Class and gender in the 1980s FMS 394: Lesson 10

Guiding questions How is the U.S. socio-economic landscape changing in the 1980s? How do these shifts relate to young people? How are discourses of gender, particularly of femininity, a site and source of cultural anxieties in the 1980s? How do we see the intersections of class and gender anxieties playing out in films like Pretty In Pink? What are the ideological ramifications (for discourses of gender and of class) of John Hughes’ choice to situate discussions about class conflict within romance narratives?

Class and economics in the 1980s Individualism Intensification of older ideals Privileges the privileged Acquisition Emphasis on luxury Transformation Consumption now moral

“Backlash” and Postfeminism: gender in the 1980s “Backlash” (Faludi) The Big Lie Postfeminism Feminism is “taken into account” Femininity in Advertising Individualism, Acquisition, and Transformation

Class and Gender in Pretty in pink Wealth, Work, and Worth Anxieties presented in relationships Andi and The Richies Andi and Ducky Andi and Iona Andy and Blaine

Romance, Class Struggles, and Hughes’ Teen Angst Movies Molly Ringwald as Postfeminist Heroine? What is the solution to class struggle? If love conquers all, what does that say about economic inequality?

Next Time on FMS 394 Teens, Race,and Masculinity in the 1990s