The Politics of Being a Woman

Feminism, Media and 21st Century Popular Culture

H. Savigny, H. Warner, H. Savigny, H. Warner

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN:
  9781137384652
• eBook ISBN:
  9781137384669
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Cultural & Social Anthropology
• Index: Social Sciences

What does it mean to be a woman in the 21st century? The feminist movement has a long and rich history, but is its time now passed? This edited collection is driven by the question, why is feminism viewed by some (we would add a majority) as outdated, no longer necessary and having achieved its goals, and what role have the media played in this?

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Introduction: The Politics of Being a Woman

Heather Savigny and Helen Warner

We are feminists because we believe that feminism still has a political role to play in today’s society.

I am not a feminist, but I do believe in the strength of women.

Katy Perry during her Woman of the
Year’ acceptance speech at Billboard’s
‘Women in Music 2012’ lunch

How often do we hear someone begin sentences with the expression ‘I’m not a feminist but...’? Katy Perry’s comments are not that unusual. Even the most cursory of glances in the popular presses reveals an unwillingness on the part of young women to engage with feminism. Broadsheets on the right and the left are reporting various statistics which demonstrate a lack of engagement with feminism, despite an open acknowledgment of the sexism writ large in our culture (Angyal, 2010; McDonough, 2013; O’Toole, 2014; Waters, 2013). Indeed, in some ways they could be seen as indicative of a wider discourse which permits the exclusion of the gains of the women’s movements and the achievements of feminism, by negating the existence of feminism in the first place. Katy Perry’s comments also include an assumption that the focus is on the achievements and the success of the individual in question, and the gains of prior collective efforts remain unacknowledged (for example as female academics we are all too conscious that if it were not for the endeavours of the feminist movement, we would be much less likely to have the luxury of editing this collection today!). None of our observations are to deny Katy Perry’s talent or success. But we are suggesting that the way in which we, as a society, define what it means to be successful, in our contemporary environment does have a certain set of (often implied) criteria. In contemporary media culture that often means that women should be young, thin, sexually attractive, blond and scantily dressed. Sure, there are exceptions to this mould, but notably they remain exceptions rather than the ‘norm’. The aim of this book is to think about those ‘norms’ of being a woman in contemporary popular culture. We want to ask questions about how these norms and values are constructed in our mediated popular culture. The chapters in this collection invite us to reflect upon how discourses about women are constructed and mediated through our popular culture; how these discourses circulate; and how they are received by audiences.

The wider backdrop to these issues includes debates within and around ideas of feminism. Feminism that is not just something which is the province of the academy, but something which has resonance in our everyday lives. We are particularly interested in feminism’s present incarnation, one which enables us, or those around us, to causally utter the phrase such as ‘I’m not a feminist but...’ Where does this phrase (and the rejection of feminism within it) come from? Is it a backlash against the successes of earlier generations of feminism? Does this stem from the assumption that feminism is not necessary? While not a particularly new phrase, it is still in common usage. Underlying our book is a reflection on what that phrase reveals about our contemporary culture, how our popular culture has responded to the ideas which are embodied in that phrase, and what this means for our everyday lives, our lived political experiences. In this collection we are particularly concerned to think about the way in which women are constructed and positioned, presented and represented through our mediated cultural discourses. We also want to invite reflection on what this means for us as audiences as we seek to make sense of, and find meaning in, these constructions. We start from the assumption that these discourses are inherently political. Within and through these discourses dominant power structures are negotiated, contested, reinforced and challenged. This may be done through the construction of these discourses and/or their consumption, acceptance, rejection or negotiation by audiences. The chapters in this collection explore both the construction of discourses of womanhood, what it means to be a woman, and the ways in which these discourses are received by audiences. For us, it is the site of this interaction where power is contested and negotiated, through the representation of womanhood and how this affects ‘everyday lives’, that is intensely political and revealing of the ways in which patriarchal power may be both consolidated in its production and also rejected through feminism[s]. As we will argue below, our starting point is that the representation of women in media culture is intensely political, as are our responses as audiences.

This collection represents the bringing together of scholars in political science, media and cultural studies. They write across and from a range of disciplines: cultural, media, political studies, and employ a range of methodological approaches (including traditional textual and political analysis; comparative studies and ethnographic research) to advance the discussion of gender politics and popular culture. Each chapter takes as its starting point some aspect of women’s representation in the media, be that a focus on iconic women in popular culture, female politicians, women’s roles in TV programmes or films or the way in which audiences respond to cultural representations, as a way to frame this discussion.

Debates in media and cultural studies often focus on the politics of everyday life, tending to marginalise formal (or ‘big P’) politics (government and Parliament); whereas debates in political science tend to marginalise the everydayness of politics (‘small p’ politics). In this book, we bring these two strands together. As such a central aim of our book is to argue that ‘politics’ needs to be reinserted into debates around the nature of contemporary feminism as well as restating that feminism is central to contemporary P/politics.

