Major Research Essay

Introduction

Feminism can be said to depict a political, cultural, social or economic change planned for setting up corresponding rights and legitimate assurance for women (Brunell & Burkett, 2019). Women’s rights include cultural and sociological beliefs, and methods of reasoning worried about issues of sex distinction, just as a movement that advocates gender equality for women and movements for ladies’ privileges and interests. Despite the expressions “feminism” and “feminist” not commonly used until the 1970s, they were being utilized in the public speeches and talks much earlier. I have chosen my two key thinkers, famous philosophers and feminists, Simone de Beauvoir and Angela McRobbie. These two women are known for their writings on how they viewed and supported feminism in various ways. This research essay seeks to analyse and discuss Simone de Beauvoir and Angela McRobbie work on feminism and how they have helped us to acknowledge the relationship between feminism and society and culture.

Simone de Beauvoir

Simone de Beauvoir was a philosopher, political activist as well as feminist. Beauvoir’s technique involved different political and ethical perspectives. In “The Ethics of Ambiguity,” she built up existentialist moral that blamed the “spirit of seriousness” in which individuals often promptly relate to specific deliberations to the detriment of individual independence and obligation. In the “Second Sex” book, she created an eloquent criticism on how women been consigned to a circle of “immanence,” and the aloof acknowledgement of duties delegated to them by society (Ferguson & Hennessy, 2004). The accentuation on freedom, obligation, and equivocalness saturate every last bit of her works and bring a voice to the main topics of existentialist ideology.

Many philosophers concur that Beauvoir’s most prominent input to philosophy is her progressive book, “The Second Sex;” published in 1949, this work quickly discovered both an enthusiastic audience and cruel pundits. At the time “The Second Sex” was composed, almost no work on feminism from a women’s activist point of view had been completed. Except for a bunch of books, methodical handling of the abuse of ladies both in the present and historically were practically unbelievable. Striking for the expansiveness of research and the significance of its focal bits of knowledge, The Second Sex stays up to now one of the essential writings in philosophy, women’s liberation, and studies.

The primary argument of “The Second Sex” deliberates around the possibility that woman has been in a relationship of long-standing persecution to man through her transfer to being man’s “Other.” Beauvoir acknowledges that the self needs otherness to characterize itself as a subject; the class of the otherness, along these lines, is essential in the constitution of the person as a self. Nonetheless, the change of self-comprehension through disparity should be complementary in that oneself is regularly the same amount of externalized by its different as oneself typifies it. What Beauvoir finds in her multifaceted examination concerning a lady’s circumstance, is that lady is reliably characterized as the “Other” by the man who assumes the place of the Self. As Beauvoir clarifies in her Introduction, lady “is the accidental, the inessential, instead of the basic. He is the Subject, and he is the Absolute-she is the ‘Other.’” Furthermore, Beauvoir keeps up that human presence is an uncertain transaction among amazing quality and innateness. Yet, men have been favoured with communicating greatness through tasks, though ladies have been constrained into the dull and uncreative existence of nature. Beauvoir, in this way, proposes to examine how this profoundly unequal relationship developed just as what structures, perspectives and beliefs keep on asserting up its social force.

The work is split into two significant ideologies or volumes. The first ideology examines the “Facts and Myths” about ladies from different points of view, including the biological logical, psychoanalytic, scholarly among others.  In every approach, Beauvoir is mindful so as to guarantee that none of them is adequate to clarify lady’s definition as man’s “Other” or her resulting abuse. In any case, every one of them adds to the woman’s general circumstance as the “Other” sex. For instance, in her conversation of science and history, she takes note of the fact that ladies experience absolute marvels, such as, pregnancy, lactation, and the menstrual cycle that are unfamiliar to men’s understanding and along these lines add to a stamped distinction in ladies’ circumstance. Nonetheless, these physiological events not the slightest bit make the woman be man’s subordinate since science and history are not insignificant “facts,” yet are continuously consolidated into and deciphered from a circumstance.

The other ideology begins with Beauvoir’s acclaimed declaration, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman (Beauvoir, 2011, p.293).” By this, Beauvoir intends to demolish the essentialism which asserts that ladies are conceived “female” (as per whatever the way of life and time characterize it to be) however are made to be such through social inculcation. Utilizing a full cluster of records and perceptions, the first area of the ideology follows the education of woman from her youth, through her puberty lastly to her encounters of lesbianism and sexual inception. In every stage, Beauvoir outlines how ladies are compelled to surrender their rights to the amazing quality and genuine subjectivity by a progressively stringent acknowledgement of the “passive” and “alienated” duty to man’s “active” and “subjective” requests. Woman’s lack of involvement and estrangement are then investigated in what Beauvoir entitles her “Circumstance” and her “Justifications.” Beauvoir examines the duties of spouse, mother, and whore to show how ladies, rather than rising above through work and inventiveness, are constrained into repetitive presences of having kids, tending house and being the sexual repositories of the male drive.

