Representation of Gender
Vogue 2008
The 2008 annual “shape issue” of Vogue, arguably upholds gender and racial stereotypes through media language.
In terms of male stereotypes, vogue upholds the idea of aggression in males. The colour red that they’ve used for the masthead and some headlines, connotes aggression and dominance.
In this image Lebron James’ body language has animalistic connotations; the fact that he has gripped Bundchen’s waist, standing wide and also is shouting emphasizes his dominance. His facial expression seems animalistic although some would say that this is his “game face”. He is wearing his sportswear and is fully dressed in black, encouraging the audience to take him more seriously as he looks more sophisticated than Giselle Bundchen. On the other side, the supermodel Giselle Bundchen is portrayed more carefree and youthful. The turquoise coloured dress she is wearing shows off her body and she also seems more vulnerable compared to James as he is in an almost fighting stance. Laura Mulveys’s theory of the male gaze could possibly imply in this Vogue cover as Bundchen is only wearing a satin dress and is more sexualised than Lebron. Also Van Zoonen’s theory could imply here as the objectification of the supermodel could also target an even wider audience.
This issue has been controversial as it’s quite similar to the Kink Kong poster and is arguably racist and misogynistic in terms of their representation of cast, as they have portrayed the NBA Player animalistically and fits into the stereotype of “a dangerous black man”. Bundchen is also represented stereotypically as she seems to need protection and is more vulnerable than James, tying into the idea that women need a male saviour.
Vogue is a fashion magazine with a very widespread audience with a demographic of mainly women of socio-economic classes A to C2. Issues regarding health and fitness and especially aspirational figures like Lebron James could gain a higher number of male readers. As the magazine is so widespread, this means that they are less likely to have made mistakes on accident, especially on the cover, therefore leading to the conclusion that they may have deliberately been provocative with their portrayal of the cast. Also the fact that the masthead is covered by the casts’ heads demonstrates confidence as they are sure that the audience would recognise the magazine without looking at the masthead. In terms of reading, as they may have deliberately been provocative, it’s likely that the magazine wanted an oppositional reading in order to raise their readership. Although the issue failed due to the controversy and public outrage.
Vogue Paris
This French issue has been very controversial as it arguably glorifies domestic violence and gender based inequality. In this image the male figure is dominating the female by having his hand around her throat and his other hand on her breast. In terms of colour, the image is black and white making the cover look more sophisticated and simple, although the masthead and anchorage text are in red, and the colour has connotations of dominance but also love. Even though, the image is very sexual I don’t think it’s violent. Stephanie Seymour’s facial expression is calm, and if she was forced she would have had a more frightened expression. In terms of context, Europe is known to be more comfortable with nudity and sex in the media, therefore the edition might not be as controversial in France.
In terms of clothing Seymour is wearing a white unbuttoned and a black skirt. The white shirt could have connotations of purity and vulnerability, whereas the black shirt that Marlon Texeira is wearing connotes dominance.
The 2010 Paris Vogue Spread features the 10 year old Thylane Blondeau dressed as a grown woman and sitting on an armchair. She has a full face of makeup, but her cheeks, lips and nails are red and the colour has very sexual connotations combined with the silk dress she is wearing, makes the image even more inappropriate for the child’s age. The high heels she is wearing contribute to the sexualisation of the 10 year old model as they make her seem older but still have a youthful face. She also seems to be looking up making her seem inferior to the audience.
It is common for younger girls to be sexualised in the media, and most of the time women are expected to look even younger than they actually are. Tom Ford who was a guest editor for this issue received a major backlash because of how they had represented the child.
Laura Mulvey argues that women are objectified in the media in order to satisfy the male gaze, in this case it is highly problematic as the model is a 10 year old girl. Also, Van Zoonen’s Theory on the media profiting from the sexualisation of women also implies in this spread, as the image of the child is possibly reaching a wider audience.
In terms of context, books like “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov could have contributed to the representation of young underage girls in the media. Normally, in Vogue the majority of the audience would be women, but certain images might unfortunately attract a male audience. The way she is portrayed it’s very dangerous as it could normalise the sexualisation of children, and especially young girls.
Pink – Stupid Girls - Music Video
In the beginning of the music video, the young girl is faces with two choices – listening to devil or the angel on her shoulder, both played by Pink. The devil is the portrayal of the stereotypical dumb blonde with limited interests, including men, money and her looks. On the other side, there is the angel that is trying to lead her to a more counter typical future that would include sports and politics.
When representing the stereotypical idea of shallow women, the acting of the cast is very exaggerated in order to imply how ridiculous it is for women to be portrayed this way in the music industry and the media in general. For example, the brunette Pink is portraying, crashes into the glass door on her way to buy a chihuahua, showing the girl that she does not want to be like her and that she is a “stupid girl”.
On the other side, the angel on her shoulder shows her the complete opposite in a less satirical way. For example, Pink is show debating and dressed in business attire in front of the American flag with her face on it. Pink is challenging
stereotypes and shows the girl that women do have a place in politics and that she is more intelligent than the “stupid girls” who try to conform with the societal standards . Pink then continuous to show the young girl all the other things she can do as a woman, that stereotypically are not done by women. For example, she is playing football and that is a conventionally masculine sport. She shows more aggression while debating and playing a sport, which is an emotion that is stereotypically associated with men, demonstrating how Pink disagrees with societal standards and old ideas about gender roles.
Another example of the type of girl Pink is suggesting to the little girl not to be is the girl driving her car and accidentally crashing into someone, and leaving without a consequence. Then she continuous to fix her makeup instead of helping out the victim. The highly satirical scene exaggerates the situation although upholds the idea of the girl being shallow and careless.
In the end of the video, after all the bad examples the “devil” has showed her of girls conforming to societal beauty standards, getting surgeries and making sex tapes, the girl gets persuaded by the angel and picks up a football ball. The ball could symbolise her not conforming to gender roles and deciding what she can and can’t do herself rather than letting stereotypes lead her.
Alegra, please complete work from weeks 3 and 4.
ReplyDeleteComplete the document on the blog entitled Representation in Tide
And upload it to your own blog.
Please find the document entitled Tide and theories of Representation on the blog and complete the questions.
Sonya