Perishables is a photographic series that features the portraits of nineteen white women between the ages of fifty and seventy. Through its engagement with abject materials, namely its use of...Show morePerishables is a photographic series that features the portraits of nineteen white women between the ages of fifty and seventy. Through its engagement with abject materials, namely its use of animal skins and organ linings as garments for the photographed women, the series aims to enter into a generative relationship with its spectators, where the female ageing body is explored and re-negotiated through its abject exploration. Departing from a sociological, philosophical and feminist perspective, I frame Perishables as a powerful and poignant commentary on the social abjection of female ageing bodies that engages with the feminist tradition of body reclamation. The aim of this paper is to deconstruct and unveil the ageist and patriarchal notions inscribed in the female ageing body, and to showcase (theoretical and socially engaged) practices to refute them.Show less
In sociolinguistic studies, researchers state that there is such a thing as gendered language. These studies looked at gendered language in discourse and came up with a list of stereotypical...Show moreIn sociolinguistic studies, researchers state that there is such a thing as gendered language. These studies looked at gendered language in discourse and came up with a list of stereotypical linguistic characteristics used by women and men. In other words, certain linguistic features such as emotional adjectives and tag-question are more feminine, whereas judgemental adjectives and directives are said to be more masculine. However, the findings are divided and do not always give a common consensus on the reason behind the phenomenon. The differences could stem from social norms, personal preferences, inherited schemata, or the social setting in which the discourse occurs. For example, specific situational settings could be more likely to induce gendered language than other settings. James Bond movies present settings that are potentially more likely to induce gendered language due to the sexually charged nature of the relationship between James Bond and his women. In these situational settings, men are more likely to behave like stereotypical men, and women are more likely to behave like stereotypical women. Therefore, this thesis will look at the specific sociolinguistic context of the potentially sexually charged relationship between James Bond and various female characters and investigate if the characters use stereotypical feminine versus masculine linguistic features and, therefore, contribute to the sociolinguistic corpus of gendered language and its origin. In addition, it looks at the change over time, taking into account the changing Western society in regard to social norms and gender roles. To summarize, this thesis will look at whether the language in discourse found in the movies reflect findings in previous studies, whether the use of linguistic features changes over time, and if the changes can explain the nature of gendered language. This thesis is divided into five chapters the introduction, methodology, results, discussion, and last but not least, the conclusion. In chapter one, the introduction will give a brief overview of the significant sociolinguistic theories present, their relation to gendered language, what research has been done regarding James Bond movies, and how this research contributes to current discussions of feminism. Chapter one also includes a literature review, which goes into depth about the aforementioned sociolinguistic studies. Last but not least, it will give an overview of the research question. Chapter two will discuss the methodology, how social and linguistic factors were chosen, and which difficulties were encountered. Chapter three displays the results found with the help of graphs and figures. Chapters four and five will discuss the findings, their relevance to the ongoing discussion of sociolinguistics and gendered language, and the study’s main takeaway.Show less
Anorexia Nervosa is a debilitating illness characterized by the limitation of food intake and a fear of weight gain. While we might at face value take the illness to be irrational, within this...Show moreAnorexia Nervosa is a debilitating illness characterized by the limitation of food intake and a fear of weight gain. While we might at face value take the illness to be irrational, within this project we find that the dangerous condition is fueled by a foundation of justifications based on shared cultural ideas and the values derived from them. I will argue that anorexia occurs when an individual manages to embody attitudes of mind, body, and desire found in the Western philosophical tradition. For the anorexic, rather than being a project of vanity, losing weight can be understood as a spiritual project of transcending the human body and dissolving craving, thus, a quest for liberation. The illness functions in a way in which the anorexic individual sees the world through a filter that seeks out motivation to continue starving, as the self-denial is so extreme that it goes against the individual’s basic human instinct of survival and thus requires constant fuel to persist. What I call the anorexic worldview is a system of values and beliefs that promises the individual who adopts it liberation through transcending one’s ordinary humanity and becoming invulnerable, but at the end of the day, this worldview serves merely the contrary purpose of powering the mental and physical deterioration of the individual. Interestingly, themes inherent to anorexia such as a negative view of the body and the strict denial of craving are also prevalent in early Buddhist philosophy.Show less
