Feminist Theory

1) What are the two texts the article focuses on?

- Pan Am 

- Beyoncé 

2) What examples are provided from the two texts of the 'male gaze' (Mulvey)?

Pan Am - It is interesting to note that this first image of the Pan Am stewardesses is one which is highly constructed and mediated, an image whose purpose is to be admired and aspired to by women, and visually enjoyed by men.

Beyoncé - Particularly in her video "why don't you love me" Beyoncé is presented to be a feminine object who is there for the 'male gaze' and in a similar way Pan Am does it uses the past periods of the 50's and 60's and the clothes they used to wear as costumes in their videos to represent themselves.

3) Do texts such as these show there is no longer a need for feminism or are they simply sexism in a different form?


In my opinion they show that there has been a clear improvement from the past, when there was a clear separation of the sexes and everyone knew it. I think that it shows that it wont ever completely be changed and that there will always be sexism, but it mocks how it used to be in the past.

4) Choose three words/phrases from the glossary of the article and write their definitions on your blog.

Feminism – A movement aimed at defining, establishing, and defending women’s rights and equality to men.

Post-feminism – An ideology in culture and society that society is somehow past needing feminism and that the attitudes and arguments of feminism are no longer needed.

Male Gaze – The gaze referring to Laura Mulvey’s seminal article ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ which argues that main stream Hollywood films subject female characters to the ‘male gaze’ of the camera, fragmenting and objectifying their bodies.

1) How might this video contribute to Butler’s idea that gender roles are a ‘performance’?

This video may contribute to Butler's idea that gender roles are a 'performance' as she is acting how a woman in the 50's may have, as there was much less equality and that was what men wanted to see women as and Beyoncé mocks that.

2) Does this video reinforce or challenge the view that women should perform certain roles in society?

I thought that the entire reason Beyoncé was idolised for was because she mocked and somewhat exposed the stereotype of how women should behave and act by making such videos and shows that women are capable of much more when they are given the opportunity as they are today.

3) Would McRobbie view Beyonce as an empowering role model for women? Why?

I'm not sure if McRobbie would view Beyoncé as an empowering role model as some of her methods of showing this is unconventional as by mocking what it used to be like is still doing this deliberately to attract some male viewers, however does seem to empower a lot of women and particularly young women.

4) What are your OWN views on this debate – does Beyonce empower women or reinforce the traditional ‘male gaze’ (Mulvey)?

I think that Beyoncé does empower women by deliberately and quite obviously mocking the way women used to have to act and how it is a clear act of sexism and how unfair it used to be back then and how much it has changed, however I do believe that this was still partially a publicity stunt as she is undressed unnecessarily in some scenes knowing that it would receive some media attention, particularly in 2010 when something like this could have been very controversial but it may not have been as she may have simply wanted to show much it has changed from the past.