Core Post 3 – Week 10 – Postfeminism and the Politics of Race

The readings for this week gripped my attention from start to finish. Each of the authors discusses the issue of postfeminism and how it has become a dual argument in its representation in popular culture. Banet-Wiser goes into detail on the shift feminism has taken, McRobbie follows a similar trajectory into the deconstruction of feminism into postfeminism and its implications, while Butler delves deeper into the problematic representations of race and ethnicity that postfeminism has given birth to.

Considering the two shows we saw in our last class with respect to this week’s topic, I found the juxtaposition interesting. While Sex and the City definitely normalizes the issue of the feminist stance, Insecure had a more layered approach to it along with topics of race as can be seen when the lead character rants about her white coworkers debating about the predominantly black affluent neighborhood they’re in. Additionally, both shows feature multiple female characters who interestingly are personifications of the different definitions of feminism discussed throughout the readings. In particular, I was really fascinated by the jump between femininity and feminism that most of them grow through – the ‘ordinary housewife appeal’ to the ‘independent career woman’.

Another point that stood out was in the Banet-Wiser reading where she discusses the shift gender representations have taken, from being racially specific to universally appealing or even ambiguously “diverse”. She uses Dora the Explorer has an example and elaborates on it. But I think there are multiple shows that reiterate her point – from the Mindy Project, Grey’s Anatomy or even American Horror Story: Coven. All these shows give us a powerful dose of ‘girl power’, with layered and strong characters and storylines, but their racial and ethnic representations have been crafted for universal appeal, with sometimes-stereotypical characteristics. But that doesn’t take away from their postfeminist appeal because as McRobbie discuses, feminism must be dismantled in order for postfeminism to be integrated into popular culture.