Feminist movements have existed since the late 19th century but the most recent wave of feminism has been particularly significant in South Korea. In 2018 numerous women came forward with...Show moreFeminist movements have existed since the late 19th century but the most recent wave of feminism has been particularly significant in South Korea. In 2018 numerous women came forward with allegations of sexual violence against people in power under the MeToo movement. This movement was popularized in the United States on social media and soon reached other parts of the world where it gave marginalized women a voice. The movement gained momentum in South Korea after prosecutor Seo Ji-hyeon opened up about sexual harassment allegations against a high-level prosecutor and spoke of pressure by state bodies to keep silent. The MeToo movement brought sexual violence issues from the private sphere to the public sphere and showed women that the country’s patriarchal system is unacceptable. In the following years there was a rise in gendered activism such as the “Escape the Corset” movement, that rejected South Korea’s rigid beauty standards, and anti-digital sex crime movement. This paper seeks to answer, “how successful has gendered activism been in South Korea since 2018?” The reason 2018 has been selected as starting point for the thesis is due to the start of MeToo movement that particular year. This topic will be analyzed by use of feminist theory due to it being one of the rising frameworks that is growing in importance and relevance. Feminist theory is focused on gender inequality and addresses many issues that the Korean women challenged in their movements. Along with feminist theory, the history of gendered movements is crucial when discussing feminist movements in South Korea and will therefore be examined in the literature review. To further establish the definition of success of contemporary gendered movements, the historical background of gendered movements in South Korea will be explored. By analyzing the history of gendered movements in South Korea dating back to the 1980s up to now, this chapter defines success and how success of feminist movements has been determined in the past. These case studies will be analyzed through a feminist lens to ascertain the degree to which they have been successfulShow less
The topic of challenging gender stereotypes within the music genre of Reggaeton is a timely and relevant one in the European Union, the research question that this thesis is aiming to answer is: To...Show moreThe topic of challenging gender stereotypes within the music genre of Reggaeton is a timely and relevant one in the European Union, the research question that this thesis is aiming to answer is: To what extent are female gender stereotypes challenged in the lyrics of Spanish female Reggaeton performers? In order to do so, two well-known Reggaeton songs were analysed. The analysis was made through the close reading of the denotative and connotative meaning expressed in the lyrics and critical discourse analysis with musical discourse analysis. By using two songs sung by women this thesis explores, through a feminist lens, the appropriation of the musical genre of reggaeton as a subversive tool for commentary on gender stereotypes. This research concluded that Reggaeton is transformed by the relevant artist into a feminist instrument for the dissemination of feminist messages since the female characters have a history of constantly defending themselves from prejudices for instance, whereas males do not.Show less
Bollywood both shapes and is shaped by Indian society and its ideas on gender and nationhood. As such, it engages in the politics of representation as theorised by feminist film scholars. While...Show moreBollywood both shapes and is shaped by Indian society and its ideas on gender and nationhood. As such, it engages in the politics of representation as theorised by feminist film scholars. While extensive literature on the representation of women in Bollywood has arisen in the last two decades, less attention has been put on how rural populations or, more particularly, rural women are represented. This thesis attempts to fill this gap, recognising the invisibilization of rural women in India, especially the agrarian female workers who make up a major part of the national economy and around a fourth of the Indian population. I have used content and discourse analysis techniques on the Bollywood films Lagaan (2001) and Parched (2016) to investigate, firstly, the representation of Indian rural women in Bollywood, secondly the applicability of the theories developed through the literature on Indian women in Bollywood, and lastly, the possible implications of such representations on the visibility of Indian rural women, considering both the content and the reach of the films in the context of contemporary Bollywood. There is a multiplicity of representations of Indian women across Bollywood films, and this also applies for the representation of Indian rural women. In Lagaan, women play side-roles and are defined by their relation to the male characters; they are dedicated daughters, mothers and lovers. In Parched, the rural women are nuanced characters with desires, struggles and the will to fight for their agency in a patriarchal society. Even though the representations in Parched challenge notions of patriarchal and upper-class nationhood, its viewership and therefore the impact of the visibilization Indian rural women is limited to an elite and largely foreign audience, whereas the more patriarchal, but subaltern-perspective film Lagaan has reached Indian masses. Although women centric Bollywood films have been on the rise, a low number of films portray rural Indians and of those only few depict female characters in nuanced ways like done in Parched. This implies that Indian rural women remain largely invisibilized and stigmatized in Bollywood and in the imagination of the nation by the Bollywood audiences. Going forward, middle cinema offers a promising space for critical but still influential films, stimulating larger discussions on class and gender.Show less
