feminist and post feminist reading in regards to representation

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Feminist and Post-Feminist Reading In Regards To Representation Of Gender Video Case Study Britney Spears – I Wanna Go (2011) Rianne Addo

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Page 1: Feminist and post feminist reading in regards to representation

Feminist and Post-Feminist Reading In Regards To Representation Of Gender

Video Case Study Britney Spears – I Wanna Go (2011)

Rianne Addo

Page 2: Feminist and post feminist reading in regards to representation

Feminist Post-Feminist

A feminist interpretation of this video would be… A post- feminist interpretation of this video would be…

Britney Spears is pointing at the reporters, showing that she is authoritative and carries power. As she is by herself, this enhances the power she owns and is seen as an independent person.

She takes a pen from her bra to sign a male fan’s autograph, which shows that she is asserting and taking advantage of the fact that she is sexually attractive. As a male is asking for her autograph, this shows that she is on a higher status than the male, adhering to the fact that post-feminist desire to surpass men status wise.

Britney is being very promiscuous and flirtatious as she pulls her trousers down slightly to tease men. This shows that she is categorized in the stereotype of women being promiscuous rather than virgins/mothers. It also doesn’t show her face, which reinforces that she can be regarded as just a sexual object for the ‘male gaze’.

Britney is glazed at by a man without her noticing. This shows that her purpose is to be on display for men, rather than men getting to know her as an individual. This links with women just being seen as objects for men to look at/ play with.

Page 3: Feminist and post feminist reading in regards to representation

Feminist Post-Feminist

A feminist interpretation of this video would be… A post- feminist interpretation of this video would be…

Britney flirts with the police in order to get the handcuffs. This shows that she is connecting two Post-Feminist concepts together- women asserting their right to dress and be sexually attractive, in order to surpass male achievements. This is demonstrated as the policeman is of higher authority at first, whereby instead of just flirting with him to let her free from any charge, she strives to be of a higher authority than him, by taking the handcuffs.

Britney hits the paparazzi with a microphone to show she is in charge. The fact that she is a singer and hits the paparazzi with the microphone gives off a sense of surpassing male achievements, as the microphone signifies her success , which may suggest that she is feeding them with her success and achievement, and therefore is on a higher status level than men.

As Britney is not aware that he is a robot/machine, this could connote that she is naïve and not observant, which links and adheres to the non-contemporary concept of women not being able to be breadwinners or the dominant gender compared to men.

As we only see the paparazzi’s and audience’s perspective (most likely to be men who are watching solely for her body), this shows that what she thinks is irrelevant in this case, which adheres to the concept of women being mere objects, with their feelings/attitude towards situations being irrelevant.