MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS MASCULINITY AND FEMININITY

The representation of women in Media Feminism, visual pleasure and voyeurism

Key word Voyeurism/Scopophilia: Literally, the love of looking. The term refers to the predominantly male gaze of Hollywood cinema, which enjoys objectifying women into mere objects to be looked at (rather than subjects with their own voice) The term, as used in feminist film criticism, is heavily influenced by both Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis.

‘The Male Gaze’ Theorist: Laura Mulvey The “gaze” is a term that describes how viewers engage with visual media. Originating in film theory and criticism in the 1970s, the gaze refers to how we look at visual media. Mulvey argued that traditional Hollywood films respond to a deep-seated drive known as “scopophilia”: the sexual pleasure involved in looking. Mulvey’s concept is more accurately described as a heterosexual, masculine gaze. Visual media that respond to masculine voyeurism tends to sexualise women for a male viewer. As Mulvey wrote, women are characterised by their “to-be-looked-at-ness” in cinema. Woman is “spectacle”, and man is “the bearer of the look”. Theorist: Laura Mulvey

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) offers a famous example of the male gaze. In the scene below, the audience is introduced to Cora Smith, the film’s lead female character. Using close-ups, the camera forces the viewer to stare at Cora’s body. It creates a mode of looking that is sexual, voyeuristic, and associated with the male protagonist’s point-of-view.

The Madonna/ Whore Complex Virgin Kind Motherly White WHORE Promiscuous Temptress manipulater Black Theorist: Sigmund Freud The Madonna-Whore Complex is known as the distinction men draw between the women they desire and the women they respect – with the implication that those two categories are mutually exclusive.

Analysing Media texts with feminist theory In pairs “How are the women in these images subjects of the ‘Male Gaze’ and the ‘Madonna/Whore’ complex?” Look at the codes within the image: colour; gesture; facial expression; props; proxemics etc. How do these codes signify that the women are subjects of the ‘male gaze? 10 minutes

10 mins Can you think of any other media examples that conform or reject these representations? “How are the women in these images subjects of the ‘Male Gaze’ and the ‘Madonna/Whore’ complex?”

Different interpretations of the ‘Male Gaze’

Key word Patriarchy : A social system in which the role of the male as the primary authority figure is central to social organisation, and where fathers hold authority over women, children, and property. Institutions are ruled by men and their power is dependent on female subordination. We live in a patriarchal society. Historically, patriarchy has manifested itself through the social, legal, political, and economic organisation of a culture. Patriarchy also has a strong influence on modern civilization, although many cultures have moved towards a more balanced social system over the past century.

Gauntlett Quotes http://media. leeds. ac. uk/files/2012/05/miriam-lowe Gauntlett believes that the pressure to attain this beauty ideal is on men as well as women. “Today, men are expected to spend time in the gym, working to develop ‘tight, toned’ bodies. Women who have these well-toned bodies are likely to expect – equitably enough – that men will put in similar effort. Every male film star today has to have a good body, just as women do. So you might say that it’s a pressure that our culture puts on people these days, but it’s not just limited to women” (2002: 78).

It is perhaps as a result of this greater media emphasis on women and the ideal body that it would seem that men can easily get away with any imperfection, whereas for women, even the smallest aberration is deemed entirely unacceptable in today’s media culture (Gauntlett 2002: 79).

Furthermore, there has been a tendency for men to be portrayed as more active, decisive, courageous, intelligent and resourceful than women and the quantity of men in film and television is recognized as being much greater also (Gauntlett 2002: 56).

Gauntlett (2002: 58) even goes as far as saying that since the 1990s gender roles on television have become increasingly equal and non stereotyped. Another popular research finding in the past has been that women are often portrayed as passive whereas men are more likely to be portrayed as active (Gauntlett 2002: 56 and Gallagher 1980, 1985 cited in Van Zoonen 1996: 17).

McRobbie McRobbie refers to the way it has become quite common for the media to use the bodies of young women as a way of differentiating their social class in a derogatory manner. McRobbie uses the example of ex Atomic Kitten singer Kerry Catona who was referred to on a website as ‘pramface’. This term is used to indicate a girl who is single, with a baby, not very presentable, not appealing enough to attract a long-term partner, does not go to work and therefore lives on benefits. “The bodies of young women are now to be understood according to a scale running from welfaredependent, single maternity, marking failure, to well-groomed, slim, sophistication, marking success” (2004: 102). Furthermore, for the media to portray a woman as ‘sexy’ there are certain stereotypical criteria that tend to always have to be met. The woman has to have a thin body with a perfectly flat stomach, show lots of cleavage, and have skin so smooth that it looks more like plastic than flesh (Walsh-Childers 2003: 141- 3).

https://gportt.wordpress.com/tag/judith-butler/ https://prezi.com/utm1aur7d0nk/judith-butler-laura-mulvey/ https://curatingthecontemporary.org/2014/11/07/subverting-the- male-gaze-femininity-as-masquerade-in-untitled-film-stills-1977- 1980-by-cindy-sherman/ http://www.theoryhead.com/gender/mgi-rev2.pdf

Young and Hayward Commodification of crime

Lady Gaga’s ‘Fame’ perfume advert In pairs Analyse the following print advert for Lady Gaga’s perfume ‘Fame’. How far do you agree that the representation of Lady Gaga fits into Gauntlett and McRobbie’s view of female representation? Is Gaga subject to the Male Gaze as Mulvey suggests and/or Freud’s Madonna/Whore complex? Remember to use media language!

How far do you agree that the representation of Lady Gaga fits into Gauntlett and McRobbie’s view of female representation? Is Gaga subject to the Male Gaze as Mulvey suggests and/or Freud’s Madonna/Whore complex?

Why do we need to define our gender?

Mindmap: ‘In what ways does the Media force us to define our gender?’ Gender construction Mindmap: ‘In what ways does the Media force us to define our gender?’

Your view of ‘masculinity’ will be affected by your ideologies, your culture, your consumption of media culture, your childhood….. So: What does it mean to be masculine?

Group feedback Make sure you’re writing down other’s ideas

Masculinity in Media texts What media texts can you think of that reinforce a stereotypical view of masculinity?

GTA V Analyse the following image: how are masculine stereotypes reinforced or challenged?

Gender Theory How far do you agree that ‘GTA V’ advert represents traditional and/ or retributive masculinity? Remember to use media language in your answer! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkkoHAzjnUs

GTA V In a report from ‘Games Industry’, Rockstar Games co-founder and vice president of creativity Dan Houser explained why the game’s protagonists are all male: “The concept of being masculine was so key to the story”, Houser said. A male protagonist has been the key character in each installment of the series thus far which has been met with some criticism. Online gamers will be able to create female avatars for GTA V online multiplayer, however.

How do you feel about his response? Does the response of Dan Houser change your perception of the masculine representations within the advert? How do you feel about his response?

Analyse a section of the Rockstar games website- Individually Analyse a section of the Rockstar games website- Where are the representations of traditional and/ or retributive masculinity?