BUFFY THE VAMP/RE SLAYER AS "SHERO" RE-DEFINING THE MYTHOLOGICAL HERO by Jamie Onciul-Omelus B.A., University of Northern British Columbia, 1999 THESIS SUBIVinTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in GENDER STUDIES THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA April 2005 © Jamie Onciul-Omelus, 2005 1^1 Library and Archives Canada Bibliothèque et Archives Canada Published Heritage Branch Direction du Patrimoine de l'édition 395 Wellington Street Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 0-494-04629-5 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 0-494-04629-5 NOTICE: The author has granted a non­ exclusive license allowing Library and Archives Canada to reproduce, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, communicate to the public by telecommunication or on the Internet, loan, distribute and sell theses worldwide, for commercial or non­ commercial purposes, in microform, paper, electronic and/or any other formats. AVIS: L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public par télécommunication ou par l'Internet, prêter, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans le monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, sur support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou autres formats. The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. L'auteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement reproduits sans son autorisation. In compliance with the Canadian Privacy Act some supporting forms may have been removed from this thesis. Conformément à la loi canadienne sur la protection de la vie privée, quelques formulaires secondaires ont été enlevés de cette thèse. While these forms may be included in the document page count, their removal does not represent any loss of content from the thesis. Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. Canada ABSTRACT This thesis examines Buffy Summers from the television show, Bu/iy the Vamp/re S/ayer using feminist television criticism to position the character within third wave feminism and pop-culture hero mythology. The central question is: how and why is Buffy not a hero but a "shero"? The term "shero" is a feminist backlash to the traditional heroine and hero. She is a strong, courageous woman, who accomplishes great things in the face of patriarchal forces that would keep her meek and dependent. The methods used in this thesis are based on television theory methodologies, including ideological analysis and literary analysis from a third wave feminist perspective. I argue that female stereotypes, represented in television, language and hero mythology play a significant role in limiting women's roles within these areas. However, i believe that BfVS is a show that challenges female stereotypes and successfully redefines traditionai views of women and heroes on television. The results of this thesis contribute to the growing literature of third wave feminism and feminist television criticism. More importantly, this thesis establishes the character, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as a shero and feminist role model, which has been lacking in popular culture. T43LE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Table of Contents iii Acknowledgements iv Chapter One: Buffy the Patriarchy Slayer Why we need Sheroes Random meets the Academy Methodology Feminism: The Third Wave The PoMW of Television Shero versus Hero The Third Wave's Poster Girl 1 2 4 5 7 9 11 13 Chapter Two: Feminism, Television and Heroes What is Third Wave Feminism? What is Feminist Television Criticism? What is Hero Mythology? 15 16 27 42 Chapter Three: Defining the Shero The History of Bufly, the Vampire Slayer Buffy as the Shero A shero is a leader A shero is a warrior A shero has mental resources A shero embraces her community A shero challenges patriarchal authority figures A shero is flawed A shero is biologically female A shero explores her sexW ity Campbell's Hero Pattern and the Shero Pattern Separation Initiation Return 53 54 57 60 62 64 65 67 69 71 72 76 77 79 81 C h a ^ r Four "Once More, With Feeling" 84 W orks Cited 91 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Robert Budde, my thesis committee, Dr. Stan Beeler and Dr. Maryna Romanets for their support and encouragement throughout the thesis process. I would also like to thank my external examiner. Dr. Heather Smith and the chair of my defense. Dr. Martha MacLeod. I would like to thank my husband, Stephen Omelus and my parents Ken and Elizabeth Onciul, for all their support during this lengthy project. I would like to thank my friends Jen Payson, Lonnie Campbell and Suzann Martin who are also BfyS fans. Our conversations provided great insight and relief that what I was doing was going to be appreciated by someone. Finally, I would like to thank all the people who brought BuAÿ the Viamp/re S/ayer to the small screen. I love BfVS because of Buffy. My heart, imagination and dreams have been longing for a shero to worship and she is the one. Literature, television and movies are full of male heroes, most of whom are predictable and ordinary. As a youngish girl I need sheroes like Buffy, and as a believer in the potential of television to be fabulous, I need shows like We all need more of both. IV CHAPTER ONE: BUFFY THE PATRIARCHY SLAYER / wanfed BuAy fo be a cuA fbmg. / wanfed A fo be a g/anf, b/g monsfer b/f. / wanfed ber fo become an /con. Tbaf was fbe /nfenf. /f was bu/* fbaf way. -d o s s yVbedon, 1We/odyMa/fe/'.''B u ^ fb e Vdmo//e S/aver/"2002) On March 10, 1997, (be Vamp/re S/ayer (B(\/S) debuted on the Warner Brothers (WB) network, moved to the United Paramount Network (UPN) on October 1, 2001 and ended there on May 20, 2003. It lives on In syndication in many countries including America, Britain and Canada to name a few. Its popularity and commercialization continues to grow despite its end over two years ago. There are comics, book series, magazines, action figures, clothes, accessories, jewelry, collectable cards, video games, websites, conferences and anthologies; ail