James Marion Sims (1813-1883) is known as the ‘godfather of gynaecology.’ This American doctor had a career spanning Alabama, New York City and even undertook a European tour. He founded the United...Show moreJames Marion Sims (1813-1883) is known as the ‘godfather of gynaecology.’ This American doctor had a career spanning Alabama, New York City and even undertook a European tour. He founded the United States’ first Woman’s Hospital, but one of his first major contributions to medicine was finding a cure for vesico-vaginal fistula: the tearing of the vaginal wall due to trauma. This launched his career in medicine. However, he found this cure by performing medical experiments on enslaved Black women in his private clinic. In the Woman’s Hospital his patients were predominantly Irish immigrant women from the working classes of the city. This research explores what made it possible for a White man such as Sims to perform these unethical experiments on these women, who were racialised as Black. Through Foucault’s concept of the medical gaze and Kimberlé Crenshaw’s intersectional feminist critique, this thesis explores the professionalisation of medicine in the nineteenth century, scientific racism, the genesis of gynaecology, racial formation, medical experimentation and how Sims fits into these structures. The focus is the identity formation of Sims himself and his patients, who were intersectionally marginalised. Considering their race, class, ability and gender, one can reconstruct how they fit into the fabric of American society, and why exactly Sims and his colleagues were allowed to experiment on enslaved, working class, ill women when they never considered treating more privileged women (or men) in such a manner.Show less
The author Agatha Christie wrote more than sixty detective novels between 1916 and 1973. Christie wrote her detective stories during a time in which English society also experienced the first and...Show moreThe author Agatha Christie wrote more than sixty detective novels between 1916 and 1973. Christie wrote her detective stories during a time in which English society also experienced the first and second wave of feminism. This thesis will investigate to what extent the first and second wave of feminism influenced Christie’s depiction of her well-known female detective Miss Marple and her views on women’s roles and identities in British society. This analysis will focus on the following three Miss Marple novels: The Murder at the Vicarage (1930), A Murder is Announced (1950), and Nemesis (1971). Eventually, this thesis will show that the feminist thought and activism key to the first and second wave of feminism have had a significant influence on Christie’s depiction of Miss Marple. Throughout these years, Christie has gradually increased Miss Marple’s agency, prominence and engagement with feminist thought expressed in her time. Even so, the exploration of feminist thought concerning same-sex relationships presents to be a boundary for Christie.Show less
Representative of the new and daring generation, Matsui Fuyuko experiments with traditional Japanese art and infuses it with grotesque motifs that respond to contemporary interests and anxieties....Show moreRepresentative of the new and daring generation, Matsui Fuyuko experiments with traditional Japanese art and infuses it with grotesque motifs that respond to contemporary interests and anxieties. She discusses the delicate topics of female suffering and self-expression, which broaches unavoidably the salience of religious influence on the historical formation of gender roles in the Japanese society. In this thesis, I will analyze this subject through the dichotomy of purity versus impurity, as it is instrumental in organizing space in the lives of ordinary Japanese. In varied contexts, purity is used to contrast the sacred and the abominable, the clean and the polluted, or the male and the female body. By placing the paintings of Matsui Fuyuko in the syncretic religious context unique to Japan, it is possible to establish a connection between Buddhist meditation practices and Shinto rituals. In this sense, the aesthetic collation of the pure feminine and the shock-inducing realism of the rotting female corpse in Matsui's paintings can be seen as a form of social protest against pernicious gender biases. She challenges the traditional expectations towards women to display humility, self-restraint and to embrace their role as mothers and caretakers by instead painting them in defiant and provocative poses. The main question to be tackled in this research is how the painter modifies the concept of purity to communicate her feelings and ideas to the viewer through artistic means. I will disclose why the art of Matsui Fuyuko can be seen as an emotional purification of the artist, a meditative tool for the audience, as well as how it defies traditional views on the female body.Show less
This thesis examines how Greta Gerwig’s film adaptation Little Women (2019) retains Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 eponymous novel’s progressive ideas about gender roles, marriage and women’s ambitions...Show moreThis thesis examines how Greta Gerwig’s film adaptation Little Women (2019) retains Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 eponymous novel’s progressive ideas about gender roles, marriage and women’s ambitions for its present-day audience. The theoretical foundation of this research is based on the adaptation studies written by Julie Sanders and Linda Hutcheon.Show less
An analysis of how female character's are portrayed in the late '90s and early '00s adaptations 10 Things I Hate About You, She's the Man, and Never Been Kissed of the Shakespeare plays: Taming of...Show moreAn analysis of how female character's are portrayed in the late '90s and early '00s adaptations 10 Things I Hate About You, She's the Man, and Never Been Kissed of the Shakespeare plays: Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, and As You Like It.Show less
This thesis aims to explore whether the song WAP (2020) by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, exemplifies a paradigm shift in feminism. WAP caused much outcry and grew rapidly in fame because of its...Show moreThis thesis aims to explore whether the song WAP (2020) by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, exemplifies a paradigm shift in feminism. WAP caused much outcry and grew rapidly in fame because of its sexually provocative imagery and lyrics, unlike other similar songs. The question arises: If Cardi and Megan’s song is so unique that it might be the start of a feminist paradigm shift, or whether it follows an already established trend? First, the song is looked at scene by scene, scouting for reoccurring elements. Then, general representational tactics of women in media are analyzed, which help evaluate the elements in WAP further, determining feminist or non-feminist tactics. Lastly, the music of other female artists like Madonna, Lil Kim and Christina Aguilera are studied in order to determine whether WAP is following a trend or stands on its own. After exploring these different aspects, it is possible to see that WAP is a starting point for a feminist paradigm shift in media, of which there are likely more artists or songs to follow.Show less
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
