Course Description

At the core of the course is the question how feminism has become a demonized and ridiculed “F-word” in an age when issues of gender and sexuality are at the center of constant, often explosive political debates. These debates often connect media representation and political representation but tend to do so in simplistic ways that bypass or distort decades of sophisticated feminist theory and practice. We will trace back such representations through the decades around case studies that encompass film, video, television and new media practices. The case studies come from the United States and beyond, taking into full account the global interconnectedness of media production and consumption as well as the transnational travel of feminist ideas. The main goal of the course is to evaluate how useful feminist thinking is to understanding the relays between media and political representation; and to develop a lasting critical apparatus to analyzing the politics of gender and sexuality in the media.


Sunday, September 8, 2013

The Fear of Feminism


In the article titled “Ellen Page: 'Why are people so reluctant tosay they're feminists?,” Hadley Freeman discusses the implications of being a feminist in Hollywood with Ellen Page. Page states, “I don't know why people are so reluctant to say they're feminists. Maybe some women just don't care. But how could it be any more obvious that we still live in a patriarchal world when feminism is a bad word?”

 This specific quote reminded me of an article I recently read in the Huffington Post titled, “Celebrity Feminists: A Handy Guide To Fame And The 'F' Word.” The article discusses the negative connotation of “the F word” as well as which Hollywood celebrities do and do not identify with the term. The majority of women quoted in the article including, Katy Perry, Carrie Underwood, Sarah Jessica Parker, Demi Moore, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and Lady Gaga do not consider themselves feminists. Even Madonna was quoted in saying, “I’m not a feminist, I’m a humanist,” echoing the view of playwright Wendy Wasserstein. Additionally, Carrie Underwood illustrates the common fear of being called a feminist. She stated, "I wouldn't go so far as to say I am a feminist, that can come off as a negative connotation. But I am a strong female."
Many of these women who seem to support the empowerment of women, fear the term feminist. The negative connotation of feminists as “bra-burning” and “man-hating” women are what many of these “strong women” want to avoid and is the exact reason we have to change the negative stigma.

Feminism is the “theory of political, economic, and social equality of sexes.” By definition, feminism is a positive thing for women because it promotes equality of the sexes.  All of these celebrity women who fear the term “feminist” are in fact the same women who should be considered some of the greatest examples of it. But the reality of “feminism” does not match the way people perceive it.

In Hollywood today, “only 23% of speaking roles in films today are for women." Many women in Hollywood still suffer from gender inequality, yet do not identify with the term feminist. Feminism, is feared by the very women it is meant to help.

Throughout the semester I want to understand and explore this fear and the negative connotation of the word. Is this fear cultural? Is this negative stigma a product of male dominated media? Or is it something else?



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