dedicated to Bfl/S, its cast, creator and writers. Needless to say, BfVS has achieved cult status and has joined the ranks of other cult hits like Tbe X-F/Zes (1993-2002) and Star Tirek; Tbe /Vexf Generaf/on (1987-1994). BfVS is the story of a young Southem Califomian girl who becomes The Slayer, the chosen girl bom with the strength and skill to hunt vampires. BfyS offered the television audience something new—a superhero that was a girl. While on the WB, Bfl/S's target demographic was the 18-34 age group (Tracy 14); however, it quickly developed a large female fan base with a median age of 29 (Rogers "Hey Ally" 58). It soon became a show that is discussed in university classes and analyzed by academics all over the world—of both genders and all ages. There is an important similarity between these different audiences—they all love the show: I have my 16-year-old daughter, Caitlin to blame for this. An honour student, soccer player, and avid reader, she introduced me to BuAy and the WB a couple of years ago. At the time, I just thought I would do my fatherly/media critic duty: watch a few episodes and point out the enor of her TV ways. But something else happened. I got hooked. I liked (Campbell and Campbell par.2) Viewers, academics and critics (and even some of the show's cast and writers) did not believe BfVS would go as far as it has gone. While the title suggests a show light in message, BfVS is anything but. The monsters and demons that appear weekly are a backdrop to storylines that deal with death, love and the teenage struggle to adulthood. Yet many still believe it is a show for teenagers, with "Barbie" using her sexuality to hypnotize vampires into submission. Many television critics and feminists have dismissed Buffy as a feminist role model because they cannot get past her looks or youth. There is no denying that Buffy fulfills every stereotype about women on television: she is thin, white, blonde, heterosexual, young and beautiful. B u ff/s appearance does not expand nor challenge patriarchal definitions of women. However, it is her role as The Slayer and how she fulfills her Slayer duties that make her a feminist role model. Youth and femininity are rarely, if ever, linked to heroic acts; by being young, strong, feminine, and heroic, Buffy challenges the dominance of masculinity and maturity in regards to the hero character. Why We Need Sheroes I examine BfVS because the star of this show is a new kind of female character—the "shero:" ^ ^This term in comes from Varia Ventura's Sheroes: Bold. Brash, and Absolutely Unabashed Superwomen From Susan B. Anthony to Xena (1998). She cites Maya Angelou, "Wio used the word In a speech and sparked the muse for [her]" (xix). An internet search for the original source resulted In a quote from Angelou: "How Important it Is for us to recognize and celebrate our Packing estrogen and, not infrequently, a pen and sword, sheroes come in every imaginable shape, size, and colour, and manifest their sheroism in infinite ways.. .Their accomplishments are stunning in light of the fact that there was, for all purposes, a tacit caste system with one gender on top. Battling exclusion and seclusion, these incredible women risked it all to create the freedom we enjoy and uphold today. (Ventura xvi) Stating that heroes are predominantly male and their goal is to save the world and their reward is the beautiful young girl, who is happy to be rescued, is a generalization. But it is a generalization because these types of stories are the most common and therefore recognizable; for example. Superman, Star M/lars, Kh/g/?f R/der and Tihe /ncred/b/e provide strong male characters that (male) viewers can mythologize as heroes. There are a growing number of female versions of the classic and traditional male hero within television and film. Strong, capable and independent female heroes such as, Sydney Bristow from j4//as and Beatrice Kiddo from Kr// 8/// (Volume 1 and 2) have become quite popular among female and male audiences. This thesis is about the "shero" and her relationship to feminist television criticism, third wave feminism and hero mythology. The objectives of my thesis are: to contribute to the growing literature of third wave feminism and feminist television criticism; to demonstrate how and why the character of Buffy Summers is a new kind of female hero—a shero; and to have the term "shero" added to the dictionary and be defined as a feminist response to the traditional heroine and hero. She is a strong, courageous woman, who accomplishes great things in the face of patriarchal forces that would keep her meek and dependent. My research involves answering the heroes and she-roesl" Since Angelou states "heroes and she-roes," she believes, or at least suggests, that gender Is a factor—men are heroes and women are she-roes. following questions: What is a shero? What characteristics make Buffy Summers a shero? How and where does the shero fit within feminism? The character of Buffy Summers is an important figure for feminism to examine within the context of feminist television criticism, third wave feminism and hero mythology. Although Buffy Summers' feminized appearance contradicts her role as hero that saves the world, the character challenges patriarchal ideology atxDut female power. BfYS challenges gender specific boundaries of heroism to create the shero character. Fandom Meets the Academy I have been a loyal fan of Bf\/S since it first aired. I purchase the merchandise, I am part of an online newsletter atx)ut the show and I subscribe to the magazine. This is the power of television, and we cannot deny or negate the emotions, time and money that we invest in our favourite shows. Within my thesis, I cannot separate the academic from the fan— I write as both. I can utilize the theories of feminism, media studies and cultural studies as an academic, and at the same time I have the insight and personal experiences of a dedicated viewer and fan of My access to both these worlds compliments my understanding and analysis of Buffy as a sheroic