Feminism, Femininity and Popular Culture (Inside Popular Film) [Paperback]

Joanne Hollows (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0719043956 | ISBN-13: 978-0719043956 | Publication Date: April 22, 2000

In this accessible introductory guide, the author identifies key feminist approaches to popular culture from the 1960s to the present and demonstrates how the relationship between feminism, femininity and popular culture has often been a troubled one. The book introduces the central ideas of both second-wave feminism and feminist cultural studies and demonstrates how they inform feminist debates about a range of popular forms and practices through a series of case studies: the woman's film; romantic fiction; soap opera; consumption and material culture; fashion and beauty practices; and youth culture and popular music.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joanne Hollows is Senior Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies at Nottingham Trent University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Manchester University Press (April 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0719043956
• ISBN-13: 978-0719043956
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fashion and feminism--more compatible than we imagined, August 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Feminism, Femininity and Popular Culture (Inside Popular Film) (Paperback)

Hollows has produced a cutting-edge feminist analysis of feminine popular culture including such topics as fashion and beauty practices, women's film, etc. that were regarded by many second-wave feminists to be more "feminine" than "feminist". Hollows has re-examined the feminine/feminist dichotomy to explore how they have been constructed as competing or opposing social pressures. She is examining the tension between wanting to hold on to the identity "feminist" and wanting to see how feminism can be understood differently for multiple generations of women.

Feminist cultural criticism has relied heavily on the idea that a politically correct feminist identity can deconstruct other feminine identities as "invalid". A popular perception is that a feminist "leader" will instruct "ordinary women" in the error of their non-feminist ways. If feminist intellectuals are trained, educated and committed to raise the consciousness of other women they should therefore be committed to "redeem" others from their servitude to interests such as fashion. Hollows believes that much of this black-and-white thinking comes from traditional views of production/consumption issues and how the dichotomous perception of these issues has produced gendered identities of those who are associated with one or the other.

Hollows has a clear and readable style of writing, despite the academic orientation of this book.