Thursday, February 16, 2012

int 290: born this way?: 20th and 21st century American feminisms and popular culture

This blog post captures the heart of my INT 290 presentation on 20th and 21st century American feminisms and popular culture. This presentation will include several videos, that are posted in separate blog entries. Students will also be doing interactive interpretive activities and freewrites throughout the class to engage with the material. 


What is Feminism? Why Feminisms?
Take a few minutes to jot down your definition of feminism. If you have no idea, please say so! 


How Others Have Defined Feminism, For Better or For Worse
"I myself have never been able to find out what feminism is; I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute." Rebecca West, 20th Century Author


"The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians." Pat Robertson, Christian Televangelist


"Feminist politics aims to end domination, to free us to be who we are - to live lives where we love justice, where we can live in peace. Feminism is for everybody." bell hooks, feminist philosopher


"One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman." Simone de Beauvoir, French philosopher


"I'm not a feminist, but... I appreciate the right to help choose my government representatives. I enjoy the option of wearing pants or shorts if I want. I'm pleased that I was allowed to learn to read and write. It can be very convenient to control how many babies I want to have. It's awfully useful to be able to open a bank account and own property in my name. I like knowing that my husband or boyfriend cannot legally beat me. It's really swell to keep the money that I earn." poster from One Angry Girl

What Feminism Really Is
Equality for all persons, regardless of sex or gender.

The Sex-Gender Distinction
Simone de Beauvoir's famous quote from her book The Second Sex, “One is not born but becomes a woman” speaks to the difference between sex (biology) and gender (culture).

In what ways is this distinction complicated?!?

Feminism's Relationship to Patriarchy
We live in a patriarchal society--that is, a society structured around an unequal sexual division of power dominated by men.

My favorite way of understanding patriarchy is through author and scholar Allan Johnson's definition:

"A society is patriarchal to the degree that it promotes male privilege by being male dominated, male identified, and male centered. It is also organized around an obsession with control and involves as one of its key aspects the oppression of women" (Johnson 5).

Johnson, Allan. The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 1997.

What examples do we have that patriarchy still exists? 

Representation in US Congress 2011:
House:
Men 357
Women 78

Senate:
Men 33
Women 17

And how does Wisconsin represent? Since 1917, Wisconsin has had 2 female House members (2005, 1999) and 0 female Senators.

(Women in Congress)

Representation in Fortune 500 CEOs:
Currently, 12 F500 Companies are run by women.
(Fortune 500)

What are some other ways that we see Patriarchy at work?

Current Events:

Contraception Hearing, February 16, 2012

Issa_hearing_021612.jpg

Photo from Fox News
How Has Feminism Made a Difference in America?
Many feminists chronicle the history of the movement in waves--movements that ebb and flow and overlap.

First Wave: Focus on voting rights, from the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 and the creation of the Declaration of Sentiments to the right to vote in 1920.




Second Wave: Focus on political issues, including women in the workplace, equitable relationships, and reproductive rights. Two key phrases: "the personal is political" and "the problem with no name."


photo by Warren Leffler of a Women's Liberation March in Washington, D.C., 1970


Third Wave: 1990s-present. Focus on multiculturalism, individualism, popular culture, body issues. Sex positive. Choice feminism. Men included more explicitly. Use of social media to share feminist messages: feministing.com  and jezebel.com


Postfeminism: rejects women as victims in several key ways, such as questioning date rape and not questioning pornography or sex work. tends to be heterosexist. a backlash to second wave feminism, critiquing feminism as a monolithic movement the prescribes personal behavior. Camille Paglia.


(Waves of Feminism)

Popular Music and Feminism:
Madonna: debut album, Madonna, 1983. Feminist scholar bell hooks on Madonna: "What some of us like about her is the way she deconstructs the myth of "natural" white girl beauty by exposing the extent to which it can be and is usually artificially constructed and maintained. She mocks the conventional racist defined beauty ideal even as she rigorously strives to embody it...Madonna never lets her audience forget that whatever "look" she acquires is attained by hard work--it ain't natural" (qtd. in Zeisler 86-87). Zeisler herself states that "Madonna's refusal to fess up to who and what she truly represented made her a logical, frustrating, and complex icon" (87).

Zeisler, Andi. Feminism and Pop Culture. Berkeley: Seal, 2008.


What's the verdict: Madonna's Super Bowl show
Madonna performs at the 2012 Superbowl Halftime Show, image from marqueeblogs

As you watch "Express Yourself" (1989), consider the message of the song, as well as the images in the video. In what ways are the messages and images feminist? Complex? Confusing? Strange?

Lady Gaga: debut album, The Fame, 2008.

 photo of Lady Gaga from the Monster Ball Tour, 2010. photo from wikipedia, 
revamped image by John Robert Charlton.

Lady Gaga's Meat Dress 

Lady Gaga has recently discussed her issues with bulimia and calls for an end to "the diet wars."

As you watch "Born This Way" (2011), also pay attention to the messages and images. In what ways are they feminist? Strange? Complex? Confusing?

Two interesting applications of feminist theories to Lady Gaga as a performer, and this video in particular:

Judith Butler: concept of Performitivity: "The act that one does, the act that one performs, is, in a sense, an act that has been going on before one arrived on the scene. Hence, gender is an act which has been rehearsed, much as a script survives the particular actors who make use of it, but which requires individual actors in order to be actualized and reproduced as reality--once again" (qtd. in Felluga).

Felluga, Dino. "Modules on Butler: On Performitivity." Introductory Guide to Critical Theory. Purdue U. 6 April 2011. http://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/engl/theory/genderandsex/modules/butlerperformativity.html

Donna Harraway: from "A Cyborg Manifesto" (1991): "I would rather be a cyborg than a goddess." Article about how new technology can bring us outside of the confines of our bodies.

And, for ten different scholarly interpretations of Lady Gaga's video "Born This Way," check out the blog Gaga Stigmata.

Finally, we must discuss the latest female musical sensation: Adele. Last weekend, she won 6 grammys, beating Lady Gaga for best album! Does she represent a new future of women in music and popular culture?

Consider her response to designer Karl Lagerfield's comments about her body...

Adele, with her 6 grammys, image from the washington examiner website, attributed to Getty Images.