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Essay / Theories of Feminism in Mass Media - 2790
These feminists explore the concept that a single female experience is just as valid as any other. For example, if a rich white woman chooses to star in a pornographic film, her choice is just as valid as the poor woman of color who chose to do so as well. Post-feminism works to liberate individual women, but not women as a whole. Marxist feminism is the concept that women are an oppressed class, they blame the capitalist drive for profit, the second-class status women occupy, as well as other forms of oppression such as homophobia , racism and ageism. An important theory we need to consider is The Male Gaze, developed by feminist Laura Mulvey, she explains that the audience is positioned to view media from the perspective of a heterosexual man. Mulvey then goes on to argue that, in mainstream cinema, the male gaze is considered more significant and more important than the female gaze, which obviously highlights an underlying power asymmetry. The theory suggests that the male gaze relegates women to the status of objects to be admired for their physical appearance and that, in most cases, women will view themselves from a male perspective.