In my first blog post I defined “Feminism” as the movement which advocates women’s rights to break gender inequality , whether socially , economically , legally and politically. After learning more about media and gender , I would redefine feminism as the movement for equality for all , focusing on the ways intersectionality differs and differentiate between women’s ability to participate in society. Feminism seeks to abolish any systems and disrupt normative ideologies and concepts that oppress women and male as well. In addition, i wrote in my first blog post “Nowadays the system our world functions in is masculine and patriarchal mostly . Therefore , feminism is fighting against the system which oppresses certain group of people , and achieve equality for all. ” which through this course i got to dive deep into the ways patriarchy and capitalism manipulates and oppresses women to remain in power. Media is an important resource , as it shapes ideologies of the society. Therefore, studying the relation between media and gender

This course opened my eyes to even the ways feminism can be misused , things i used to view as empowering women , now I am aware it creates the opposite. I am able to wear a feminist lens with all the concepts I gained in this course while viewing multiple media platforms.

“Feminist media studies” it is the study of media from feminist principles , theories and ideologies, study the media content , distribution and company. How the representation of women in media define women. This is my definition from my first blog post, i would add to it the study of the influence of media ownership , content and structure on the audience

This course expanded my knowledge in media studies and got to know authors , concepts and skills to use to fight against gender inequality in media. I am grateful for the resources i know have access to , especially in Palestine. I look forward in the future to apply all i have learned to write research papers and produce campaigns.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and passion for this course

As Defined by Goldman et al.(1991) commodity feminism is the use of feminist ideologies and discourses as advertising methods, a commodity sold for women with the idea that it adds to her value in work and home , and fetishizes the women body which reinforces the male gaze by commodifying the women’s body in a certain shape and looks. Commodity feminism works as a method for selling items to females with the message of “empowerment and liberation” for the sole purpose to sell the product and striping the feminist significance.

In this example, portrays a bunch of celebrities , successful business women selling the logo of Girlscan . This in fact only sells the product and doesnt make legislative or call for change for other women that face sexism, rape or are not able to land a job due to the society’s patriarchal choice of workers. Commodity feminism sells the idea that feminist ideologies have been achieved and use it to sell a product , by playing the innocent role ” we are empowering women”

The example i shared in my paper could be analyzed as commodity feminism , as the artist claims liberation and empowerment over her body and sexuality. The artist sells her prints and other projects at a high price. instead of challenging the patriarchy and sexism that still exists , this sends a message to the buyers that we have been liberated and empowered by just acting in a superior way and buying a print to hang it in our house.

The Catalyst magazine resists the hegemonic messages about weddings by having a diverse representation and challenges the main embedded ideologies about wedding , in terms of love , expenses and femininity. The catalyst magazine engages with the audience to create an inclusive online platform that embraces all and challenges the hegemonic point of view that weddings need to be expensive , feminine to be perfect. This challenges the ” common sense” of “systematic propaganda” . As defined by Engstrom (2007) systematic propaganda reinforces femininity and consumerism by trying to instill individuals with values, beliefs, and codes of behavior that will integrate them into the institutional structures of larger society. Hegemony becomes a common sense of opinions and beliefs , expected for the majority to accept as they are and be seen as normal and necessary.

Feminist political economy of communication is the study of the normalization of gender norms and power relations in the economical structure. Through analyzing the way consumerism and ownership of commodities create a gender gap.

