Unite 2, Lecture 13: the

Second wave Radical feminist believe that men and women are
inherently diff.

Post fem and back slash believe that men and w are inherently diff

13.1 feminist backlash and post feminism

• Backlash feminism: the idea that second wave feminism never
should have transpired
o Men and w are fundamentally diff and w should be
responsible for the home
o Comes from a conservative ideology
• Postfeminism: adopts some second way feminist claims and
rejects others
o W should have a right to edu and right to
o They do agree that w should have the opportunities of m
but the argument is they already have them now
o Implication is that the need for feminism is over
o W can do what they want (get edu, have profession) but
they are responsible for making adjustments
• * both come to diff conclusions but have the same belief

Overall postfeminist argument: second wave feminism went too far

and led to w neglecting their families for their careers
• Critics of post feminism argue that w who choose a career have
to work a “second shift”
• Critics also argue that m are not critiqued for failing to balance
family and career (this demonstrates that feminism has not yet
done its job)

13.2 Postfeminism in 1980s tv

• Dow argues that there were three contextual changes:
o 1. Changes in TV
 A) daytime tv elements in prime time
• more w were watching tv at night so they
drifted the dramas to be half social and half
dramas so both m and w would enjoy the show
 B) Emergence of the Professional Serial Drama
(greys, law and order)
 C) Emergence of Postfeminist Family TV (after
feminism it shows a family where w in the family
both works and have a family and balance it
 successfully) ex- Cosby Show, growing pains, family
ties

• Post fem family tv represented w in ways that:

o 1) Diverted attention from problems w face in the
workplace
o 2) Reasserted primacy and importance of the w’s role in
the fam

13.3 Designing W (1986-1993): An alternative to postfeminsit family tv

in the 1980’s
• Intro
o It is a situational comedy
o The four ladies work at an interior design business
o Julia (oldest) tends to be the voice of reason and brings up
feminism
o Mary Jo- every woman, divored
o Susan (younger sis of Julia) she is the comic relief
o Charlene: the firms business manager
o Anthony: an ex con man he is the delivery man for the
show
o ** combines work and home into one scenario because
they are working at home.
o **Appeal: interplay of women talk
• Girl Talk at Work
o This is featured as very important
• The frequent representation of “girl talk” serves to:
 1) act as a form of consciousness raising ( they said
what they were really thinking and at the same time
trying to help her)
 2) Allow the character Julia to translate private
concerns into public advocacy
o *** PAGE 110 in book: Julia drives over…
o Julia makes a political argument out of personal concerns:
VIDEO
 3) Allow the voices of diff w to tell their own unique
experiences and opinions

13.4 Unique elements of the show’s structure that helped to represent

1980s feminism in positive ways
• Identification
 o There are lots of diff ways to be a feminist person
• Open Endings: Imply that the problem has not been completely
resolved
o Mugging scene: VIDEO

13. 5 Later episodes and Dow’s claims

• Later episodes saw a change in characters that did not allow for
as many representations of sisterhood
• Dow’s Claim: Designing W undermines post feminist ideas about
the kinds of w who are feminists
• Dow’s Claim: but does NOT complicate femininity as a spectacle
( they didn’t talk about how the standards of what w should look
were potentially negative)

Next time;
Ready ch 4
Murphy brown