Videogames: Further feminist theory

Notes from the lesson

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

Further feminist theory: blog tasks

1) What definitions are offered by the factsheet for ‘feminism ‘and ‘patriarchy’?

Feminism: 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’?

bell hooks published her feminism book because she recognised a lack of diversity in the feminist movement and argued that the voices have been marginalised.

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

• Experiences of gender and sexuality.
• "Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression"
• Intersectional identities.

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

bell hooks is most well known for her feminist theory that recognises that social classifications (e.g., race, gender, sexual identity, class, etc.) are interconnected, and that ignoring their intersection creates oppression towards women and change the experience of living as a woman in society. She argues that individual's identity can be a result of a range of different factors including gender, race,  social class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion.

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

Van Zoonen claims that the mass media help construct images of gender identity and leads to observable identity structures in advertising, film and TV. She claims that the third wave of feminism helps to create a relationship between gender (stereotypes, pornography and ideology) and communication.

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 is defined by the idea that individuals internalise social expectations for gender norms and behave accordingly - this is a more traditional belief. Liesbet Van Zoonen 'gender is socially constructed' links to media theorist Judith Butler 'gender is a performance'.

7) How do feminists view women’s lifestyle magazines in different ways? Which view do you agree with?

The lifestyle magazine representations of women are presented in different ways and feminists are critical; some may view them positively, like Sue Sharpe (1990) who claims that these representations in the media have made women more independent. Others may be more critical because they exaggerate the femininity serving to pull women into the consumer culture. Van Zoonen claims that it sets out roles that should be assigned to women as 'how to be a good mother', 'lover', 'wife', 'homemaker' and whatever suits the needs of the system. I agree that many lifestyle magazines aimed at women reinforce what is traditionally domestically expected of them. 

8) In looking at the history of the colours pink and blue, van Zoonen suggests 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 is another theorist who talks about gender and identity being about constant change; the media helps construct these identities as there is more choice and individuality. The use of make up is an example of how gender ideas can evolve over time; traditionally women only wore make up but in contemporary society it is becoming more apparent that men wear make up as well, as more and more men are experimenting with their appearance.

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

Liesbet van Zoonen argues that the influence of the media is dependent on:
• 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 as he claims that audiences are polysemic towards the media as they can take a dominant, oppositional or negotiated reading.

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?

'transmission models of communication' - some audiences are oppressed in the media as the eyes they see the media through is not representative of them. Women may feel less represented in the media, particularly those who are of BAME - they may feel that the media presented to them does not reflect them correctly as the media creators and audiences have different perspectives. 

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?

bell hooks suggests that the way women are viewed with in society is based on multiple contributing factors including race, sexuality and class - more than just gender. This links to the 'multiplicity of relations of subordination' as different types of women possess different amounts of power, an example is the difference between women from BAME backgrounds and white middle-class western women.