him to a 'wrecking ball' hence the title of the song. We the audience assume this, however it is actually true and was her intention behind the song. I believe when making the video, Miley selected content that would be presented to represent the song and the meaning.
The pornification of pop looks at how celebrities and in particular women are portraying themselves in order to sexually appeal to audiences. The articles below look at different issues related to pornification of pop.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/dec/01/feminists-pornification-of-women
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/07/miley-cyrus-music-business-women-sinead-oconnor
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/nov/10/videos-miley-cyrus-rihanna-ratings
The pornification of pop looks at how celebrities and in particular women are portraying themselves in order to sexually appeal to audiences. The articles below look at different issues related to pornification of pop.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/dec/01/feminists-pornification-of-women
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/07/miley-cyrus-music-business-women-sinead-oconnor
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/nov/10/videos-miley-cyrus-rihanna-ratings
Media Audiences:
The text is directly addressed to Miley's past lover, however sends a generic message about love to the audience. The target audience is anyone who has been heartbroken before, therefore does not matter what demographic or psychographic group they fit into. The video assumes that the audience know what Miley is singing about, however if they did not have a clue who she was then they would not be able to guess she is singing about a personal experience. The text assumes that the audience will be able to figure out the narrative as it has been scheduled in a chronological order. The audience receive the text on the release date and still view/hear it after this. This however does not impact the characteristics of the text. The size of Miley's audience is massive. This is evident because she has been in the music industry for years therefore has gained many loyal fans. Also, her videos did create controversy, expanding the audience size. I believe the audience readings of the music video were debatable as some were fans and some simply found it shocking due to her nudity. Wrecking ball provides personal identity as audiences may be able to see themselves in the song lyrics. It also provides diversion for audiences as they can use the music as an escape from their own problems (Uses and Gratifications). As an audience member, I did find Miley Cyrus's Wrecking ball video to be quite surprising due to the nudity content. I do not believe it is influenced by my age, gender or background as it was quite unexpected for any audience member to see. Nevertheless, I believe Miley produced a heartfelt song that smashed the charts and has made her into the successful singer/actress she is today.
SHEP
Social:
SHEP
Social:
- Miley is sociable with her fans/audience. She has a range of social networking sites e.g. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram etc
- The 'Wrecking Ball' video caused a lot of controversy due to Miley's nudity content
- Miley currently has 18,634,987 followers on Twitter and gains an average of 3,647 new followers a day. This shows her vast majority of fans
- The video effected parents as well as young girls as parent wanted to close down her Bangerz tour
- Rihanna has also caused controversy in the past,http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/13/mel-c-rihanna-daughter
- Parents have called Nicki Minaj's Anaconda video 'vile' http://www.today.com/allday/10-18-10-19-make-difference-day-pinkpower-more-1D80224843
- Britney Spears appeared on stage wearing a revealing outfit for a performance at the VMA'a in 2000 with a real live snake. The year before she caused controversy when at the age of 18 she skipped around on stage in a nude coloured outfit for a medley of hits.
