Media Culture and Gender Politics

Media Culture and Gender Politics: A Third Wave Feminist Perspective
Toko Tanaka

186 mm x 130 mm
302 pages
JPY 2,500 
ISBN 9784790715689
Pub date: July 2012

Can feminism have a raison d’etre for women living in the difficult post-bubble era?　

A contemporary feminist cultural studies that links the theory of third-wave feminism, which loosely encompasses diverse voices, and the cultural practices of women.

Points of Appeal
1) Recommended book for those who feel distanced from feminism
2) Presenting the possibility of culture against capitalism
3) An analysis of the social situation of women in “postfeminism”

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 Women and gender today
Chapter 2 Approaches to studying media culture and gender
Chapter 3 Media representations and mechanisms of gender construction
Chapter 4 The trap of information programs for “housewives”: Silence is besieged by eloquence
Chapter 5 Media sports and gender: Gendered bodies and micropolitical sports spaces
Chapter 6 Gender politics of sports spectating: Women’s cultural practices and gaze
Chapter 7 Popular culture generating alternative spaces: Cultural consumption and cultural production in cosplay

Afterword
References

Introduction (excerpt)

Those of us living in the post-feminist era may have been able to enjoy the various rights that the radical feminist movement (second wave feminism) has gained since the 1970s with ease. At the same time, however, we sometimes feel that we are being saddled with a debt. The strong image of women and the model of life that radical feminism has created are at odds with the current era, in which the whirlwind of neoliberalism has brought about a serious recession and is collapsing social support and welfare programs.

 (…)

If this book has a role to play, it is to answer the question, “Are the goals of feminism still valid today?　If not, how can they be renewed?

Author Information
Toko Tanaka
Born in 1972. Ph.D. in Political Science. Professor at the University of Tokyo. Specializes in media culture theory, gender studies, and cultural studies. She has been conducting research and surveys on women’s practices in media culture from the perspectives of Third Wave feminism and popular feminism. She is co-author of Our “Fighting Princesses, Working Girls”, Girls’ Media Studies, and Can You Move Your Feet?.