Dr. Sara DiazWGST 280: Gender, Sex, & Popular CultureGonzaga University

Last Time

• Textual Analysis of VMA’s and ***Flawless• Observed double meanings• EG Head down looking at camera• Appropriating Codes of Masculinity• Conforming to Codes of Blackness

• Started a conversation on Sexuality• Is Beyonce (the brand) resisting the norm that

we “teach girls they cannot be sexual beings”?• Is she participating/colluding in sexual

objectification?

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie• How does Adichie define “bottom power”?• http://youtu.be/hg3umXU_qWc?t=26m26s

• Do you see elements of bottom power in Beyonce’s performances?

• How does Adichie define feminism differently than dictionary?• http://youtu.be/hg3umXU_qWc?t=29m20s

• Do you see this definition reflected in either the performance or the lyrics of ***Flawless?

Reclaiming Sexuality

• What do these text tell us about how sexuality is socially constructed?• Shaped by race?

• Is it possible for women to reclaim our sexuality outside the “male gaze”?

• What is gained/lost when women, especially women of color, try to reclaim sexuality?

• Is it possible to undermine the preferred meanings?

Social Construction of Sexuality

What are the defining features of “sexuality” within our culture?

What does it mean to be “sexual”?

To be desireable?

IS BEYONCE’S PERFORMANCE/ALBUM FEMINIST?

↑ IS THAT

THE RIGHT QUESTION?

IF BEYONCE’S ALBUM IS “FEMINIST,” WHAT DOES FEMINISM MEAN AND WHO DOES FEMINISM SERVE?