Feminist Popular Culture Theory: Angela Mcrobbie

2. Angela McRobbie posited that there exists a hypocrisy within society when it comes to feminism; on the one hand, it is considered archaic – a “unnecessary” relic of the past, since women today supposedly benefit from “freedom” and choice” – but on the other hand, the progress of feminists is being erased and inequality is still prevalent (McRobbie, 260). In class, post-feminism was also seen as being defined by a cessation of the need for feminism; some would posit that females are already equal to males and the work of feminists is complete (Cocarla, “Feminist Popular Culture Theory”). There is clearly a contradiction here with what McRobbie believes. So, which is it then – have woman attained an equal status with men in today’s society or is
popular culture only presenting that façade as a veneer to conceal continued, systemic sexism? McRobbie might be deemed pessimistic by some.
I personally wondered at first if she was too quick to discount the fruition of the feminist movement and exaggeratedly skeptical or critical of popular culture. But it could certainly be argued that alternate – and more optimistic – interpretations of post-feminism are actually overly optimistic. Are women truly redeemed from the chains of sexism? What may be seen here is a notion of contradiction, hypocrisy, or double standard on the part of society and popular culture. McRobbie referred to this as “Double Entanglement”; essentially, liberal and conservative views remain entangled or enmeshed together in society and both continue to pull at our minds in a perpetual game of tug-of-war (McRobbie, 255-264). It is not difficult for any critically-thinking member of society to affirm that there are polar views vying for our minds in many regards, especially when it comes to issues like feminism in popular culture. What is perhaps more difficult to ascertain is what this says about historical feminist movements. Does the fact that we are still, in 2017, debating women’s equality, serve to negate, nullify or discredit the work of so many feminists over the years? To an extent,
yes. Women can vote, women can choose not to have children, women can participate in the work force, women can serve in the army, women can obtain jobs in STEM – all of these are legal possibilities for women in today’s society. But it would be a mistake to stop there. It would be a grave mistake to deduce that popular culture promotes feminism in complete accordance with the works of feminists, because there is more to the story. Indeed, women can technically take on all of the aforementioned endeavors – but the social stigma around unmarried women, and childless women, and women in STEM or the army, etc., is undeniable even in this day and age. Women have the legal conduit and agency to do more or less as they please in today’s culture, but stigmatization is as prevalent as ever and acts as a preventative force against women making autonomous decisions. Women still face backlash for being openly sexual whereas men are lauded for it. Women are still expected to remain at home and tend to kids and housework whereas men have always belonged in the workforce. The list is endless. There continues to be an ostensible divide between men and women that traces back hundreds of years and demonstrates the rigidity of certain social constructs which bind women to the home. In this way, popular culture serves to promote or validate McRobbie’s opinion. Anyone can see, with a little bit of critical thinking, that systemic prejudices continue to govern our way of thinking and shape representations of women in society. Yes, on the one hand, liberal values would seem to promote equality. But that does not mean that women have been completely emancipated.