Gender , class, capitalism and media are all intertwined. As capitalism , focuses on profit more than equality and rights , the media generates in a capitalist world . Thus, women may come off as more liberated in tv shows but actresses may still face inequality in their practice. Although media outlets are available nearly for everyone and claim to have broke a lot of inequalities. it acts as selling ideologies based on pleasure and commodification to the need of the producers which distracts them from the ultimate mean and purpose. Therefore feminist political economy of communications , study varies types of media and their political economy and how it creates intertwined power relations. Media is an outlet to speak out your opinion and rights but sometimes feminist issues could be shared online but does not actually liberate women or give them legislation and cultural rights.

https://edition.cnn.com/2016/11/28/africa/morocco-makeup-domestic-violence-trnd/index.html

I came across this News article written by Sirgany and Roberts (2016) and video. A morning show in the Moroccan tv channel called Sabahiyat aired a segment which gives advices and demonstrates how to cover domestic violence bruises with make up. This media discourses portrays the confirmation and normalizing of domestic violence in Morocco. According to Sirgany and Roberts (2016) the channel is state owned and the show was aired two days before International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The following media discource is affected by patriarchy as the state follows the patriarchal ideology that men have more dominance and control over females.

This VW eGolf Commercial is sexist and stereotypes gender from the first scene tell the end. As the role of male is portrayed as protective , achiever, astronaut , athlete and driver. The role of women is portrayed as housewife that cleans and prepares food and caregiver. This reinforces streotypes about concept of gender , gener-role attributes , comparision standards and the effect of the advertising on the female and male is detrimental as it places female and male in a narrow window , portraying gender as a limiting factor for normal human roles.

As is sends a message women are not capable to achieve and are only born to take the job of cleaning and cooking , submissive. This ad is extremely portrays gender roles and values.

Another ad that oversexualizes women and overtly masculine portrayal. objectify women and creates the stereotype that women as subordinate to men.

one should always ask one self , what if the women was portrayed as a man and the man as women.

Define media discourse according to Litosseliti (2013), then explain the different media discourses identified by Chan-Malik (2011), Stabile and Kumar (2005), and Alhayek (2014).

Write 250 words maximum, excluding reference list in APA format.

Laughey (2007), Carter (2012), Litosseliti (2013), and Al-Mahadin (2011) main argument is that gender is a social/cultural construct , and one can disrupt by changing the categorization of female and male. One main approach to feminist analysis of media is the “Theory of the male Gaze” , which according to Laughey (2007) that male characters are he observers and women characters are passive objects of male’ s sexual desire. The theory relates Sigumend Freud argument about the connection of the mind and body, especially in early years of human life .As well ,The notion of “scopophilia” which suggests that humans instinct is to find pleasure in looking. Therefore, Movies , Tv Shows and video games main focus is visual pleasure rather than intellectual stimulation. Another Notion explained by Laughey(2007) is identification , the act of identifying oneself with the ideal charachter represented in media , as it can create ‘ego ideals’. Moreover, Carter (2012) argues how the media marginalized and stereotypes women, by outlining the ideas of poststructuralist feminist’s , Judith Butler and Teresade Cauretis. To reconstruct gender , one must break free from the terms created by patriarchay which is male-centered. Another research method used is Audience research. According Litosseliti (2013) through watching soap operas women live out a more pleasurable life, this leads to women associating with the characters role.

Intersectionality is a theory explains how the categories: race , gender , gender identity , class sexuality and disability is intertwines in the practices and policies implied to create subordination and privileges. As Kimberly Crenshaw (1989) explains it in the metaphor of the roads ( the structures of race, gender…) , traffic ( discriminating policies) . The cause of any accident would be coming from multiple structures(roads) e.g race/ class sexuality and sometimes all of them.

Intersectionality opens a door for debates and synthesizing when applied in media and gender studies. It discusses how gender is radicalized and shaped by the prevalence of perceptions and stereotypes of race. Davis (2008) argues that the success of the intersectionality theory is due to its “vagueness” and “open-endedness”. According to Murray S. Davis , a successful theory has 4 characteristics. (1) it speaks to a primary audience and concern (2) provide a novel twist to an old problem (3) bridges the gap between theory generalists and specialists (4) ambiguous and incomplete . All applies to intersectionality , As Davis noted (2008) it can be used by addressing questions by acknowledging the differences among women.

