Feminist Theory and Pop Culture Teaching Gender Volume 5 Series Editor Patricia Leavy USA Scope Teaching Gender publishes monographs, anthologies and reference books that deal centrally with gender and/or sexuality. The books are intended to be used in undergraduate and graduate classes across the disciplines. The series aims to promote social justice with an emphasis on feminist, multicultural and critical perspectives. Please email queries to the series editor at [email protected] International Editorial Board Tony E. Adams, Northeastern Illinois University, USA Paula Banerjee, University of Calcutta, India Nitza Berkovitch, Ben Gurion University, Israel Robin Boylorn, University of Alabama, USA Máiréad Dunne, University of Sussex, UK Mary Holmes, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom Laurel Richardson, Ohio State University, Emerita, USA Sophie Tamas, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada Feminist Theory and Pop Culture Edited by Adrienne Trier-Bieniek Valencia College, Orlando, USA A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: 978-94-6300-059-8 (paperback) ISBN: 978-94-6300-060-4 (hardback) ISBN: 978-94-6300-061-1 (e-book) Published by: Sense Publishers, P.O. Box 21858, 3001 AW Rotterdam, The Netherlands https://www.sensepublishers.com/ Printed on acid-free paper All Rights Reserved © 2015 Sense Publishers No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. ADVANCE PRAISE FOR FEMINIST THEORY AND POP CULTURE “This excellent anthology grounds feminism as articulated through four waves and features feminists responding to pop culture, while recognizing that popular culture has responded in complicated ways to feminisms. Contributors proffer lucid and engaging critiques of topics ranging from belly dancing through Fifty Shades of Grey, Scandal and Orange is the New Black. This book is a good read as well as an excellent text to enliven and inform in the classroom.” Jane Caputi, Ph.D., Professor of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Communication & Multimedia at Florida Atlantic University “Feminist Theory and Pop Culture is destined to be as popular as the culture it critiques. The text plays up the paradoxes of contemporary feminism and requires its readers to ask difficult questions about how and why the popular bring us pleasure. It is a contemporary collection that captures this moment in feminist time with diverse analyses of women’s representations across an impressive swath of popular culture. Feminist Theory and Pop Culture is the kind of text that makes me want to redesign my pop culture course. Again.” Ebony A. Utley, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Communication at California State University-Long Beach, author of Rap and Religion. “As a woman who tries to bring a feminist perspective to conversations with people who might never have considered how feminist histories and theories affect them, I have been waiting for a collection like this!” Emily Lindin, Founder of The UnSlut Project, author of UnSlut: A Diary and a Memoir, and creator of “Slut: A Documentary Film.” “Feminist Theory and Pop Culture offers some excellent material for undergraduate teaching. I’m especially excited by the contemporary and highly relevant analyses of Olivia Pope from Scandal (Griffin) and the newly fashionable return of belly dancing (Moe). By providing readers with concrete and familiar examples from popular culture media and practices, Trier-Bieniek’s collection facilitates students’ grasp of theoretical materials. Feminist analysis of Black stereotypes acquire an urgency and clarity for undergraduates when linked to and explicated through Scandal, one of the few shows a majority of my students watch. Likewise, Moe’s arguments about the male gaze in belly dance provide leverage for discussions of contemporary hyper- sexualization as expressed through practices such as middle-class pole classes and adolescent girls’ clothing extremes. The chapters provide a wide range of specific contexts and are highly engaging for classes on culture, pop culture, gender, feminist theory and representation.” Sarah M. Corse, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia. For the Trier side: Mom, Dad, Becky, Uncle Rod and Aunt Casi. This one’s for you. And for Dolores Bieniek, I adore you. