By Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D.
Baylor Department of Journalism, PR & New Media
THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE AND SOCIETY: A LOOK AT NEW MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS
Friedan described “the problem that has no name” or the widespread unhappiness of women who worked in the home in the 1950s and early 1960s.
THE PROBLEM THAT HAS NO NAME
This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons
Betty Friedan examined the role of various institutions in holding women back.
MEDIA MESSAGES
• Feminist Theory• Media Stereotypes• Pinterest • The Feminine Mystique
50 years later
A CLOSER LOOK
This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons.
The media function ideologically:• to reflect• to reinforce • to mediate
existing power relations and ideas about how gender is and should be lived.
FEMINIST THEORY
STEREOTYPESStereotyping provides a way to acquire new knowledge.They are ‘mental cookie cutters.’
This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons.
Media are a part of materially based social relations that create a solidarity among men of all races and classes “who are united in their shared relationship of dominance over their
women” (Hartmann, 1981, p. 14-15).
GENDER AND MEDIA
Women are either invisible or stereotyped.
GENDER AND MEDIA
COMMON STEREOTYPES OF WOMEN
Passive Submissive Dependent
Source: www.internetweekly.org
Source: www.flickr.com
Source: www.topnews.in
• The grandmotherly type is depicted as helpful, kindly, serene, severely impaired, vulnerable, shrewish, and needy.
• The elder statesman is depicted as intelligent, competitive, handsome, aggressive, and intolerant
Elderly Subtypes
Source: www.menshealth.co.uk
Source: hoardingdiary.blogspot.com
Racial Stereotypes
Martial artists, obedient, beautiful, sexy and cunning.
ASIAN WOMEN
Usually end up with a white or non-Asian mate
This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons
Source: MSNBC.com
• Passionate• Argumentative• Illiterate • Domestic• Childlike
LATINAS
Sexy
This is a file from the Wikimedia CommonsSource: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Always Angry
BLACK WOMEN
Overly Independent Jezebels Welfare Recipients
This is a poster for Diary of a Tired Black Man.This is a poster for Waiting to Exhale.
Arab & Muslim Women
Belly dancers, harem girls
Cloaked and silent women
This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons.
This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons.
This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons
White Women
Bimbo, Bombshell, Dumb Blonde
Blondes have more fun!
You not worth noticing unless you look like this!
Happy anorexic
This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons.
This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons.
Kate Moss in Calvin Klein underwear campaign ad from 1990s.
http://www.twiggylawson.co.uk/fashion.html
Media send viewers, readers and listeners hidden messages that suggest a story’s importance, and ultimately people’s importance
within society.
Why we care…
Fifty years later as feminism enters into the fourth wave, the time is ripe to study the book’s lasting impact on society.
THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE TODAY
A pool of 100 Pinterest pins found by searching the keywords "Betty Friedan and Feminine Mystique”
Pinterest allows members to “pin” products and other material they like or want to remember along with a description on personalized boards.
THE ARTIFACTS
Pins link to various products and services, and blog entries that discuss various topics
New York Times columnist Gail Collins helped kick off the 50th anniversary of The Feminine Mystique with a spot titled, “Room for Debate.”
The panel discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the ageless book.
An NPR piece titled, “At 50, Does 'Feminine Mystique’ Still Roar?” explores the book.
The author states that she was surprised by Friedan’s anger as she systematically laid out the case against a male-dominated society that was determined to keep women in their place.
The article concludes that The Feminine Mystique is still relevant today especially when it comes to our “understanding of women and domesticity.”
DOES IT STILL ROAR?
Leading supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment march in Washington on Sunday, July 9, 1978, urging Congress to extend the time for ratification of the ERA. From left: Gloria Steinem, Dick Gregory, Betty Friedan, Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman, D-N.Y., Rep. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., Rep. Margaret Heckler, R.
Mass. Dennis Cook/AP
A pin featuring an article by The Atlantic focuses on “4 Big Problems with The Feminine Mystique.”
Author Ashley Fetters highlights the views of black feminist theorists such as bell hooks, who assert that The Feminine Mystique ignored the black and lower-income women of the 20th century.
FOUR BIG PROBLEMS
policelink.monster.com skinlikehoney.blogspot.com
Many pins linked to products and services such as art, fashion, the actual book and T-shirts commemorating the Feminine Mystique.
Pinners include booksellers such as Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com.
CONSUMERISM
Artist Samantha Hahn uses Pinterest to post pins of her exhibit titled, “Well-Read Women.”
Her collection of watercolor portraits includes paintings of Daisy Buchanan, Ophelia, and other female leaders.
ART
Study findings illustrate the significant impact the text has had on society. • Pins discuss and critique feminism, and commemorate the five
decades following the publishing of The Feminine Mystique. • Such activities keep alive valuable discussion on important
women’s issues.
CONCLUSIONS
Historical analyst Peter Dreier summarizes the book well in this statement:
“The Feminine Mystique catalyzed the modern feminist movement, helped forever change Americans’ attitudes about women’s role in society and catapulted its author into becoming an influential and controversial public figure.”
“It was not only a best-selling book, but also a manifesto for change. Most Americans now accept as normal the once-radical ideas that Friedan and others espoused.”
SUMMARY
QUESTIONS
Atkins-Sayre, W. (2008). Reconceiving Motherhood: Second Wave Feminists Question the Maternal Role. Conference Papers -- National Communication Association, 1.Avidar, R. (2009). Avidar, Research in brief: Social media, societal culture and Israeli public relations practice, Public Relations Review 35 (2009), pp. 437–439.Betty Friedan Biography. Encyclopedia of World Biographies. Accessed from http://www.notablebiographies.com/Fi-Gi/Friedan-Betty.html Cady, K. A. (2009). Labor and Women's Liberation: Popular Readings of The Feminine Mystique. Women's Studies In Communication, 32(3), 348-379.Chang, A. (2012). Should You Care about Pinterest? Macworld, 29(6), 60–61.Coontz, S. (2011). A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s. Dreier, P. Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique": 50 Years Later Sunday, 17 February 2013 Worldwide Hippies, Farhi, P. (2010). Lost in the Woods. American Journalism Review , 32(1). United States.Four Big Problems With 'The Feminine Mystique' Ashley Fetters FEB 12 2013, 8:11 AM ET. Several "grains of salt" deserve consideration in any discussion of the 50-year-old book's legacy.Galbraith, D. (2012). The path to Pinterest: Visual bookmarks and grid sites. Gigaom. http://gigaom.com/2012/05/28/the-path-to-pinterest-visual-bookmarks-and-grid-sites/Kurs, K., & Cathcart, R. S. (1983). The Feminist Movement: Lesbian-Feminism as Confrontation. Women's Studies In Communication, 6(1), 12-23.Neary, L. (2013). “At 50, Does 'Feminine Mystique' Still Roar?” February 10, 2013 5:06 AMSiegel, D. (2011). A Strange Stirring: Test Your Feminine Mystique Cliche Quotient! Girl w/Pen. Accessed from http://thesocietypages.org/girlwpen/2011/02/01/a-strange-stirring-test-your-feminine-mystique-cliche-quotient/Turner, L. H. (2013). The Feminine Mystique and Me: 50 Years of Intersections. Women & Language, 36(1), 67-69.Walker, L. (n.d.). The Visual Bookmarks List. A Guide to the Web's Top Visual Bookmarking Sites. About.com. http://personalweb.about.com/od/contentsharing/a/Visual-Bookmarks-List.htm
BIBLIOGRAPHY