As one cannot study one gender without studying the other , the role women play affects the interplay of femininity and masculinity. According to Connell & Messerschmidt (2005) Masculinity is defined by the practices that are defined by society and time period. Global hegemonic masculinity are related to the emergance of regional and global protest , as capitalism and colonialsm shapes masculinities. As Hasso(2018 ) explains the definition of masculinity in the Mena region as ” to own an control” while femininity is ” to be owned and controlled”.

Masculinities is crucial in the study of gender and media, as it could be used to locate the emergence of the masculine role , whether from culture , society interactions , film actors , athletes and politicians. As suggested by Connell & Messerschmidt (2005) the 3 ways to analyze emirically existing hegemonic masculiniities by local, regional and global. Hegemonic masculinity , is the application of hierarchy and domination based on force.

Davis, K. (2008). Intersectionality as buzzword: A sociology of science perspective on what makes a feminist theory successful. Feminist Theory, Retrieved from:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1464700108086364

Connell, R. W., & Messerschmidt, J. W. (2005). Hegemonic masculinity: Rethinking the concept Retrieved from:
https://www.etnologia.uw.edu.pl/sites/default/files/hegemonic_masculinity_connell_and_messerschmidt.pdf

Hasso, F.S. (2018, October 22). Decolonizing Middle East Men and Masculinities Scholarship: An Axiomatic Approach. Jadaliyya. Retrieved from: https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/38079

How does “doing gender” help you understand Joseph’s analysis of patriarchy and connectivity in Lebanon?

According to Joseph (1993) patriarchy and connectivity creates relation ally oriented selves , the social norms negotiate gendered and aged hierarchies , locals recognize this as healthy , mature and responsible. it is the social outlook of what a male and women. As West & Zimmerman’s (1978) explained how gender was defined according to traits perceived by biological and social definitions. on the Other hand , Gender is how humans interact. It helped me understand how gender is made up to define how male and female should interact. Depending on social norms which were created by humans and are not biological. This point connects to West & Zimmerman’s (1978) point of how gender is made to shape interactions between female and male according to rules and regulations made up about Female and male roles As Fausto-Sterling (1993) explained the existence of inter sexuality ( not binary to female and male ) . “According to plato there once were three sexes- males , female and hermaphrodite- but the third sex was lost with time. ” . Masculine and feminine traits exists in all of us , the ying and yang. Our sex genitals define our sex but gender is a role projected on us by Humans to control.

Reference List:

Fausto-Sterling, A. (1993). The five sexes: Why male and female are not enough. The Sciences,Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239657377_The_Five_Sexes_Why_Male_and_Female_are_not_Enough

West, C., & Zimmerman, D. H. (1987). Doing gender. Gender and Society,
excerpts). Retrieved from:
https://www.gla.ac.uk/0t4/crcees/files/summerschool/readings/WestZimmerman_1987_DoingGender.pdf
Joseph, S. (1993). Gender and relationality among Arab families in Lebanon. Feminist Studies. Retrieved from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/3178097.pdf

Based on your reading of hooks, Makdisi, and Jad, summarize how they define/complicate/critique feminism and feminist movements.

Write 250 words maximum, excluding reference list in APA format. Graded in/complete.

In the Feminism is for Everybody: passionate politics , Hooks (2000) defines feminism as the movement that aspires to end sexism and oppression. Hooks further explains that this definition cancels the idea that feminists are against male and only seek equal rights as men , feminism is against sexism and fights against bigger issues than equal rights for women. Hooks critiques that women should stand together against patriarchy and sexism , to not only fight for equal rights but the end of ownership of women bodies by the system. Hooks(2000) explains that men learn about feminism from patriarchal mass media , which provides the wrong image.

Makdisi (2014) critiques that the use of words is crucial as they hold power. Language and words could be used as a manipulation tool , corruption of language. Makdisi( 2014) further critiques the political language , as it absurd with lies. Mkadisi(2014) discusses the use of words “huqoq el mara”and he complicates as explains women reformist are not fighting for

Jad (2003) discusses NGOs which support women’s rights , their context , their strategies , their structure and links to other social and political groups , to external agencies and to the government.