Feminist approaches to popular culture: Giving patriarchy its due

Abstract

The popular culture debates as currently constituted are troubling from a feminist perspective for two reasons, suggested by these underlying assumptions. First, the canon of debaters contains no women. Second, the competing analysis of social power do not include patriarchal society, excluding a feminist analysis of popular culture at the level of theory rather than artifact. In order to give some form and coherence to feminist work on popular culture, this chapter presents a selection of contemporary work grouped roughly into four approaches: the images and representations approach, the recovery and reappraisal approach, the reception and experience approach, and the cultural theory approach. The academic “popular culture debates,” as they continue to be fought over theories of society and the role of popular culture, should pause to hear what feminists are saying. Feminists are saying that popular culture plays a role in patriarchal society and that theoretical analysis of this role warrants a major position in ongoing discussions.

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