character. I will integrate the academic voice with the voice of popular culture throughout my thesis in order to articulate the ideas of each to its fullest. I support the critique of the "distant" academic in research found in feminist and cultural studies. Patricia Maguire discusses this debate in Doing Particioatorv Research: A Feminist Approach (1987): T h e premise that researchers can be objective demands that they remain distant and detached from the subject under investigation, another characteristic of dominant paradigm research" (19). I cannot detach myself from my research because I am a fan of BfVS; to conduct my research othen/vise would alienate me from it. Despite the arguments that researchers must remain "detached," I believe that my position as a fan will benefit my research. My thesis will provide a voice that articulates "the link between ideological criticism and the acknowledgment of the pleasures within popular texts" (Jenkins 8). So often is pleasure kept a guilty secret in academics, and the pleasure in television fandom is even more abhorred. I embrace my love of television and BfVS but it does not mean that I am blinded by it. Methodology Much of my research involves understanding and synthesizing feminist theories, television criticisms and hero mythology. The first chapter focuses on the results of a literature review of feminist theory, feminist television criticism and hero mythology. My goals are to show the path of prior research in these areas and how my project is linked to such analysis. While most of my research has kept me reading books and journals, some of my research has led me to the Internet. Areas like third wave feminism and media studies have adapted quickly and smoothly into this new medium. The Internet is an Important tool that has and will continue to influence the creation of knowledge, popular culture and fan identity. 8fV 5 has adapted seamlessly to the Internet with Slavaae: The On-Line International Journal of Buffy Studies edited by David Lavery and Rhonda V. Wilcox: The idea of S/ayage was bom in the spring of 2001 as we considered over one hundred and forty proposals submitted for possible inclusion in Fighting the Forces: What's at Stake in Buffy the Vampire Slaver (a book recently published by Rowman and Littlefield). We learned, too, that two other collections of essays on were also in the works. It seemed obvious that there was a not-soon-to-be-exhausted international critical and scholarly interest in BfVS. With WTroosh/ The Jouma/oTthe /nfemaf/ona/y4ssoc/af/on ofXeno/d Sfud/es in mind as a model, S/ayage was bom early in 2001. It will continue to be published at least four times a year as long as interest warrants. fSlavage "Site History") The joumal combines academic focused papers, as well as links to articles featured in magazines and newspapers (both in print and online-only). Most of this material can only be found online and it speaks to the burgeoning relationship between technologies, such as television and the Intemet, and fan identity.^ Chat rooms and posting boards are a common phenomenon on the Intemet; more importantly, these websites are often dedicated to a single television show or character, creating an Intemet-based community. The second chapter is an in-depth analysis of the sheroic traits exhibited by Buffy with examples from the show to illustrate. Third wave feminism, feminist television criticism and hero mythology inform my interpretation of the character. Television is able to communicate (through visual and audio messages), emotional, symbolic and literal content, to name a few. Analyzing a program's ^ For an interesting discussion of the creation of fan identity through teievision programming see Mark C. Rogers, Michaei Epstein and Jimmie L. Reeves, "TTw Sopranos as HBO Brand Equity: The Art of Commerce in the Age of Digitai Reproduction," This Thing of Ours: investigating The Sopranos (2002). content is difficult because the meanings of images and sounds are dependent on a cultural context, not just of the show but of the viewer as well. Although there are viewers who either challenge particulars of an image or outright challenge the "fundamental assumption of the representation" (Walters 78), Buffy is to be viewed as a feminist role model. Therefore, my thesis does not account for a negotiated or oppositional reading of Buffy because my reading is within the creator. Joss Whedon's representation. In an interview with MSN Entertainment. Whedon stated: i mean, I wasn't trying to set any records, but thafs exactly what she was supposed to be: a feminist role model. Ya know, I think other shows did that, she had some precursors, but ultimately with very few exceptions, other shows would pay lip service and then fail back on "Save me!' and not explore how truly difficult it is to be a feminist role model. We made it hard for her every time and thafs why it works." (Whedon "In Joss We Trust") Feminism: The Third Wave Feminists have made recent political and academic efforts that have been labelled the "third wave." it is thought that the Anita Hili-Thomas Clarence hearings in 1991 initiated this third wave of feminism (Karras par. 3). Manifesta: Young Women. Feminism and the Future (2000), in Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards define third wavers as "the women who were reared in the wake of the women's liberation movement of the 1970s" (15). In the past 30 years, events and issues, such as the Montreal massacre of 1989, the rise of the gay and lesbian movement, the Intemet and the creation of women/gender studies programs in universities, have shaped and impacted feminism for a new generation. Third wave feminism deals with these issues in addition to second wave issues, such as violence against women, a suffering environment, economic inequality and unfair representation of women in the media. Despite addressing all these issues, third wavers have been criticized by second wavers for being apolitical, individualistic and out-of-touch with their feminist history and predecessors. According