Feminist Media?
What makes media feminist? This seems like such an easy question, right? Honestly, at this point, I really only feel like I have tiny fragments of understanding and I’m still not quite sure how they fit together.
My first instinct is to say that feminist media is the alternative, or the response, to mainstream media. It provides a space for conflicting views of reality to exist and strives to work from within the structures of representation to alter our understanding of sex, class, gender and race. I also feel like feminist media works to create a way to represent bodies that does not objectify those bodies. This is where I get stuck. I’m still not sure how this idea manifests itself successfully in media. The nature of most media as a form of artistic expression and knowledge dissemination relies on a particular gaze of a particular audience to be successful. If this is true, how can feminist media alter the act of gazing upon a body in such a way that removes the notions of objectification? Unfortunately, I am no where near finding an answer to that question but it is certainly a thought I am trying to exist within.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about this idea of objectification in media and my own response to a world of representation I can no longer exist within. For the longest time I struggled with the possibility that my ideas about feminist media were dangerously close to censorship. The best I’ve come up with at this point is that feminist media can avoid becoming censorship by existing among mainstream media, not attempting to cover/oppress/get rid of it. This [new] type of media is simply offering possibilities where none existed previously. It is simply suggesting an alternative understanding of our realities.
I almost think there is some aspect of feminist media which is impossible to gain by working within the confines of what already exists. This system of representation does not work for feminists, or at least it does not work for my feminisms. It’s like trying to fit a square inside of a circular hole…it just doesn’t work. I think for feminist media to exist as wholly as possible, there has to be a radical shift in ideas about media. We can’t follow [their] rules anymore and just add our content. We need to make our own rules that support our content. I just keep thinking about this line from an Ani DiFranco song… “Who says I like right angles, these are not my laws, these are not my rules.”
In terms of who “counts” as a feminist media maker, I don’t think self-declaration as a feminist is necessary. As viewers/audience members, we bring our understanding of the world and the lenses we choose to view that world through, and we create our own subjective experience. I think artists can articulate certain ideas about feminism and not pinpoint it as such. In some respects, this can become a really interesting idea for alternative media. In not labeling something as feminist media, the creator does not confine the work to any sort of box. The work can maintain a sense of fluidity and can express that person’s understanding of the world without having to speak for all of feminism.
Since I am still in the process of discovering what it means to be a feminist media maker, I don’t have a real list of people. I am interested in looking further into the work of certain filmmakers, such as Cheryl Dunye, Deepa Mehta and Lourdes Portillo.
So here are some of my scattered ideas that I’m trying to weave into an understanding of what it means to create feminist media. I feel like I am leaving this class with more questions than answers, but that is such a great place to be right now, so I don’t mind.
Interesting things to check out:
1) The current issue of Adbusters magazine has an interesting article about the recent law passed which bans all outdoor advertising in São Paolo, Brazil. I'm not sure if it's published online, but just in case.
http://adbusters.org/
2) http://thecurvature.com/
I just stumbled upon this today and I’ve skimmed through it and it looks like it has potential. Not sure of all it has to offer yet, but I thought I’d share.