MIGRAIN: Feminist theory

A current debate in feminism is whether we are in a post-feminist state: is feminism still needed?

It's important to have your own opinion on this debate and, crucially, be able to support it with reference to feminist theory and current examples. 

Feminist theory: key notes

Judith Butler: gender roles

Butler believes traditional feminists are wrong to divide society into ‘men’ and ‘women’ and says gender is not biologically fixed.

By dividing men and women, feminists accidently reinforced the idea of differences between the two genders

Butler believes gender roles are ‘a performance’ and that male and female behaviour is socially constructed rather than the result of biology.

Butler and the media

If gender is a ‘performance’ rather than biological, we then need to think about what is influencing that ‘performance’.

And that’s where the media comes in. How might the media influence our behaviour in terms of gender roles?



Angela McRobbie: empowering women

McRobbie is a British cultural theorist known for her work analysing magazines aimed at women and teenage girls in the 80s and 90s.

McRobbie highlights the empowering nature of magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Glamour, taking a different perspective to traditional feminists.


This idea of ‘popular feminism’ fits into the idea of post-feminism and challenges the radical feminism of the 1970s.

Feminism: blog tasks

Complete the following tasks on your blog:

Media Magazine reading

Read Playing With The Past: Post-feminism and the Media (MM40, page 64 - our Media Magazine archive is here).

1) What are the two texts the article focuses on?

2) What examples are provided from the two texts of the 'male gaze' (Mulvey)?

3) Do texts such as these show there is no longer a need for feminism or are they simply sexism in a different form?

4) Choose three words/phrases from the glossary of the article and write their definitions on your blog.


Music video analysis

Watch the Beyonce video for ‘Why Don’t You Love Me?’: 

1) How might this video contribute to Butler’s idea that gender roles are a ‘performance’?

2) Does this video reinforce or challenge the view that women should perform certain roles in society?

3) Would McRobbie view Beyonce as an empowering role model for women? Why?

4) What are your OWN views on this debate – does Beyonce empower women or reinforce the traditional ‘male gaze’ (Mulvey)?

Complete for homework if you don't finish this during the lesson - due next lesson.