to Baumgardner and Richards, these criticisms of the new generation are unwarranted: The backbone of feminism isn't so different from one generation to the next. We want to distinguish ourselves from doormats, as early twentiethcentury Rebecca West and her cohorts did, and as Betty Friedan's generation did. And our values are similar, although our tactics and style often differ. The difference between the First, Second and Third waves is our cultural DNA. Each generation has a drive to create something new, to find that distinctive spark. (129) The "distinctive spark" that marks the third wave's difference is its focus on the media and popular culture, as sites of opportunity to affect change. The third wave has expanded upon second wave analysis of the media and representation. Bonnie J. Dow argues that the "media has been an important tool in disseminating feminist theory" (xiv). Third wavers have grown up in a time dominated by the media but, more importantly, the Intemet, chat rooms, discussion boards and zine culture. It is no surprise that pop culture is not only where third wavers fight their battle(s) but also where they get their role models. Emily Pohl-Weary, editor of Girls Who Bite Back (2004), states that f/?e l/amp/re S/ayer, the Dixie Chicks, Uma Thurman from K/// B/// and the recent film versions of C/?a/f/e^ Ange/s are some of the role models for the third wave (Laucius A1 ). 8 The Power of Television The belief that television viewing is passive and produces "couch potatoes" is theory of the past; television can be an activity for the mind. Television criticism can teach viewers to recognize and understand the various cultural representations that support, resist or challenge dominant ideology, as well as their own views. Feminist television theory is about teaching the viewer how to develop an informed and critical eye regarding television's power to influence our understanding of gender construction and discrimination. Feminist television criticism is influenced by the women's movement of the 1970s, post-structuraiism (Jaques Lacan and Claude Lévi-Strauss), semiotics (Umberto Eco and Roland Barthes) and Marxist socialism and philosophy (Louis Althusser, Raymond Williams, Stuart Hall and Antonio Gramsci) (Brown 11). French feminist thinkers (Helene Cixous and Julia Kristeva) and British feminist fiim theorists (Laura Mulvey and Annette Kuhn) have also influenced feminist television criticism (Brown 12). Much feminist work came out of the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary and Cultural Studies (CCCS) as an investigation of the "invisible 'other' in working-class culture—its girls and women" (Brown 13). Authors such as Charlotte Brunsdon, Christine Geraghty and Angela McRobbie examined women as a television audience and their viewing preferences. According to Mary Ellen Brown, author of Television and Women's Culture: The Politics of the Popular (1990), "concurrent to these events, some American feminists had begun to use content analysis to describe women's presence on television" (13). One of the main objectives was to critique television and its power or role as a medium, including close and specific examination of television programs and audiences. Feminist critics argued that the male domination of television production furthered the stereotyping and silencing of women (as subjects within programming and as audience members). Television programs and commercials objectified and marginalized women through stereotypical representations as mothers, consumers or evil temptresses. Feminists also criticized television for programming with little to no women in the storyline. Additionally, they criticized the male dominance of the television industry's production and management. As such, television could be described as by men, about men and for men. According to Linda Seger, author of When Women Call the Shots: The Develooino Power and Influence of Women in Television and Film (1996), women in the television and film industry must get involved; they have a responsibility to their audience to break stereotypes, express realistic female identities and "re-think the mythic heroine" (163). Joss Whedon, (including BfyS" writers and producers) have also expressed this sentiment in many interviews about Whedon created BfVS in response to the many horror films where the female lead walks down a hallway or alleyway and is killed by a monster. He wished for a female character to fight back, save herself and take her matters into her own hands. Whedon not only 'rethinks the mythic heroine,' he challenges the supremacy of the mythic hero as well, in his television series BfVS. 10 Shero versus Hero Language has long been thought of as gender specific. According to Adie Nelson and Barrie W. Robinson, authors of Gender in Canada (2000), language becomes "the principal means of disseminating a society's ideology on gender" (163). As such, when fairy tales read to children are filled with male heroes, children learn that a hero is male. When television and film are filled with male heroes, children leam that a hero is male. When the classic stories taught in school are filled with male heroes, children leam that a hero is male. Although some stories contain heroines (the English language's female equivalent), these heroines are not equal in number, popularity, ability or respect to the hero. Varia Ventura addresses this in her book, Sheroes: Bold and Brash, and Absolutelv Unabashed Suoenvomen from Susan B. Anthonv to Xena (1998), which documents and categorizes women, who are sheroes, in history, film, books and television. Ventura recognizes the inherent masculinization of the word hero and the passive quality of the word heroine. Ventura offers the word shero to represent women, who have not allowed patriarchal inscribed notions of gender to stop them from following their dreams. Ventura is not the only woman who has criticized the limitation of language and the representation of heroines. Ethel Johnston Phelps, in The Maid of the North: Feminist Folk Tales