Even though the Weinstein scandal and the #metoo movement opened the debate about feminism across societies, it seemed that the debate did not happen in Japan. After doing some research, one can...Show moreEven though the Weinstein scandal and the #metoo movement opened the debate about feminism across societies, it seemed that the debate did not happen in Japan. After doing some research, one can see that mass media in Japan do not echo any feminist ideas. Throughout the years, the mass media have neglected feminist debates and even generated negative discourse on feminism. However, if one looks into more alternative media sources, it becomes obvious that the feminist debate is actually well established in Japan. There are media sources such as feminist journals that open discussions on topics like gender roles and sexual liberation. Feminist publications have existed in Japan since the beginning of the 20th century. However, as those journals challenge Japanese societal norms, they are categorized as niche media with quite a small readership. On the other hand, manga is another type of alternative media with a large readership that highlights a feminist debate. Within manga literature, there are specific genres that target a female readership from teenagers (shoujo) to adults (josei). I argue that among manga, shoujo and josei manga genres are the most read outlets of feminist ideas within Japanese media.Show less
This thesis is a qualitative analysis of the clothing of Japanese Gothic Lolita women supported by six remarks. The study hypothesises that the statements made were meant to redefine gender...Show moreThis thesis is a qualitative analysis of the clothing of Japanese Gothic Lolita women supported by six remarks. The study hypothesises that the statements made were meant to redefine gender identities, societal values, and gender role expectations for women in the Japanese society and to find empowerment within the societal structures. It hypothesises that the statements were meant to signify a rebellion against the idea that dressing in a stereotypically feminine, childlike, and kawaii way is disempowering for women. Furthermore, this research finds that Japanese Gothic Lolitas lay the foundation to rethink the gendered structures embedded in the Japanese society through the signifiers of their clothing and the discourse within their statements by defining themselves not in relation to others, but to themselves. Thus, a framework is created that allows women to rebel against the traditional constraints of gender role expectations and to redefine their identities as influential, assertive individuals.Show less
As the presidential campaign has escalated polarization among Brazilian voters it is significant to understand how certain social movements have reacted to the political and social issues that the...Show moreAs the presidential campaign has escalated polarization among Brazilian voters it is significant to understand how certain social movements have reacted to the political and social issues that the country faces. In particular, the feminist movement played an important role in define their position against the candidate Jair Bolsonaro organizing the #EleNão movement, thus the interest of studying the emersion of the identity. Further, this dissertation investigates what kind of feminist identity emerged from the movement #EleNão during the presidential campaign of 2018 in Brazil? In order to advance this research, the author of this paper has critically analyzed the ideological discourses of two texts (one manifesto and one Facebook publication) of what it is considered to be part the feminist identity group construction of the #Ele Nao movement.Show less
The role of the woman in urban Chinese society has evolved since the socialist era, when Mao was striking for a genderless society. Today, gender roles are defined in a societal framework and...Show moreThe role of the woman in urban Chinese society has evolved since the socialist era, when Mao was striking for a genderless society. Today, gender roles are defined in a societal framework and Chinese women are facing discrimination and pressures at all levels. Media in China is known to be the main source that promotes Chinese societal values, in accordance with the party’s ideology. Previous research finds that the representation of Chinese women in media with a feminist approach is an underdeveloped topic, thus not focusing on the emancipation of these women. This thesis focuses on how urban Chinese women are portrayed in Chinese media, and more particularly in Television Dramas. Conducting an analysis of the Chinese produced television series Ode to Joy (欢乐颂) through the lens of four Feminist Film Theories; the male gaze, the female voice, the female as a sign, and the female spectator, the thesis shows how this chosen case study represents the emancipation of urban Chinese women in regards to romantic relationships, professional career and gendered expectations. Moreover, it relates this representation to the existing discourse in China's urban areas.Show less
In 2011, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted from power following the Jasmine Revolution, a series of protests where women played an incredibly vocal and important role. However, this...Show moreIn 2011, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted from power following the Jasmine Revolution, a series of protests where women played an incredibly vocal and important role. However, this dissertation seeks to argue that ‘The Woman Question’ in Tunisia is now more complicated than ever. Despite the comparatively progressive civil liberties Tunisian women have been granted, the reality women face in Tunisia is much bleaker than initially assumed in 2011. The aspects of co-optation, authoritarianism, class and religion will be used to assess how historically the conflicting issues surrounding women came to be, and the issues women face following the 2011 Jasmine Revolution.Show less
