II. Postfeminism Feminism is “a troublesome term” (Beasley, ix). It is a complex notion which deals with social, political, cultural and individual concerns. Consequently it does not possess a universally agreed, clearly defined ideology. Hollows defines feminism as “a form of politics which aims to intervene in, and transform, the unequal power relations between men and women” (2000, 3). However it should be added that since it is a multi-faceted movement, many forms of feminism exist. Feminism is considered to be one of the most pervasive movements of the previous century (Gamble 2001, vii). Gamble claims that it “has achieved the dubious distinction of becoming an utterly familiar part of our cultural landscape” (ibid.). Today feminism …show more content…
In contrary to previous forms of feminism, where motherhood or nurturing is seen as a fundamental part of femininity, femininity in postfeminism is defined as a bodily property. The female body is represented as a woman’s main source of identity and power. Furthermore in order to conform to female beauty standards continuous supervision, remodelling and monitoring of the body is required. In postfeminist media culture the body can often be viewed as a representative of the woman’s inner life. The sexualisation of culture Closely related to the previous feature is the sexualisation of culture. This includes both the increasingly frequent discourses about sex and sexuality and the proliferation of erotic presentation predominantly of girls and women’s bodies, on different media and cultural platforms. From sex object to desiring sexual subject Women are no longer the “passive, mute objects of an assumed male gaze”, instead they are active, “desiring sexual subjects” who choose to present themselves in that way (258). Central to women’s liberated interests are sexual knowledge and sexual practice. This shift in power is vital to the understanding of postfeminism as a sensibility. Power is not enforced from the outside: it “constructs [women’s] very subjectivity”