Women in Movies Support Normalizing Male Dominance
Boundaries of gender as social structures are constructed by taboos, which reinforce social powers. The interpretation of gender is often the product of popular culture and an important part of this process is the arrangement of a patriarchal structure. This development of a patriarchal structure is often reinforced and maintained through modern media. Products of modern and popular culture are furthermore erect from inscribed ideological backgrounds of the gender hierarchy. Patriarchal representations of submissive and hyper sexualized female identities can be observed through extreme representations of teenage girls in films. Additionally, these female identities are important elements of …show more content…
The film challenges social structures of young women coming of age and ideas about mental illness. Throughout the film, the lead female character fights to break stereotypes about being a young woman with a mental illness. Although, at the core, the film attempts to encompass women’s liberation, it perpetuates stereotypes of women who suffer from mental illness. Importantly, the film reinforces social stereotypes about mentally ill women behaving in hypersexual ways. The film, notably reports the lead characters promiscuous tendencies as one element of her mental illness. For example, viewers learn of an affair with a married man and her tendency of sleeping with men with little emotion and for purely sexual purposes. At one point in the film, the lead female character demonstrates a tendency of hypersexual behaviors through questioning, “what kind of sex isn’t casual” and engaging in a sexual relationship with an orderly. Stereotypes about hyper sexualized women are further implicated when the main character enters a budding relationship with another female patient. Although a shared kiss between the two seems innocent, it is a pivotal scene in further misrepresenting the sexual desires of mentally ill women. The film, based on the novel by Susanna Kaysen, was directed and produced by males. However, the film had two female executive producers. The inclusion of females in the development of the film could account for the attempts at discrediting female stereotypes. However, it is important to consider that the main forces behind the film were
Boundaries of gender as social structures are constructed by taboos, which reinforce social powers. The interpretation of gender is often the product of popular culture and an important part of this process is the arrangement of a patriarchal structure. This development of a patriarchal structure is often reinforced and maintained through modern media. Products of modern and popular culture are furthermore erect from inscribed ideological backgrounds of the gender hierarchy. Patriarchal representations of submissive and hyper sexualized female identities can be observed through extreme representations of teenage girls in films. Additionally, these female identities are important elements of …show more content…
The film challenges social structures of young women coming of age and ideas about mental illness. Throughout the film, the lead female character fights to break stereotypes about being a young woman with a mental illness. Although, at the core, the film attempts to encompass women’s liberation, it perpetuates stereotypes of women who suffer from mental illness. Importantly, the film reinforces social stereotypes about mentally ill women behaving in hypersexual ways. The film, notably reports the lead characters promiscuous tendencies as one element of her mental illness. For example, viewers learn of an affair with a married man and her tendency of sleeping with men with little emotion and for purely sexual purposes. At one point in the film, the lead female character demonstrates a tendency of hypersexual behaviors through questioning, “what kind of sex isn’t casual” and engaging in a sexual relationship with an orderly. Stereotypes about hyper sexualized women are further implicated when the main character enters a budding relationship with another female patient. Although a shared kiss between the two seems innocent, it is a pivotal scene in further misrepresenting the sexual desires of mentally ill women. The film, based on the novel by Susanna Kaysen, was directed and produced by males. However, the film had two female executive producers. The inclusion of females in the development of the film could account for the attempts at discrediting female stereotypes. However, it is important to consider that the main forces behind the film were