- Miley's new worth is $150 million
- The first week of release for 'Wrecking Ball' sold 90,000 downloads in the US
- By the fourth week of release, 'Wrecking Ball' made 477,000 digital sales, it also was number 1 on the Hot 100 and Billboard charts
- The music industry has declined by 3% since 2000, research shows http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2014/06/05/music-industry-declined-3-since-2000-research-shows
- Billboard shows that the overall for the full year 2013, digital track sales fell 5.7% from 1.34 billion units to 1.26 billion units while digital album sales fell 0.1% to 117.6 million units from the previous year’s total of 117.7 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/digital-and-mobile/5855162/digital-music-sales-decrease-for-first-time-in-2013
- Rockitboy research shows the music industry has been hard hit since 1999 when sales began to plummet. 2009 sales were less than sales in 1973. Ouch. The music industry blames this decline largely on Napster and subsequent sites that allowed for illegal downloading of music over the internet. However, global recorded music revenues in 2012 increased for the first time since 1999, up 0.3% to $16.5 billion. Of that total, $5.6 billion was a direct result of digital downloads purchased on platforms such as iTunes or streaming generated revenue from services like Spotify http://rockitboy.com/blogs/music-industry-sales-piracy-and-illegal-downloads-better-or-same/#sthash.hOIM8ptT.dpuf
- Though her Christianity and country roots seem to place her squarely in the conservative category, her interest in environmentalism, gay rights, and Occupy Wall Street all point to a sleeping liberalism
- Miley considers herself to be a Feminist
- Miley quotes: "I feel like I'm one of the biggest feminists in the world because I tell women to not be scared of anything.'' ''For me, it's not even that in a feminist. I'm for anybody. I'm for everybody, for everything. I don't care what you wanna do in your life, or who you wanna be with, who you wanna love, who you wanna look like."
Issues/Debates
Representation and stereotyping
Miley Cyrus is stereotyped more so due to her Disney channel career in which she started at the age of 13. She is constantly compared to her appearance then to the way she is now, however she is now 21 years old, therefore an individual clearly would change and grow in this period of time. The representation of the star is also disagreed with by some audiences due to her religious background. People have wondered what happened to the ''good little Christian girl she used to be.''
Media effects
Audiences, in particular young girls used to see Miley Cyrus as a role model. However due to her behaviour, image she portrays and controversial character, young girls no longer aspire to be like her. In fact they preferred her character on Hannah Montana when she was 13 years old.
Reality TV
Miley has featured on Seriously Cyrus, which is her and her family's YouTube channel. She has also been on the channel 'E', which released a documentary on her career and success a few years ago. Moreover, Miley: The Movement was released in 2013, which was a documentary television film and her return to music and the lead up to her fourth studio album, Bangerz.
Regulation and censorship
Often, parents of young girl have spoken out and have had their opinions and views of Miley Cyrus heard. An example of this is where The Guardian published an article which included various parents who saw Miley as a bad role model for their young girls and also wanted to shut down her Bangerz tour.
Theories
Audience theories- Psychographics
It is difficult to identify an exact target audience for Miley Cyrus's fans. However from inspiring young girls to the controversial character Miley is today, i would estimate her target audience to be teenagers/young adults. Using psychographics, i believe Miley appeals to Explorers who seek individualism and do not conform to society's norms and values. I also believe she targets Succeeders and Aspirers due to her successful career which began at the age of 13.
Gender and Ethnicity
Miley appeals to a females particularly on a larger scale than males, as some females still see her as a role model and are fans of her music, TV show and films. The ethnicity group Miley appealed to when she first began her career on Hannah Montana was white-middle class. However, due to her different personality and character she is today, Miley appeals to working class white and black females and males too.
Semiotics
Miley's 'Wrecking Ball' video created meaning through the lyrics of the song. The lyrics 'you wrecked me' suggested the song was aimed at her ex-fiance Liam Hemsworth as the song had been released after their break up. Miley did however deny this during interviews published online. The props in her video also created meaning as they were parallel to the lyrics. For example, she shows various objects used to knock something down e.g. bulldozers and hammers. This connotes that Miley has been knocked down mentally and emotionally, which is made evident through her facial expressions in the video as she is crying at the beginning of the song.
Hegemony
It could be argues that Miley portrays herself in the media in the shocking way that she does because that it what sells in the media industry. Due to other pop stars and singers causing controversy in the media, Miley could be doing what she does because if she didn't, she may not sell as many hits or be as successful as she is today. For example, if someone disagrees with Miley's actions then they are likely to tell someone else about it or even post a comment/opinion on social networking sites. This then creates a 'hype' as people who agree and disagree comment back and therefore Miley Cyrus is talked about. It also encourages views towards her music videos, whether the audience agree with it or not. Therefore, by production companies telling Miley what to do because it sells, they are having control and power over her. However, by Miley causing controversy, she is essentially encouraging audiences to view her material in the media.
