Visual Culture #5 - Gender and Film, LGBTQ+ Film and The Gaze

We have a new time for our visual culture lessons on a Monday now- 5:45-7:15. Weird times but hey it works better for the lecturer. This week we looked at gender in film, but first we had a quick history lesson in feminism.

Mary Wollstonecraft fought for equal rights and in the mid 1800s women could study freely. First wave feminism started with the suffragettes and a campaign for education. Second wave feminism in the 1960s saw the end of WWII (where people realised women could handle the men's jobs at home fine) and the introduction of the contraceptive pill. Third wave feminism saw the riot grrrl and ladette culture. Transgender rights and queer theory also emerged at this time (1990s). 

PLEASE APPRECIATE THIS GIF it took me so long to find out the name of this film and a gif apart from Marla Singer

Future reference the gif is from The Last Seduction

https://67.media.tumblr.com/596c9edec7cd5d6e43321f28341b974b/tumblr_nvik025EJR1ugh9ieo1_500.gif

Fourth wave feminism in 2008 saw the rise of the internet and social media. People wanted justice. There are three main type of feminists;

• marxist feminists - blame class for inequality
• radical feminists - blame patriarchy for inequality
• liberal feminists - believe legal reform will change inequality

Some film theorists now! This part of the seminar was mostly names (most of which I have learnt in A Level. I have also added some of the theorists I looked at then in the list);

• Laura Mulvey - the male gaze. 3 different gazes (director, protagonist and the spectator). Women as decorative objects.
• Carol Clover - the final girl
• Barbara Creed - the monstrous feminine
• Freud - voyeurism (pleasure in looking)

A few books I could look at:

• Simone de Beauoir - The Second Sex (1949)
• John Berger - Ways of Seeing [chapter 2] (1972)
• Naomi Wolf - The Beauty Myth (1990) [third wave]
• Betty Friedan - The Feminine Mystique (1993)

Representations

• 1920s - The Flapper
• 1930s - Hollywood
• 1940s - Noir, femme fatale, trophy (Double Indemnity)
• 1950s - Monroe, Bombshell
• 1960s - Dorris Day

https://67.media.tumblr.com/81dfa4a86879fda905402bc701eae40e/tumblr_n5xs62KCut1qdm4tlo1_500.gif

LGBTQ+

We had a very quick look at homosexuality in the classical ages and also the hays code. Also briefly mentioned cross dressing. The rest of my notes don't make sense as the lecturer was going too fast. Something about Warhol.

http://images.amcnetworks.com/ifc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Rocky-Horror.gif

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In Tuesday's seminar, we looked at gender, identity and 'the other'. I didn't get very useful notes that I didn't already know, the lecturer also wasn't confident, constantly saying it's "very confusing".

"Some gender differences in the mind and behaviour may in part be the result of our biology (prenatal hormones and genes) interacting with our experience) but the old “nature vs. nurture” debate is absurdly simplistic and a moderate position recognises the interaction of both." - Simon Baron Cohen

I wonder if they're related

https://magicoficecream.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/station-inspector_sacha-baron-cohen.gif

We then looked at the gender spectrum which could also link to colour theory. The lecturer then went to list every gender (a bit pointless to be honest). I won't be typing these up because there's too many and it's on the VLE. 

We then looked a bit at 'two spirit' which is when North Americans mix gender roles within first nations and native american tribes. Mahu means both male and female genders.

Another mention of Tangerine. Comparing colouring books ('beautiful girls' vs. 'brilliant boys'). A quick look at Grace Jones singing with a hula hoop (not sure what this has to do with gender. Any other Grace Jones video would be understandable). We then somehow talked about facebook privacy, again not sure what this has to do with gender.

Had to post this because Tom

http://www.wotyougot.com/pictures//2012/06/grace-jones-at-wembley-tennis-260612.gif

Objects of Gender/Gendered Objects

http://www.mtv.com/news/2098135/disney-gender-roles-laci-green-braless/

Today in Malcolm's lecture, we looked at how objects express gender. Sometimes it is subconscious and other times, it's a cultural act. Gender is defined by what we do and what we show. The exhibition of gender is reliant on messages or 'props'. 

http://nonbinary-lifestyle.tumblr.com/post/125209600096/pronoun-facts

Objects can have gender 'built into' them, can define gender, or their function is gendered. Male objects are more gender 'strong' than female with harsh and defined colours and shapes that are more aggressive. Pink is also a problematic colour.

http://usvsth3m.com/post/21-struggles-faced-by-a-dad-raising-a-daughter-in-a-sexist-world

We had a look at some examples of gendered objects, such as razors and the difference in design. Male ones are more big and heavy with not much decoration, whereas female ones are sleek and pretty. The ambiguity of heels are also problematic; women see them as fashion and men see them as a sex object.

https://hailtothegynocracy.wordpress.com/category/gender-equality/page/3/

For photography, a male photographer usually places their female subject looking straight at camera, sensually and confident, and carefully placed. It's more of a formal pose with a male photographer, and a informal pose with a female photographer. 

We then brought in our own objects that had genders attatched to them. We had two; Beth brought in her Rosie "We Can Do It!" poster. The poster is promoting female power. We were then asked how we could make it specific to the opposite gender, which is turn it into a soldier.

http://www.techstars.com/content/tag/startup-women/

I also brought in some of the new Kinder Eggs. I wanted to bring in the bigger ones but the price was ridiculous so I just took a picture and bought the smaller ones (£1 each the small ones now! :O ) One has a blue top and one has a pink top. The blue one has a TMNT toy and the pink one has a My Little Pony toy. To make it gender neutral, we would just leave them be as they were gender neutral before this new pink and blue top business! 

Films can also be gendered with genres such as action and chick flick. I also studied some of the theories behind this for A Level Film, looking at Laura Mulvey (the male gaze) and Carol Clover.

I found this video of actors in horror movies being switched into the opposite genders. It's a bit weird to watch but I found it interesting.