from around the World (1981), examines women in fairy tales and contends: Taken as a whole, the body of traditional fairy/folk tales... is very heavily weighted with heroes, and most of the "heroines" we do encounter are far from heroic. They are good, obedient, meek, submissive to authority, and naturally inferior to the heroes. In short, as heroines, they do not inspire or delight, but tend to bore the reader, (ix) 11 Both authors reclaim women from history (real and imagined) who are sheroes. The women in their books are sheroes because they do not conform to their society's standards of acceptable behaviour for women. This is one of the major reasons why stones of sheroic women are lost or ignored. Patriarchal ideology teaches us that strong and defiant women are dangerous and must be silenced and tamed. Granted, there are women heroes who refuse to be silenced or tamed, however, their stones are pushed to the borders or they are exceptions: "^he successes of a privileged few do not counterbalance or excuse the systematic lowering of the coiiective level; and that these successes are rare and limited proves precisely that circumstances are unfavorable for them" (de Beauvoir 133). Figures like Joan of Arc, Catherine the Great and Calamity Jane are praised for their sheroic nature; however, they are not the first names that spring to mind when someone asks, "Who is a hero?" Shero stories are lost amongst legends of Prometheus, Hercules and contemporary stories of Luke Skywalker, Indiana Jones—these male figures dominate the heroic landscape. This sentiment is further cemented in popular discourse through theorists like Joseph Campbeil. His classic study. The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1973), is full of stories that focus on man, for example, Prometheus, Jason, Buddha, Krishna, and Taliesin. Their stories are not just popular within their culture but are also considered representative of their culture. As such, these stories have become historical records of their society. By giving such stories supremacy, stories of strong 12 women are forgotten and the result is a gender-biased representation of history and culture. According to Campbell, woman's place within mythology has been relegated to wife, temptress or old hag: "She is the maiden of the innumerable dragon slayings, the bride abducted from the jealous father, the virgin rescued from the unholy lover" (Campbell Hero 342). Woman Is present within male hero mythologies only to be acted upon, to wait for her hero to rescue her, or her father to give her away. In no way does Campbell's mention of a few strong women equal the dominance of the male hero stones that he retells. In the face of demeaning representations of women, as well as the silencing of positive female characters, many women (for example, Phelps and Ventura) are reclaiming shero stones in history and popular culture to create new ones for the next generation. The Third Wave's Poster Girl BfVS is a television program with a lead female character that breaks from the traditional roles relegated to women within literature, television and film. The suburban, teenage, white female image has never been presented as the worlds only defence against evil. As a shero, Buffy provides the viewer with an alternative to the heroine and hero—she is a woman that saves the world from destruction and evil while maintaining the traditional image of femininity. Such an image forces viewers to question traditional gender ideology that equates femininity with passivity and dependence. 13 This thesis focuses on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer because she is a shero, a symbol of female empowerment and a feminist role model. She challenges the traditional role of women in popular culture and patriarchal constructions of femininity by being the hunter, not the victim. Through her role as The Slayer, Buffy reclaims femininity as a source of power—she does not negate it or let it become masculinized. Furthermore, BfVS exposes the male-centred plots of popular culture by constructing an alternative reading of heroes to tell a more empowering story for women. BfVS presents a world that challenges traditional binaries of patriarchal ideology through representations of women with access to power once only reserved for men. In true third wave style, Buffy "kicks butt" and looks good doing it; more importantly, she does not apologize for either. Though Buffy reinforces stereotypical representations of women and beauty with her appearance, she challenges them with her role as The Slayer. The representation of these two contradictory images allows viewers to question dominant ideology in regards to women and heroes. Buffy pushes the boundaries of female characters and hero characters. By doing this, she challenges the supremacy of the hero and ultimately provides the audience with the shero. 14 CHAPTER TWO: FEMINISM, TELEVISION AND HEROES /f /s ///fe/y a moyemenf o f young women w/?o be/zeye /n egua/zfy and ba/e (be conbdence o f BuAy and M/ssy E///of and M/a Hamm /a go/ng fo p/dc up momenfum and (be med/a w/// be /breed fo nof/ce /f. -Jenn/fer Baumgardner and Amy R/cbards, Man/fssfa; Youno Women. Fem/n/sm. and fbe Fufure ("200Q) Attempting to define feminism is difficult because it is not a monolithic structure. Most historians and feminists would agree that there have been three waves of feminism. Within these waves there have been many voices that have represented feminism: such as liberal, Marxist, radical, mainstream and socialist feminism. These many perspectives have different definitions of feminism and sometimes they conflict with one another. For these reasons, feminism can be a difficult movement to comprehend and sometimes embrace. Quite simply, however, feminism is a movement for social, political and economic equality for all women and men. However, this politically correct definition (which is often found in dictionaries) ignores significant issues within feminism. The following definition by third wavers, Baumgardner and Richards, addresses