Liberal Pluralism
Liberal Pluralists believe that the media are free to express themselves in whichever way they want. Additionally, the most powerful can be scrutinised and bought down. I believe that Miley is free to express herself in the way she wants as she shows her character to be quite care free of other peoples opinions. However, it could also be argued that the media make her act in this way in order for her to sell and be popular with audiences. Miley is powerful in the music industry as her successful career continues to build. Although she has people against her and try to bring her down e.g. parents who want to shut down her Bangerz tour, she does not let this stop her and continues to produce music and release images/videos causing controversy in the media.
Male Gaze
The Male Gaze, developed by feminist Laura Mulvey describes how the audience or viewer is put into the perspective of a heterosexual male. Mulvey believes that women should enjoy the attention of attracting the gaze, and put themselves in positions to be looked at. The concept of ‘the gaze’ is one that deals with how an audience views the people/person presented. Mulvey states that in film women are typically the objects of gaze because the control of the camera comes from factors such as the as the assumption of heterosexual men as the default target audience for most film genres.
Moral Panic
The definition for moral panic is an instance of public anxiety or alarm in response to a problem regarded as threatening the moral standards of society. Moral panic can have negative influences on young audiences. Below are some examples from The Daily Mail and the effects that the internet can have on young audiences. There is also an example from the London Riots.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2586019/Middle-class-parents-stop-panicking-internet-let-children-explore-says-leading-psychologist.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2629866/Heavy-web-use-harms-childs-mental-health-Every-hour-raises-risk-warns-watchdog.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2027459/UK-riots-Moral-panic-making-judges-impose-overly-harsh-sentences.html
Miley shocked the media when her new haircut came with a new personality. After being in the media for 8 years, Miley recently became well known for her 'twerking' which was a dance to portray a message to audiences that she is now grown up. Parents were angry were her new image, however the attention encouraged her to shock the media even more.
Post-feminism
Post-feminism connotes the belief that feminism has succeeded in it's goal to ameliorate sexism and therefore make males and females more equal. Post-feminism occurred after the period of the feminist movement in the 1970's and embodied the belief that 'a post-feminist household in which both partners share all tasks equally.' Moreover, it is stated that post-feminists are passionate about motherhood and their careers, showing they still embody their maternal instincts whilst building success for themselves at the same time. Miley Cyrus could be interpreted as a post-feminist as she is extremely focused on her career while balancing family time as she has also worked in the acting/music industry with her famous father in the past. Miley is 21 years old and does not have any children yet which allows her to be more focused on her career.
Male Gaze
The Male Gaze, developed by feminist Laura Mulvey describes how the audience or viewer is put into the perspective of a heterosexual male. Mulvey believes that women should enjoy the attention of attracting the gaze, and put themselves in positions to be looked at. The concept of ‘the gaze’ is one that deals with how an audience views the people/person presented. Mulvey states that in film women are typically the objects of gaze because the control of the camera comes from factors such as the as the assumption of heterosexual men as the default target audience for most film genres.
Moral Panic
The definition for moral panic is an instance of public anxiety or alarm in response to a problem regarded as threatening the moral standards of society. Moral panic can have negative influences on young audiences. Below are some examples from The Daily Mail and the effects that the internet can have on young audiences. There is also an example from the London Riots.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2586019/Middle-class-parents-stop-panicking-internet-let-children-explore-says-leading-psychologist.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2629866/Heavy-web-use-harms-childs-mental-health-Every-hour-raises-risk-warns-watchdog.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2027459/UK-riots-Moral-panic-making-judges-impose-overly-harsh-sentences.html
Miley shocked the media when her new haircut came with a new personality. After being in the media for 8 years, Miley recently became well known for her 'twerking' which was a dance to portray a message to audiences that she is now grown up. Parents were angry were her new image, however the attention encouraged her to shock the media even more.
