Week 02 Fashioning Gender Understanding Choice & Agency in Popular Culture

Autonomy
Men are independent and rational beings Autonomy was mostly associated with masculinity.
Women, instead, were assumed to be driven by emotion, therefore considered to be irrational
Dependency (No autonomy)
Traditionally it was assumed that autonomy was the domain of men, connected to masculine identity
and self-actualization. Men are encouraged to focus on themselves. Focus on self as part of autonomy,
rather than dependence & mutuality of women/girls experience
Women identify with mutual dependence.
In order to have agency, someone has to possess autonomy. Independence.
Agency Fluid and interpretive concept
Individual autonomous people can make decision for themselves. If you are choosing, something, thats
agency. It can be simple about simple choices, it can also be complex and empowering. It can be limited
in lots of way by culture and social constraints (free agent = you can make decision for yourself)
1990s = Capitalism (free market choices)
We have the ability to decide for ourselves (empowering the individualism concept)
Agency is a term that draws on notions of preference, desire, will and choice[all] internal factors of
freedom ( Hirschmann 1998)
It becomes complicated when applied to cultural practices.
Impacts on Agency
Geographical location which part of the world you live in
Environment anthropologies have considered the impact of environment on social relations
Social organization matrilineal, patriarchal
Gender boy, girl, intersex, trans, non-gendered
Class socioeconomics, poverty, wealth, social status
Education primary. Secondary, tertiary or other
Exposure to ideas/knowledge - cultural capital
Race, culture, & ethnicity (Where you born)
Family (Whether boys and girls are encouraged to express themselves or not)
Religion
Sexuality
Many others which can affect experience agency
Generally, agency is experiences differently by men & women, across cultures.
Age
Disabilities
Choice as choice
Choice supposedly derives from autonomy. Its said to be connected to agency. Its viewed as
problematic for so many
Choice in the context of neoliberalism freedom and individualism
Choice is utilized by capitalism, consumerism & market forces basically its a marketing strategy. We
use the market to inform and reproduce who we are through our choices.
Were told that we have infinite choices
Agency in Popular Culture
Ladette to Lady = Program which reinforces many gender stereotypes. Girls agency is limited. Girls are
taught how to behave traditionally, to cook, to sit and speak properly
Feminism and Agency
Second wave feminism thought that all women were oppressed. Patriarchal control
Third wave feminism: women are not universally oppressed. Actively involved in media, text studies,
social life and consumerism. They still use the word patriarchy.
Reflected in the range of life choices open to women increased autonomy in work and career choices,
Choices around reproduction: when/if to have children, birth control. Abortion rights
Controlling sexuality choosing ones partner, sexual orientation
In the context of consumer feminism cultural practices have been packaged in empowerment
discourse
Cosmetic surgery boob jobs, labiaplasty, face lifts, botox, lip fillers, nose jobs
Body modification tattoos, Brazilians, scarring, ear stretching

Week 02 Fashioning Gender Understanding Choice & Agency in Popular Culture

Sex work or work related to the ex industry pole dancing, lap dancing, phone sex
Porn Youporn (you can upload yourself)
Argumens now centre around precting women in these indrustries and trying to locate choice and
agency in them
Debates are complex and heated.
Consumerism & Women
Some argue that consumerism can and does empower women
Women have consumer power, can change society, through their pocket economic power
Feminism and consumerism (capitalism) uneasy relationship
Complex Identities
Freedom, agency and choice all exist in the context of capitalism
Our decisions are mediated by consumerism
In this context, notions of freedom
Ideas of empowerment are loaded in popular culture
Tutorial
Neoliberalism Individuals responsibilities, no more collective responsibilities. Privatization. Major
effect on what we consume and how we consume it Individualistic point of view (Ex. Mileys video)