Study Task 3B- Images and Theory

Study Task 3A - Images and Theory

Important terms/ concepts:

• gender
• subcultures
• punk?
• feminism
• fanzines/zines

Relevant images:

How can these be used to interpret my theme?:

• punk clothing and lifestyle was androgynous and very inclusive of both genders, therefore making it a subculture synonymous with feminism
• pop-culture representations of alternative/punk/feminist women has helped to make it more widely socially acceptable for women to choose alternative lifestyles and express their feminist views (e.g. The Runaways, Pink, Avril Lavigne)
• zines and fanzines started by punk rockers to express their beliefs and philosophies were in turn adopted by the female members of the subculture. They used these to talk about their punk and feminist beliefs and how those coincided. They were handmade and lo-fi by members of the subcultures they explored and distributed amongst them too.
• the riot girl movement that was started after the establishment of the Riot Grrl magazine in 1991 (a predecessor of Jigsaw), was elemental in third wave feminism which helped rewrite the ageing narrative that womens primary vocation was homemakers and wives. Maybe these had such a strong influence because as before mentioned they were distributed amongst the female members of the subculture who were young and already "rebelling" against the more old fashioned ways of thinking, creating a new generation of forward thinking women

Study Task 2- Reading and Understanding texts

Author: Samantha Holland
Source: Book- Alternative Femininities; Body, Age and Identity
Publisher: Berg, 2004
About the author: research fellow at Leeds Beckett university, work focuses on gender, subcultures and ageing

Concepts: 

• Older research into subcultures was male centric and biased e.g. Foote Whyte, 1943
• subcultures give women a chance to change the traditional narrative of "marriage as their true vocation"
• gives women a chance to develop a new way to be women
• old research also didn't include mixed sex subcultures, different ethnicities or sexualities
• subcultures are involved in "production and marketing for consumption"
• generally it is more acceptable for men to rebel
• subcultures give women "choice and variety"

Key Quotes:

• "Feminism had had an impact at all levels of society, including girls' magazines and television dramas, allowing space for more positive and varied portrayals of girls and women"
• "the state of flux in relation to what now constitutes feminine identity, offered girls more opportunities and choices"
• "this creates the need for subcultural styles to be constantly reinvented as 'dangerous' (challenging, shocking) since he asserts, style and appearance are central to subculture activity: the styles were a crucial element of playing the part of the unruly youth"
• "the CCCS looked at friendships, beliefs, behaviours, clothes and other material objects, and how these added up to 'maps of meaning' which shaped the subcultures and its members"

Examples of this text in real life:

• rise of Riot Grrls in the 90's
• rise in "girlgangs" and feminist opinions today
• 'black lives matter' and 'yes, all men' movements on social media
• media double standards on the policing of womens bodies vs mens 

Study Task 1- Developing A Research Question

Main Interests:

• Feminism
• Gender
• Aesthetic
• Mental health

10 Points That Stand Out:

1. Cultural expectations

2. body autonomy

3. body modification

4. subcultures

5. human nature

6. sexuality

7. feminine strength

8. gender roles

9. costume and clothing

10. social media

Possible Research Questions:

• how free are we?
• how do our beauty standards effect our freedom?
• why is porn free on the internet but female nipples banned from instagram?
• how do we perform our gender?
• how do you become a woman?
• why do we rebel against old gender norms?