these significant issues: It is a moveme/rf, meaning a group working together to accomplish specific goals. Those goals are soc/a/ and po/zf/ca/ change—implying that one must t)e engaged with the government and laws, as well as with social practices and beliefs. And implicit in these goals is access to sufficient information to enable women to make responsible choices. (56) Their definition recognizes that while women have the opportunity to affect change within politics, social issues and their own lives, they are often not given "sufficient information" to do so. Their definition also recognizes that feminism is no longer a women's only movement because they recognize the efforts of men 15 who have joined and supported the cause. More importantly, their definition does away with the "equality between the sexes" sentiment. For a long time, "equality" was interpreted as "to be treated as men." The problem with this sentiment is that it reinforces the patriarchal hierarchy of the sexes and negates the feminine existence. What is Third Wave Feminism? Third wave feminism is an articulation of feminism from a new generation of women: "a movement that contains elements of second wave critique of beauty culture, sexual abuse, and power structures while it also acknowledges and makes use of the pleasure, danger, and defining power of those structures" (Heywood and Drake 3). One of the most appealing trends to come out of third wave feminism is its "fusing of the confessional mode of earlier popular feminisms with the more analytical mode that had predominated the academy since the 1980s... essays that give an emotional life and a personal stake sometimes missing from academic writing, while maintaining an analytical focus" (Heywood and Drake 2). Third wavers recognize that their lives, and therefore their engagement with feminism, have been shaped by the struggles between the various feminisms and the cultural backlash against feminism. Baumgardner and Richards tackle the new face of feminism in their book Manifesta: Young Women. Feminism and the Future (2000). They describe the world in which young American women live, and how feminism does and does not factor into their lives. Women bom in the 1970s came into a world where the women's movement had positively enhanced women's rights so much, that many 16 believed feminism was redundant. Yet well into the 1980s, the women's movement experienced severe backlash—women and men, who had once wom the feminist badge, recanted. Feminism had succeeded in achieving some of its goals, "yet as 2000 approached many wondered where is feminism going? Is feminism dead? Do we even need feminism?" (Baumgardner and Richards 3). With the media running stories about the end of feminism and groups of young conservative women calling themselves "post-feminists," it was hard to find profeminist messages. Leslie Heywood and Jennifer Drake of Third Wave Agenda: Being Feminist. Doing Feminism (1997), define "postfeminists" as "a group of young conservative, feminists who explicitly define themselves against and criticize feminists of the second wave" (1). Mass-mediated postfeminism during the 1980s represented a backlash against feminism and a retreat from feministic goals articulated during the second wave. The media use of postfeminism highlighted the complacency with the mediocre goals already achieved in the public sphere and a complete ignorance of the problems women still faced in the private sphere, such as: "male responsibility, female solidarity, sexual politics, and the significant differences in women's experiences and problems created by race, class, and sexual Identity" (Dow 160). Susan Faludi also discusses the media's relationship with postfeminism in, Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women (1991): Just when record numbers of younger women were supporting feminist goals in the mid-'80s (more of them, in fact, than older women) and a majority of all women were calling themselves feminists, the media 17 declared the advent of a younger "postfeminist generation" that supposedly reviled the women's movement, (xix) If this was not enough, 'Vmters such as Katie Roiphe, Rene Denfield and Naomi W o lf became spokespersons for the third wave, "they publish[ed] books, appear[ed] on op-ed pages, and [wrote] for popular young women's magazine's such as G/amour and YAf (Heywood and Drake 1). However, these women have not helped feminism or the third wave with their "argu[ments] against feminist critiques of rape, sexual harassment, and abortion" (Heywood and Drake 1). Faludi is not the only women who has discussed the regressive political nature of post-feminism, Bonnie Dow discusses it in regards to television of the 1980s and 1990s in Prime-Time Television: Television. Media Culture, and the Women's Movement Since 1970 (1996). Dow argues that the most damaging message of postfeminism is that. Patriarchy is gone and has been replaced by choice, resulting in several premises that create the postfeminist worldview. Among them: The problems that women face today are a direct result of the cho/ces that they made (and not the result of the lack of support for those cho/ces from government, employers, partners, etc.)