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Videogames: Further feminist theory

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

Feminism is 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’?

She had recognised a lack of diversity within the feminist movement, arguing that these diverse voices had been ignored and positioned outside the main feminist body.

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

It is unfair to make all women equal with men; not all men are equal with men because of sexism, orientation and ethnicity. Hooks used her research to propose a more inclusive theory of feminism that supported acknowledgement and acceptance of differences for women within a sisterhood.

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

 Intersectionality - Used to identify social identities and related systems of exploitation, control or prejudice that overlap or converge. The meaning is that multiple identities converge to create a whole different to separate identities of components

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

She argues that there is a strong relationship between gender (such as pornography, ideology) and communication, but it is also the mass media that contributes to much of the gender identity constructs that can be seen in advertisement, film and television.

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?

In order to understand the different meanings of media content, scientific feminist work often involves 3 perspectives: the person, the social and the cultural influences. Culture is seen as "way of life" for van Zoonen

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

Women's magazines mediate photos telling women "how to be a perfect mother, a husband, a wife, a homemaker, a glamorous necklace, a secretary-whatever the system needs." The' media-created woman'–the wife, mother, housekeeper, sex object–was seen by feminists of the 1970s as a female just trying to be attractive to men.

8) In looking at the history of the colours pink and blue, van Zoonen suggests ideas 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?

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

 •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?

 One of the best ones would be bell hooks which talk about theories like normalised traumatisation.

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?

Paul Gilroy's Diasporic Identity is quite similar to this. Instead of ethnicity, Gilroy speaks about the impact that misrepresentation will have on black British and African Americans, and how it will change their own world view.

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?

 This links the belief in bell hooks that the power imbalance can not be defined by identifying men and women, van Zoonen discusses how bringing in other intersections complicates power

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