The essays in this collection explore differing ways in which women are represented in popular culture. But this is located in a wider debate about the nature of contemporary feminism. Below we set out some of those wider debates around feminism, we discuss the historical development of feminism and the way in which it manifests itself in contemporary society. Currently the term postfeminism, though deployed in myriad ways, is often used to signal both an historical break from ‘second wave’ feminism, yet also, contradictorily perhaps, to signify a ‘backlash’ against feminism (see Gill and Schaff, 2011 Projansky, 2001). In addition, ‘postfeminist’ media culture is often viewed as inherently ‘uncritical’ and in some senses ‘apolitical’. Consequently, the main argument that underpins this collection, is that the act of constructing feminism, as something which is no longer necessary, is an act which is in itself inherently political. Ideological construction of feminism as depoliticised, as no longer politically relevant or viable is itself, we argue, is an intensely political act. This political action is also something that emerges through an interaction between our politics, media and culture; it entails a relationship which is dialectical and interacts and shapes the politics of our everyday experiences. Simultaneously, the way in which mediated cultures depict women and feminisms, we argue, has downplayed the ‘political’ aspect of feminisms. We argue that media plays a key role in perpetuating and promoting this view. This process of depoliticisation as played out through traditional visual media, for us, highlights the need to ‘bring the politics back in’ to contemporary discussions about feminism, and how women are represented in contemporary mediated popular culture.

Overview of chapters and introduction

To explore the differing ways in which we might discuss the ‘politics of being a woman in 21st century popular culture’ we structure the book in three parts. Part I explores formal, ‘big P’ politics and its relationship to feminism and mediated popular culture. That is we examine the ways in which women are represented in formal political structures. In Chapter 2 Emily Harmer looks at the way in which formal ‘Politics’ is represented as popular culture when female politicians are under discussion in the media. She reminds us of the ways in which media construct, and expect conformity to, a particular stereotype of womanhood. In her analysis of coverage of women in the 2010 election, she notes that male politician’s spouses received greater coverage than female politicians. The political expectation here was that women were to play a supporting role in existing power structures. Eylem Atakav’s Chapter 3 focuses on filmic representations that challenge dominant Political discourses. Through her analysis of the ways in which honour killings are represented in documentary film, Atakav draws our attention to the ways in which such practices are supported through governing ideas and ideologies within state structures. She provides us with an opportunity to explore ways in which challenges to the state structures (in this case through adherence to Islam) may take place through film. Here then we have a contrast in the relationship between media and political discourses, which we feel reflects the nuanced nature of the wider debate. While Emily Harmer suggests that media reinforce Political discourses, Eylem Atakav suggests that media provide a site to challenge formal Political structures.

In Part II, we look at postfeminist icons and the ‘role models’ that are constructed through pop music and film. Oliver Brooks reflects, in Chapter 4, on the role of the culture industry, with specific reference to Lady Gaga and Madonna, to explore the ways in which women are positioned culturally and politically. He draws our attention to the notion that despite audiences ‘knowingness’ of the ways in which women are constructed, still they were unable to cast a critical gaze over these constructions of femininity, nor fully reject these constructions. One of the broader issues he raises is the need for contemporary feminism/postfeminism to act as a site of action and resistance. In Chapter 5 Sarah Ralph encourages us to think back to the way in which ‘personal is political’ in everyday life as she looks at the ways in which ‘real life’ mothers and daughters respond to female stars. She notes that the mother-daughter relationship has tended to be viewed in psychoanalytic terms as one which can be ‘harmful’. Ralph however, highlights a much more nuanced relationship between mother and daughter through their responses to female ‘stars’. These media representations provided a place through which shared interests were consolidated (such as class identities). These stars also provided mothers and daughters a space to discuss ‘role models’; what ‘successful womanhood may (or may not) look like. Our own Chapter 6 draws us back to explore the way in which the politics of gender is played out in the construction and negotiation of role models and gender norms film, through wider media response to film. Recent years have seen some emergent films with strong women leads, which invite a rethinking perhaps of the role of ‘woman’. However, the way in which audiences are invited to view these films through ‘cues’ from media discourses, tends to emphasise a conservatism and resistance to women’s roles beyond the traditional. While Oliver Brooks and Sarah Ralph highlight the ‘knowingness’ of audiences, at the same time all three chapters remind us of the complexity of contemporary representations of womanhood, and invite us to reflect on the kind of role models we might like our media to present us with. In particular, all three chapters speak to cultural anxieties about the visibility of women in public life and suggest that ultimately role models serve to police public performances of femininity. What happens if they subvert traditional stereotypes and expectations? It is here, we argue, at this site of challenge and negotiation that politics is played out.