... In dismissing feminist ideology, postfeminists also dismiss the fundamental insight of feminist ideology: Women operate within a sex/gender system that limits acceptable choices. (95-96) Ultimately, postfeminists have contributed to the demonization of feminism within the media. It is no surprise that for many women, feminism is viewed as this generation's T-word." Another component of third wave that has received media attention, and criticism from feminists, is "giri-power" or "girlie" feminism. Baumgardner and Richards discuss the evolution and impact of "girlie" feminism on the identity of 18 the third wave: "For the Third Wave, politics was superseded by culture—punk rock, hip-hop, zines, products, consumerism, and the Internet" (130). This truly is feminism for a culture driven generation. The possible reason for this cultural obsession is the ovenwhelming presence of the media in the lives of third wavers. Baumgardner and Richards outline a number of pop-culture products that impacted the women of the third wave: Madonna, Sassy, Naomi W olfs The Beauty Mvth. the Riot Grrls, and Bust. Based on these products it is not surprising that "most of the Girlies are white, straight, work outside the home, and belong to the consumer class" (Baumgardner and Richards 138). Despite this, it does explain why they choose to promote issues such as "familiarity with pom, sexual aggressiveness, and remaining single and childless until pretty late in life" (Baumgardner and Richards 138). This brand of feminism has been criticized for several legitimate reasons: it is an all-white phenomenon, it is class elitist, it is not new, it is all fun, it lacks political clout and it turns feminism into a commodity. Such complaints are not new to feminism. Each wave has been dominated by an elite group of feminists that serve as the "spokeswomen" for their generation. It is hard to ignore the white. Liberal, educated women who write and speak for feminism because they are who the media focuses on, who the universities teach and who the publishing industry signs to book deals. Their messages have also been the most palatable for mainstream or non-feminist society to hear. There have been many feminists who are not white. Liberal or educated, who have been overlooked within feminist and non-feminist society. There are 19 Black feminists, lesbian feminists, Marxist feminists, radical feminists, post­ colonial feminists, grassroots feminists, activist feminists and material feminists, to just name a few. There is such a diverse range of theories within feminism that it is hard to think of it as a coherent body of thought. However, all would agree that the oppression of women is a universal oppression. Despite the well-founded complaints of girlie feminism, it nonetheless, treats femininity and all the pretty and fashionable objects that proclaim their feminine nature, as objects of pleasure and pride rather than objects of shame and disgust. Girlies are not ignorant of their use of "tabooed symbols of women's feminine encuituration": "Using makeup isn't a sign of our sway to the marketplace and the male gaze; it can be sexy, campy, ironic, or simply decorating ourselves without the loaded issues" (Baumgardner and Richards 136). By reclaiming femininity. Girlies are rejecting the notion that in order to be respected as a woman you must reject your femininity. These ideas also question the belief that girls and power do not mix. By giving women confidence in their femininity. Girlies are pushing the boundaries of patriarchal control. These two aspects are not the only representation of third wave feminism. Just as second wave cannot be homogenized as a white. Liberal, academic woman's feminism, the third wave cannot be homogenized as a postfeminist feminism or a "girlie feminism." Despite the fact that the media homogenizes all these feminisms and therefore the general public does as well, feminism has a diverse background—too diverse to cover within the pages of this thesis project. 20 Despite these potentially or seemingly damaging aspects, young women are finding their way to the third wave. For example, in Turbo Chicks: Talking Young Feminisms (2001) Jessica Ticktin's definition of feminism speaks to the growing number of young women reclaiming femininity: For me, feminism is all about choice: the freedom to choose how to live one's life with respect, tolerance and compassion for and from others. It is atx)ut having multiple roles for women that are fluid and changing. It is atx)ut "ands" not "ours." It's being able to wear a miniskirt and study law, have children or have an abortion, be sexually active and not be a sexual object. (49) For Ticktin, equality does not mean to be treated the same as a man; in fact, her definition of feminism allows her to be treated as an individual. Ticktin's response also highlights some of the issues that distinguish third wavers: a noninclusive feminist identity, an acceptance of feminism's evolving nature and the acceptance of contradictions. The third wave of feminism is comprised of women, who "came of age politically amid the backlash" (Baumgardner and Richards 77). Susan Faludi documents this dark time in feminist history in Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women (1991). Faludi thoroughly examines how and why the American media tumed against feminism and its forerunners. She argues that the press, film, television, the fashion industry and the beauty (cosmetics) industry all played a part in the anti-feminist movement that followed the second wave: The afflictions ascribed to feminism are all myths. From "ïhe man shortage" to "the infertility epidemic" to "female burnout" to "toxic daycare," these so-called female crises have had their origins not in the actual conditions of women's lives but rather in a closed system that starts and ends in the media, popular culture, and advertising—an endless loop that 21 perpetuates and exaggerates its own false images of womanhood. (Faludi xv) The similarities in Faludi's critique of American society and Friedan's The Feminine Mystique (1962) are astonishing. Almost thirty years had passed since Friedan exposed America's war on women, yet very little changed for women in regards to the media's relationship with women and feminism. The discussion of representation has concerned both second and third wave feminists. According to Joanne Hollows in Feminism. Femininitv and Popular Culture (2000), "femininity was constituted as a 'problem' in secondwave feminism. For many feminists, feminine value and behaviour were seen as a major cause of women's oppression" (2). Within the media, this was reflected as damaging and stereotypical images of women that feminists believed "testified to the power mechanisms of patriarchy which pervade our culture" (Taylor and Willis 40). Representation is often a debate about meaning, how it is produced and