Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on New femininities, gender constructs and popular culture. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A paper which looks at various aspects of the new femininities, with reference to social constructs of gender and the impact of third wave feminism in popular culture, including the movie version of Aileen Wuornos's life, Thelma and Louise, and Bridget Jones. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Page Count:
11 pages (~225 words per page)
File: JL5_JLfemins.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
first consider the way in which femininities and masculinities are constructed, and the function of gender roles in society. For instance, it is established that in the 1960s and 1970s,
the concept of socially constructed gender roles was important in highlighting inequalities between men and women: it was apparent that both were limited by their gender roles, although for the
most part such inequalities were addressed as if masculinity and femininity were strictly polarised, with no acknowledgement that there could be different forms of masculinity and femininity, and flexible relationships
between them. Kimmel (1994) for instance looks at the way in which masculinities are confined to a hierarchical "pecking order" in western culture, whereby certain male
behaviours are accepted as "genuine" masculinity and others are not. Overt heterosexuality is perceived as an essential element of maleness, and individuals who do not demonstrate such behaviours are regarded
as "sissy" - something which, as Kimmel states, is equated with homosexuality and perceived negatively: in fact, homophobia (in the sense of hatred, rather than fear) is considered an essential
element of "genuinely" masculine attitudes. Despite the existence of various different masculinities, the only one which is considered valid is circumscribed by particular attitudes
and behaviours, and seen as being in direct opposition to "femininity", which is equally constrained in its parameters, and defined as inferior in comparison to masculinity. Even when the social
constructs of gender were widened so that gender could be seen as a relational concept rather than a polarity, the centrality of power in such a concept meant that again,
masculinity occupied a position in the hierarchy which allocated more power to "being male" than to "being female". We see this illustrated, for instance, in the changing power relationships in
...