In the final part (Part III) the politics of ‘real life’, we look in more depth at the way in which audiences experience and replicate or react to the ‘real life’ depictions of gender ‘norms’ in popular culture. Chapter 7 by Katixa Agirre links to the previous section by exploring the impact of icons on audiences. She examines the way in which UK, US and Spanish viewers of AMC’s Mad Men (2007) respond to historical representations of gender which privilege white male hegemonic representations, reinforcing rather than challenging political power structures. This is situated in a second wave feminist context, yet is a programme made in a postfeminist era with a postfeminist sensibility, Agirre argues. She draws our attention to the way in which this historical representation of sexism challenged contemporary audiences to reflect on what exactly had changed. Analysing contemporary responses to an historical representation of pre-feminism is effective in highlighting both the successes and advances of feminism while acknowledging that difficulties of effective wider change in underlying political power structures. Similarly, Chapter 8 by Tori Cann looks at what those political power structures mean for younger female audiences and asks what it means to be ‘girl’. Through audience research, she reflects on the ways in which femininity is constructed through popular culture, and how young girls’ identity is still negotiated, contested and constructed through patriarchal discourses. Indeed, both Agirre and Cann’s work speaks to a pervasive theme running throughout this volume regarding the politics of resistance. While both acknowledge audiences’ abilities to challenge gender expectations, they also remind us of the limitations. Consequently, performances of gender which take place in both the public and private sphere are regulated via intense (self-) scrutiny, and any deviation from cultural norms is sanctioned.

In what follows in the rest of our introduction we sketch out a backdrop in which these chapters are situated, namely within a complex debate around the history of feminist ideas. In contemporary society the phrase ‘I’m not a feminist but...’ is perhaps reflective of a place where feminism is rejected but is also in resurgence (as witnessed physically in contemporary activist groups such as Femen and UK Feminista, and virtually with a plethora of new social media fora). We chart the background to this debate as a means to situate the empirical chapters that discuss representations of women in media culture and the way in which audiences respond to this. We also emphasise a need for a restatement of the P/political in contemporary feminism. This intellectual background, and combination of ideas, theory and activism, is also reflected in the foreword by Liesbet Van Zoonen, and the Afterword by Kat Banyard. In our final chapter (Chapter 9, Conclusion) we return to consider the political nature of feminism and the way it touches our everyday lives through media and popular culture. We conclude by offering a re-statement of the phrase ‘I’m not a feminist BUT…’ and by thinking through what it means to say ‘I am a feminist IF...’ or ‘I am a feminist BECAUSE…’ and each of our authors have begun their chapters with an opening statement that reflects an overall political objective of this volume.

I’m not a FEMINIST but...

We locate this collection in a wider set of debates and issues in the broader context of the women’s movement and feminisms. We recognise not only a multiplicity of feminism, but also that some of the debates deny the need any longer for feminism, full stop. So the phrase ‘I’m not a feminist but...’ also highlights the way in which some people view feminism as outdated, no longer necessary, and having achieved its goals. This suggests we may have come to a place where the battles are won; if feminism is no longer needed, has it achieved its aims? This in turn raises the questions have women achieved full equality with men, or emancipation from systems of oppression and exploitation? The genesis of this book began with conversations between the editors which raged back and forth around the question how have we got to the point in our society where for some/many feminism is something not to be proud of, but something seen as a bit embarrassing to admit to really? In media discourses and in our everyday life experiences, we might often hear feminism discussed pejoratively. In the mainstream, feminism can often be viewed, or presented, as outdated, no longer necessary. Indeed, the very fact that in the West, women have achieved the vote, equal pay legislation is in place and rape in marriage is now illegal are not just some of the tangible outcomes that may be attributable to the women’s movement and feminist agenda but are often repeatedly used as evidence of its redundancy in contemporary culture. Historically (and contemporarily), feminism/s and women’s movements have challenged the way in which our society has been constructed on the basis of hierarchical and exploitative relationships between men and women. Massive advances by women’s movements and feminism/s mean these relationships have been challenged, the social order is changing, but these power relationships are enmeshed in social, economic, political and cultural contexts. Exposing these contexts is just one way to challenge them. While we are not able to cover all bases in the context of one book, our specific focus is the way in which the myths and discourses around womanhood, are constructed for us culturally, in and through our media. The media play an important and significant role in our cultural socialisation, and in the construction of our cultural discourses. The dominance of visual media in our everyday lives has enormous consequences for the way we see the world, the way in which power structures work, are negotiated and re-negotiated, constituted and re-constituted. Within that is also contained the possibility of change, we can choose whether to challenge or submit to these structures.

The aim of this collection therefore is to discuss the differing ways in which women are constructed and re-constructed in visual/media culture. Our particular focus is upon the ways i...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures and Tables
• Foreword by Liesbet Van Zoonen
• Acknowledgements
• Notes on Contributors
• 1 Introduction: The Politics of Being a Woman
• Part I The Politics of Politics in Popular Culture
• Part II The Politics of Politics: Role Models
• Part III The Politics of Being a Woman in ‘Real Life’
• Afterword by Kat Banyard
• Index