Throughout the Egyptian January 25 Revolution in 2011, as part of the so-called Arab Spring, many incidents have put women, their bodies, and portrayals of female bodies at the heart of the...Show moreThroughout the Egyptian January 25 Revolution in 2011, as part of the so-called Arab Spring, many incidents have put women, their bodies, and portrayals of female bodies at the heart of the uprisings. As the political participation of women became challenged, suppressed, and even violently punished under the ruling of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, who came to power after the ousting of President Mubarak, the female body became a site of domination. Nevertheless, young women rose against the oppressive forces they faced, challenging the social and political standards by putting their bodies into the public sphere and transforming the female body into a means of revolutionary contention. Derived from the underlying question how the female body is a site of power interplay in times of political transition, the aim of this thesis is to examine how women have addressed the appropriation of their bodies and the reduction of their political voices to the female corporality in post- revolutionary Egypt. This thesis analyses the vastly differing cases of Samira Mohamed Ibrahim and Aliaa Magda Elmahdy, who use their bodies as a tactic of and topic for political dissent and struggle for agency. Illustrating the centrality of the female body throughout times of political transitions, the plural expressions of female agency and ‘bodily insurgency’ in post-revolutionary Egypt, these women express a counter-discourse to existing ideas about femininity and a woman’s corporality. As they denounce the practices of a patriarchal system that reduces their political voices to merely their sex, it is argued that the female body is more than a disciplined and ‘docile’ object, for it contains transformative and political potential – in different ways.Show less
The discrimination of women is still a current topic around the world and specifically in the favelas in Rio de Janeiro. Furthermore, women are silenced and ignored in the work of NGOs and even...Show moreThe discrimination of women is still a current topic around the world and specifically in the favelas in Rio de Janeiro. Furthermore, women are silenced and ignored in the work of NGOs and even academic texts are often focused on the point of view of men in the region. In the following essay, the work of a local NGO AfroReggae Cultural Group is examined by discussing the respresentation and self- representation of women through the website, lyrics, and videos. Doing so, critical discourse analysis will be used, exploring the feminist theory of different scholars, such as Judith Butler and Joan Scott.Show less
This thesis aims to look into the effects of the 2001 American intervention - both military and humanitarian - in Afghanistan on Afghan women. More precisely, it will analyze the effects of the...Show moreThis thesis aims to look into the effects of the 2001 American intervention - both military and humanitarian - in Afghanistan on Afghan women. More precisely, it will analyze the effects of the discourse around women used by the United States to justify their invasion on the agency of local women.Show less
The role of women in late nineteenth century American literature as a reflection of the position that women in America had leading up to women's suffrage.
In the past decades, great improvements have been made in relation to the societal position of women. However, non-Western women artists are still forced to face double colonization due to the...Show moreIn the past decades, great improvements have been made in relation to the societal position of women. However, non-Western women artists are still forced to face double colonization due to the application of patriarchal and Orientalist discourses in relation to the interpretation of their art, and the artists themselves. Since the 1980s, Chinese women artists have experienced increased recognition both in the mainland and internationally, however, they are still not freed from orientalism and patriarchy. This research focuses on the reality of China and—through close reading—examines the interviews with two Chinese women artists, Chen Lingyang and Lin Tianmiao which are then juxtaposed with claims of scholars, art critics, and curators. By incorporating the insights from theories of feminism, postcolonialism, and intersectionality, the presence of structural discourses can be revealed and used to identify ongoing oppression directed towards Chinese women artists. The thesis aims to contribute to the discussion about Chinese women artists and to challenge this oppressive reality which can potentially lead to an effective change in terms of avoiding patriarchal and Orientalist interpretations of these artists and their works.Show less
Revolutions against racism, militarism and sexism organized by the New Left characterized the political landscape in the United in the sixties and seventies of the last century. Within these groups...Show moreRevolutions against racism, militarism and sexism organized by the New Left characterized the political landscape in the United in the sixties and seventies of the last century. Within these groups of the New Left, women played an important part and stood side by side along their male companions. Their voices, however, are overlooked and their experiences have only been researched in general terms. This paper focuses on the American Weather Underground organization and discloses the personal opinions and experiences of three Weatherwomen, Susan Stern, Cathy Wilkerson and Bernardine Dohrn, through autobiographies and video recordings. At the hand of the new social movement theory, a multi-faceted approach for a more thorough and less-biased understanding of this radical left-wing organization, it becomes clear that the activities of the Weather Underground were not that progressive towards women’s issues as they claimed to be.Show less