Post-feminism
Post-feminism connotes the belief that feminism has succeeded in it's goal to ameliorate sexism and therefore make males and females more equal. Post-feminism occurred after the period of the feminist movement in the 1970's and embodied the belief that 'a post-feminist household in which both partners share all tasks equally.' Moreover, it is stated that post-feminists are passionate about motherhood and their careers, showing they still embody their maternal instincts whilst building success for themselves at the same time. Miley Cyrus could be interpreted as a post-feminist as she is extremely focused on her career while balancing family time as she has also worked in the acting/music industry with her famous father in the past. Miley is 21 years old and does not have any children yet which allows her to be more focused on her career.
Research plan
Media texts
My main focus will be Miley Cyrus and her reinvention. Also, what it tells us about women in the media.
Other media texts
Vanessa Ann Hudgens from Disney channel's 'High School Musical' experienced nude images of herself being leaked in 2007. Again in 2009, a new set of mobile phone nudes were leaked, however the star managed to continue with her career.
Demi Lovato, also a former Disney star featured a main part in the show 'Sonny with a chance' and later in the Disney channel film 'Camp Rock.' After this, she experienced drug addictions and spent some time in rehab. She had allegedly been cutting herself, as well as facing eating disorders and issues with alcohol.
Lindsay Lohan's role in Disney's remake of 'Parent Trap' began her career as her first feature film. She also starred in 'Freaky Friday' later. Since then, she has faced eating disorders, allegations of cutting herself, she went to rehab and has been involved with several legal troubles.
Zac Efron who also landed a main role in the Disney channel hit film 'High School Musical' alongside Vanessa Ann Hudgens faced drug and alcohol addictions and eventually ended up in rehab.
Shia LeBeouf began his career on Disney channel's 'Even Stevens.' After this, he faced rehab due to his heroin drug addiction.
TV documentaries
Seriously Cyrus
Miley: The Movement
Academic texts/books
http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=r42C8NAGseUC&oi=fnd&pg=PR3&dq=representation+of+women+in+the+music+industry&ots=LIsGSz8DMG&sig=oFFjqHpcmg7W7zST04TXaPtVJVM#v=onepage&q=representation%20of%20women%20in%20the%20music%20industry&f=false
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=99113&fileId=S0261143001001519
http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=uYO0AAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=representation+of+women+in+the+music+industry+feminism&ots=2yBdOGu440&sig=f1r3zd0WhNRFMYtMW0bg-e3RCtE#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=eMtDpy85IC4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=music+industry+feminism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KztGVJ70MtDe7AaHsICgDw&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=music%20industry%20feminism&f=false
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ROhSbOQIzmYC&pg=PA105&dq=music+industry+feminism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KztGVJ70MtDe7AaHsICgDw&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=music%20industry%20feminism&f=false
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=IIfxXAV4uQYC&pg=PA140&dq=music+industry+post-feminism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YztGVKefNYnb7AaE04HoDg&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=music%20industry%20post-feminism&f=false
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1468077042000309937?journalCode=rfms20#.VEY7yyLF_To
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=99113&fileId=S0261143001001519
http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=uYO0AAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=representation+of+women+in+the+music+industry+feminism&ots=2yBdOGu440&sig=f1r3zd0WhNRFMYtMW0bg-e3RCtE#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=eMtDpy85IC4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=music+industry+feminism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KztGVJ70MtDe7AaHsICgDw&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=music%20industry%20feminism&f=false
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ROhSbOQIzmYC&pg=PA105&dq=music+industry+feminism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KztGVJ70MtDe7AaHsICgDw&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=music%20industry%20feminism&f=false
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=IIfxXAV4uQYC&pg=PA140&dq=music+industry+post-feminism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YztGVKefNYnb7AaE04HoDg&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=music%20industry%20post-feminism&f=false
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1468077042000309937?journalCode=rfms20#.VEY7yyLF_To
Internet links
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/aug/27/miley-cyrus-mtv-video-music-awards-criticismhttp://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/mar/28/miley-cyrus-university-course-sociology-new-york
http://www.theonion.com/articles/let-me-explain-why-miley-cyrus-vma-performance-was,33632/
http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/female-singers-need-dignity-mel-c-30661840.html
Media Magazine
From MediaMagazine 26, the film issue
http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/mm26_feminist_bond.html
As the term suggests, post-feminism focuses on gender issues, specifically in the cultural context since feminism. Feminism brought about many social and political changes. Post-feminism does not assume that this means gender issues are no longer valid. On the contrary, it acknowledges that there are still many areas of interest and concern within gender politics; but it recognises that these issues are very different from the ones faced by gender theorists in the mid-20th century.