In her literature and especially “The Second Sex” (1949), Beauvoir’s impact on culture and society has been felt. Beauvoir criticized how the community corrupted women and made her believe that the place she fits in is being in a relationship with a man. It did not matter if the relationship was abusive and did not work. The society whereby rules were made for and by men viewed the woman as a subordinate and man’s “Other.” Through her feminist work, Beauvoir has disapproved of these beliefs the society held of women and demands for equality between both sexes. In “The Independent Woman,” Beauvoir says that the notion of femininity is misleadingly characterized by culture and society; it is forced on each lady. In the streets, ladies presently wear pants. That doesn’t change the main issue: the individual is not allowed to shape the possibility of femininity freely. By not acclimating, a lady degrades herself explicitly and thus socially as the society has infused sexual qualities (Beauvior, 2010, p.740).” Beauvoir describes her struggles between the culturally abused woman and the future woman who has achieved both personal and economic freedom. She provokes women to fight and earn their independence as they have been oppressed for long.

Beauvoir summarizes her work by attesting different substantial requests vital for woman’s liberation and the recovery of her selfhood. An example in the modern society, “the woman” Beauvoir fought for has been accepted and incorporated in the contemporary culture through the Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) as women are now learned, are pillars in families are more financially independent and less discriminated. Also, the RSAs come into play as women are the disciplined forces as well as attorneys in courts. This is a clear picture of what Beauvoir championed. The book, “The Independent Woman,” speaks of a financially stable woman as it is the ultimate liberation. Undoubtedly, Beauvoir gives incredible scrutiny of the politics and cultural issues of women’s lives, which keeps on reverberating firmly today (Fallaize, 2008).

Angela McRobbie

Angela McRobbie is a British social scholar, author and a women’s activist whose work merges the popular culture study, present-day media practices, and women’s freedom through studies and critiques. McRobbie composed an article called “Settling Accounts with Subculture. A Feminist Critique,” where she examined the compelling work of Dick Hebdige’s “Subculture: The Meaning of Style” (1979) for its nonappearance of female subcultures. McRobbie contends that in grasping advancements on teenage subcultures, was necessary to consider the private circle of home life as much as the open scene as by then, access to compactness and public spaces was more limited for young ladies as compared to young men (McRobbie, 1981, p.112). McRobbie similarly scrutinized Paul Willi’s book, “Figuring out how to Labour,” on a similar idea she utilized on Hebdige’s writing.

McRobbie had an enthusiasm for popular culture and female sexuality. She needed to examine the issue of romance and female congruity associated with the natural marvels of young ladies magazines. This methodology prompted papers on the feminine culture, sentiment and popular music culture, the adolescent magazine Jackie among others. Her idea on Jackie magazine analysed the philosophies of average workers male-controlled society in a mainstream society focused on sexually impartial readers and distinguished the centrality of sentimental independence. McRobbie argues that “Marxism” and “Psychoanalysis” would have given more opportunities for understanding sexuality. Specifically, the ISAs literature by Althusser had brought more exposure for media and cultural examination through belief system and interpellation.

McRobbie’s arguments were mainly based on a socio-cultural aspect, just like Simone de Beauvoir. She argued that the media and especially magazines have been at the forefront in popularizing the pop-culture as well as feminism in various ways. The rock music is said to have a deeper meaning and not just entirely for recreational purposes. The use of Rock n Roll music to pass information was influential at that time as it was the music of the young people and was incorporated in the youth culture. McRobbie criticizes Dick Hebdige for rectifying how Rock music was being perceived as his perspective did not cater to gender sensitivity (McRobbie, 1981, p.119). McRobbie states that music must be put within peoples’ conversations through which it intercedes to its crowd and in which its implications are verbalized.

McRobbie got keen on talks about investigating the portrayal of pornographic pictures, generalizations and publicizing in the media. She started to analyse astounding movements in young ladies’ magazines like “Just Seventeen” which advanced an alternate sort of women liberation, generally attributable to the mix of women’s activist talk into adolescent pop culture. By ignoring boyfriends and husbands, and rather underlining self-care, experimentation, and self-assurance, to McRobbie young ladies’ magazines appeared proof of the reconciliation of women’s activism sound judgment into the more extensive social field. During this time, McRobbie was also analysing the significance of dance the girl’s culture as it was popular at the time.