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments xi Introduction xiii Adrienne Trier-Bieniek 1. Unveiling the Gaze 1 Angela M. Moe 2. Girls, Grrrls, Girls 19 April Kalogeropoulos Householder 3. Olivia Pope as Problematic and Paradoxical 35 Rachel Alicia Griffin 4. The “Un-Quiet Queen” 49 Melvin L. Williams and Tia C.M. Tyree 5. Queerness (Un)shackled 65 Lauren J. DeCarvalho and Nicole B. Cox 6. Warning! Social Construction Zone 77 Carrie L. Buist and Jean-Anne Sutherland 7. Girl Rising and the Problematic Other 89 Emily Bent 8. Paradoxes of Postfeminism 103 Patricia R. Boyd 9. From Street to Tweet 115 Jenn Brandt and Sam Kizer About the Contributors 129 About the Editor 133 ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to Sense Publishers, particularly to Peter de Liefde for supporting this project and to Patricia Leavy for creating and supporting the Teaching Gender series. Thank you to Paul Chambers for your marketing efforts and the entire Sense Publishers team. Thank you to every contributor for sharing their expertise and talent. It is truly an honor to have you be a part of this work and to have you as a colleague. Many thanks to Angie Moe, the greatest dissertation chair in the world. I also thank the trio of mentors who introduced me to the theory and action of feminist theory, my ladies from Grand Valley State University who are Judy Whipps, Kathleen Underwood and Marlene Kowalski-Braun. Each of you are so special to me and your knowledge and scholarship is evident in both the introduction and conception of this book. Thank you for teaching me. I also acknowledge the usual suspects in my life, my soul-sister’s Efua Akoma and Beatrice Yarbrough and their families, Lee Paulsen and family, The Clapper Twins, Andy and Dan, and their families, the Sperti’s, the Trier’s, the Bieniek’s, Chastity Orrship, Catherine Kelly, Bethany Kelly, Vadzim Sheikra, Dylan The Poodle and Grace Kelly The Dog, my friend and colleague Melissa Sierra and my big-little sister Jen Wiles. Thanks to my four-legged pals Mara and Charlie for the constant company and to my two-legged Husband Tim Bieniek who has been my awesome partner in crime since 1997. You make my heart happy. Finally, thanks to Rick and Deanne Trier, you raised me right. xi ADRIENNE TRIER-BIENIEK INTRODUCTION The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing how we are. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie What bothers me the most is that people say Hillary is a bitch. You know what? Bitches get stuff done. Tina Fey (on Hillary Clinton) During this book’s conception, writing and publication there have been an onset of positive indications that feminism is alive and well in popular culture. Television series such as The Good Wife, Parks and Recreation, Scandal, Orange is the New Black, 30 Rock, The Mindy Project and Transparent have given viewers exposure to smart, funny and diverse female characters. By standing in front of a massive sign reading “Feminist” while performing at the 2014 Mtv Video Music Awards, Beyoncé gained the praise of many feminist scholars. A statement that, as Amanda Morcotte from Slate notes, in an image-driven culture where the five second sound bite rules and meme’s are more popular than books, the image of Beyoncé declaring her feminism to the world just felt amazing. What may have had the largest feminist impact on popular culture in recent memory comes from Disney. In 2013, with the release of the film Frozen, Disney marketed a typical princess story. The trailer for the film revolved around a talking snowman, singing and dancing characters and images of two princesses. Yet, what the marketing of the film didn’t show, was that the story was really an exercise in the feminist standpoint, or presenting women’s stories from their own points of view. Based on the children’s story, The Snow Queen, Frozen is a tale of two sisters, Anna and Elsa. Elsa is born with the magic power to create snow and ice. On Elsa’s coronation day, she accidentally freezes the fictional Kingdom of Arendelle and, out of the fear that her powers have been discovered, flees to the Nordic mountains. The film then focuses on Elsa’s journey of self-discovery and Anna’s quest to return her sister to Arendelle, unfreeze the land and re-build their relationship. While there are magical trolls which talk of “an act of true love” and two potential love interests for Anna, the crux of the story comes at the end when the “act of true love” which will save Anna’s life is the love between sisters. The impact of the film, particularly on young girls, has been phenomenal. Disney has reported families waiting in xiii INTRODUCTION line for upwards of three hours to “meet” Anna and Elsa in the Magic Kingdom. Merchandise based on the film has been flying off shelves resulting in stores within Disney World limiting the amount of Frozen products each person can purchase and movie theatres began hosting Frozen sing-a-long screenings. This overwhelming acceptance of the film could be attributed to girls and women finding a story which seemingly honored the experience of having a sister (or close female friend) and privileging that relationship above romance or love-interests.