Gender relationships: the feminist model
Gender is fixed and relates directly to an individual’s biological sex.
Even though it sought to change the way people thought about women’s position in society, feminism was based on the idea of binary opposition between the two genders. As Levi-Strauss tells us in narrative theory, binary oppositions create conflict. Feminism can be seen to be a range of ideas that arose from this perceived conflict, focussed on the idea of a power struggle in society between two opposing groups: masculine and feminine. As with any power struggle, as one side gains power, the other side must lose it.
Gender relationships: the post-feminist model
Gender is a fluid variable of behaviours which can be performed regardless of the individual’s biological sex.
Post-feminism sees gender as a set of socially constructed behaviours, attitudes and expectations which have no essential relationship to a person’s biological sex – an individual may at any time be more or less masculine or more or less feminine regardless of whether they are male or female. For example, a man crying is no less a man, or an aggressive woman no less a woman. The behaviours are culturally associated with a specific sex; but people are not that simple. Individuals may even choose to ‘perform’ gender depending on the circumstances they find themselves in.
Some features of post-feminism
– It does not assume there are no more gender-based issues or problems to consider.
– It does not always agree with feminist arguments, but it does not dismiss feminism as being a ‘stupid idea’, outmoded, or irrelevant.
– It does focus on gender issues in the post-industrial economic age, and is just as likely to consider issues around masculinity as femininity as it sees both sexes being impacted on by gender politics.
http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/female-singers-need-dignity-mel-c-30661840.html
Media Magazine
From MediaMagazine 26, the film issue
http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/mm26_feminist_bond.html
Gender relationships: the feminist model
Gender is fixed and relates directly to an individual’s biological sex.
Even though it sought to change the way people thought about women’s position in society, feminism was based on the idea of binary opposition between the two genders. As Levi-Strauss tells us in narrative theory, binary oppositions create conflict. Feminism can be seen to be a range of ideas that arose from this perceived conflict, focussed on the idea of a power struggle in society between two opposing groups: masculine and feminine. As with any power struggle, as one side gains power, the other side must lose it.
Gender relationships: the post-feminist model
Gender is a fluid variable of behaviours which can be performed regardless of the individual’s biological sex.
Post-feminism sees gender as a set of socially constructed behaviours, attitudes and expectations which have no essential relationship to a person’s biological sex – an individual may at any time be more or less masculine or more or less feminine regardless of whether they are male or female. For example, a man crying is no less a man, or an aggressive woman no less a woman. The behaviours are culturally associated with a specific sex; but people are not that simple. Individuals may even choose to ‘perform’ gender depending on the circumstances they find themselves in.
Some features of post-feminism
– It does not assume there are no more gender-based issues or problems to consider.
– It does not always agree with feminist arguments, but it does not dismiss feminism as being a ‘stupid idea’, outmoded, or irrelevant.
– It does focus on gender issues in the post-industrial economic age, and is just as likely to consider issues around masculinity as femininity as it sees both sexes being impacted on by gender politics.
