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Article: The Female Gaze: Women as Viewers of Popular Culture.
- Article from:
- The Nation
- Article date:
- August 27, 1990
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1990 The Nation Company L.P. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE FEMALE GAZE: Women as Viewers of Popular Culture
From the early days when feminists looked for "positive" and "negative" role models in the culture to more recent, theoretically sophisticated times, the stance of the feminist critic has remained consistent. She stands at an emotional distance from the object in question and, in one way or another, strips it of its power to seduce and enthrall. The strategy is to liberate us from what used to be called false consciousness.
There's a lot to be said for this position. No feminist in her right mind would deny that much of pop culture is not healthy for women and girls. It's demeaning, misogynous--you ...