In “Post-Feminism and Popular Culture” Angela McRobbie contends that popular culture during the 1990s is defined by a hindrance from the accomplishments of the women’s activist movement. For McRobbie, modern popular culture communicates what has been named “post-feminism”. McRobbie’s main contention was that post-feminism decidedly draws on and summons women’s liberation as that which can be considered, to propose that equality between men and women is accomplished, to introduce an entire collection of new implications which stress that it is never again required as it has already passed (McRobbie, Feminism Media Studies, 2004, p.255). McRobbie said that for women’s rights to be “considered” it had to be comprehended as having just died. This was a development perceptible across popular culture, a site where “power … is revamped at different crossroads in regular daily existence, comprising our shaky feeling of common sense.” (McRobbie A., 2004, p.255). This is in the context that there were three different waves of feminism, which fought for, among other things, the equality for both genders in the society such as women’s rights to vote and be independent of man.

When identifying with postfeminism with regards to pop culture, McRobbie disagrees postfeminism as a preservationist response to the accomplishments of women’s liberation. For McRobbie, post women’s liberation as it is communicated in pop culture depends on the achievements of women’s liberation. Postfeminism sees these accomplishments as socially and culturally “self-evident”. McRobbie also utilizes her underlying motivation in examining the film “The Bridget Jones Diary” in a way that outlines her contention that post-feminism is moulding how ladies are depicted in ongoing fashionable society. However, there is also the issue of unpopular and bad feminism, tainting the need for feminism perfection. McRobbie accuses the media of being at the forefront of popularising bad feminism, rather than focusing on the positive side of women liberation movements. Women are also cautioned not to be discouraged by the backlash against their feminine movements as it only means they are doing the right thing.

Just like Simone de Beauvoir, McRobbie writes about and supports the girl culture as she tries to justify both males and females are equal in all aspects hence should not be discriminated against. McRobbie has indulged in feminism, popular culture and their impacts on the society. In her writings, McRobbie tries to change society’s view of how they have traditionally viewed women. McRobbie also uses media such as TV shows and popular magazines and how they portray ladies to indicate that still, the feminist movement has not entirely achieved their intentions. McRobbie is categorically urging the society to change its cultural perspectives on how it views ladies and not to look down upon them. In her other literature “Shut Up and Dance: Youth Culture and Changing Modes of Femininity” she investigated the mysteries of young ladies recognition with the women’s movement (McRobbie A., Shut up and dance: Youth culture and changing modes of femininity, 1993). She examines talks about postmodernism in principle and culture through the improvement of creative and social practices in the modern market society. McRobbie additionally accepted that the media and especially, magazines, may be seen as an essential site of information, mainly as the business engaged and enlisted graduates altered by the liberation movement. Despite all theses, cultural changes made her review some of her earlier beliefs.

Conclusion

Both Simone de Beauvoir and Angela McRobbie contributed immensely in the women liberation movements, although at different times. Beauvoir, through her literature, “The Second Sex” urged women to stand up and stop being oppressed and be viewed as the “Other” sex as they equal to men. In her other work “The Independent Woman”, Beauvoir persuades women to fight for their freedom and financial independence from the male domination by working like men and not just doing household chores which are unpaid as it is their role. On the other hand, Angela McRobbie focuses more on feminism, media and pop culture. In a critique is argues that girls should be allowed to enjoy more public spaces and experiences just like boys. McRobbie is more interested in pop culture and ladies magazines and TV shows and how society viewed women at the time. Both Simone de Beauvoir and Angela McRobbie made significant contributions to the feminine culture, and their work helped alter the society considered women. Their work still reverberates with ladies and the society up to now.

References

Beauvoir, S. d. (2010, p.740). The Independent Woman. In S. d. Beauvior, The Second Sex (pp. 721-751). New York.

Beauvoir, S. d. (2011, p.293). The Second Sex (1949). London: Vintage Books.

Brunell, L., & Burkett, E. (2019, May 21). Feminism. Retrieved from Britannica Encyclopedia: https://www.britannica.com/topic/feminism/The-fourth-wave-of-feminism

Fallaize, E. (2008, January 9). Why Simone de Beauvoir’s work still resonates with women. Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/jan/09/stateofindependence

Ferguson, A., & Hennessy, R. (2004, October 1). Feminist Perspectives on Class and Work. Retrieved from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-class/#8

McRobbie, A. (1981, p.112). Settling Accounts with Subcultures: A Feminist Critique. London.

McRobbie, A. (1993). Shut up and dance: Youth culture and changing modes of femininity. Cultural Studies, 406-426.

McRobbie, A. (2004, p.255). Feminism Media Studies. Post-Feminism and Popular Culture, 255-264.

McRobbie, A. (2004, p.255). Post‐feminism and popular culture. Feminist media studies, 4(3), DOI: 10.1080/1468077042000309937, 255-264.