exchanged. However, "representations are changeable" and therefore "potentially positive for those whose identities are actually at stake within them" (Taylor and Willis 40). This positive potential may be the reason why third wavers have attempted to reclaim femininity. Patriarchy defined femininity as inferior to masculinity and second wavers agreed: "For many feminists, in becoming feminine, women were 'colonized' by patriarchy and became implicated in their own oppression" (Hollows 10). This argument exposed the difference between sex and gender. Dominant ideology supported the superiority of men because of their masculinity and the inferiority of women because of their femininity. Femininity became linked to traits such as. 22 passivity, dependence, ignorance and virtue. Jobs became feminized, for example nurses, teachers, secretaries and child care workers. The deliberate devaluing of everything associated with women is one of the reasons why second Wavers believed the rejection of femininity was essential in establishing their feminist identity. The third wave is continuing the critique of media and its representation of women. Baumgardner and Richards are two third wavers, who are exposing the nature of media and its relationship with feminism. The third wave is focused on expanding feminism to inspire confidence and offer more opportunities for men and women with less sexism. Third wavers are also a culture-driven generation: "young women are emphasizing [their] real personal lives in contrast to what some feminist fbremothers anticipated their lives would—or should—be: that the way to equality was to reject Barbie and all forms of pink-packaged femininity" (Baumgardner and Richards 136-7). The backlash against women and feminism, "girl power" feminism and second wave feminism all are part of the third wave. Third wavers are still bringing everyday issues of women to the forefront; however, their issues are not the all the same as second wavers because the world has changed. The third wave of feminism does not claim to be the first to critique the media and its representations of women. The "image of women" debate can be traced to the second wave during the 1970s. Feminism has long been interested in the production of culture and representation of women through the media. The argument was the media played a significant part in socializing women into 23 patriarchally inscribed roles for women: mother and wife. According to Christine Gledhill in "Genre and Gender: The Case of the Soap Opera" (1997), the remedy proposed by second wavers was a problematic: "a readjustment of the lens, a refocusing of the programme maker's perspective, in order to produce accurate reflections" (346). However, this view overiooks the fact that there is no accurate reflection' of anything. There is no accurate reflection' of woman since there are different sizes, colours, ages of women and they all have different lived experiences and ideals. Therefore, the belief that there can be a universal image of woman that is accurate is naive and dangerous. It overlooks our differences and homogenizes a large and diverse group. Gledhill also highlights another problem with this solution: "The notion that representation can or should reflect 'real women' therefore stalls on the question: what reality? (the oppression of women? women as victims? positive heroines?)" (346). Just as there are many different types of women, there are many different lived realities. Gledhill suggests that representations "cannot be measured in any direct comparison with the real world" (347). She argues that instead representations should be viewed "on how they are called on within the particular genres or narrative forms which use them, as well as on the circumstances of their production and reception, and on the social context of their audiences" (Gledhill 347). This represents a move beyond a critique of good versus bad images to how are audiences interpreting an image? What use is the image to the audience? What types of audiences are engaging with an image? This approach has been popular with third wave feminists, who have taken personal. 24 autobiographical approach to their engagement with theory, feminism and representation. As such, many third wavers have found that "second wave tactics did not speak to [our] media-sawy and culture driven generation" (Baumgardner and Richards 77). It may be a generalization of second wave feminism to view it as too political and too angry, nonetheless, it is a common complaint of third wavers. Baumgardner and Richards suggest that this may be because the third wave is aiso an articuiation of young women "rebelling against their mothers" (137). Third wavers have grown up in a time dominated by the media. According to Irene Karras in "The Third Wave's Final Girl" (2002), third wavers struggle "to define their femaieness in a world where the naming is often done by the media and pop-culture, where the choice for young women is to be either babe or bitch" (par. 4). It is therefore no surprise that pop-culture has become the third wave's "terrain and weapon of choice, believing that by participating to a greater degree in creating and supporting positive images for themselves, they will finally infiltrate the last vestiges of patriarchy" (Karras par. 11). Third wavers are engaging with the media and pop culture in ways that second wavers did not. They are creating images and words that reflect their personai lives. For exampie, two third wave anthologies. Girls Who Bite Back: Witches. Mutants. Siavers and Freaks (2004) and Turbo Chicks: Taikino Young Feminisms (2001 ) are fiiled with stones and images of young women who discuss race, class, sexuality, ianguage, privilege and gender. 25 Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards argue that the sins media commit against women "are barriers only until we see them for what they are and fight back" (100). One such way to fight back is to become media iiterate and uitimateiy a media revolutionary. 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