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.


Friday, November 1, 2013

Culture and Feminism

Aniko's comments in class about writing on My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding really resonated with me. As I tried to blog las week about the strong reactions I felt towards the show, I too was afraid of passing judgement on another culture. Something that I often struggle with about feminism is how cultural differences dictates societal norms. Hillary Clinton, as Secretary of State, had taken the stance that no matter what cultural practices degrade women, women should have equal opportunities and treatment. This view comes under scrunity in countries like Saudi Arabia, where women are not legally allowed to drive. Am I as a western woman supposed to impose this view on the world?

The thing that really struck me about My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding was not the class aspect of the show, but rather the treatment of women. Specifically, how women are not allowed an educated, married off by 18, and are "grabbed" as a form of flirting. There entire existence is based on chores and male pleasure. The role of women within the traveler society to me seem very old school. But how am I at liberty to judge norms of another culture? Is it when women are abused like with the recent rape cases in India? Or when women drive in protest in Saudi Arabia? Or when women are "grabbed" in the traveler culture? Is it ever really appropriate to criticize someone else's culture?
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