Natalie Jenkins, a 29 year old self-proclaimed feminist, uses this interview to discuss and justify the 30 minutes a night she lets herself forget about her feminist lifestyle, and divulge into reality television. She reports that after a long day at work, all she wants to do is lay on the couch and watch an episode of TLC’s Say Yes To The Dress. After her guilt-free half an hour of “Natalie time”, she returns back to her fight for the feminist movement. Although Natalie believes she needs to take a break from her Feminist life style to enjoy a reality television show, it does not seem as if she is positively portraying feminism. She gives the impression that women who watch specific TV shows and give into specific advertisements are violating their devotion to feminist issues.
Before the reader even divulges into the main text, the title of this article will make them stop and think. “Woman Takes Short Half-Hour Break from Being Feminist to Enjoy TV show”. What does this even mean? Is Jenkins implying that being a feminist is a temporary state of mind? Can people jump in and out of their beliefs depending on the time of day and what the TV guide has listed for that evening? If this is so, what is the true meaning of the term feminist? Because in this case, Jenkins does not seem like the type of feminist that I would relate to.
Feminist. There are many ways to define this word: positive and negative. Feminists are seen as angry, aggressive, ugly, radical, and man hating. They are also seen as active, outspoken, educated, empowered, independent, and socially aware. We discussed all of these traits on the first day of class because one needs to know the goods and bads associated with being a feminist in order to understand what it truly means. There is so much more to being a feminist than most people would think. In her book, Enlightened Sexism (Times Books, 2010), Susan Douglas discusses feminism and how it can be interpreted in so many different ways. She discusses how media has made an incredible impact on the way women are portrayed in both a positive and negative light, both contributing to the development of feminism and gender equality. Douglas introduces the term “enlightened sexism” which she uses to describe a point beyond sexism where people take feminism for granted. Sexist stereotypes are brought back and seen as a joke because they are seen as visibly untrue. While equality is still supported, women need to be reminded that there is nothing wrong with being a woman and that they should be celebrated by whatever life choices they make (Douglas 10).
The terms that Douglas uses as well as her teachings in general would undoubtedly infuriate Natalie Jenkins. Jenkins believes shows like Say Yes To The Dress portray “presumably self-respecting women” in a very superficial and emotional way (Jenkins n.pag.). She views them simply as a group of brides who give up their sense of worth and their intellectual value in order to signify their physical appearance, which can be shown through this clip from the show. Jenkins believes that women go over the top on their wedding day to look sexy for their husbands and objectify themselves. She makes it seem wrong that a woman wants to look great on her wedding day. An interesting set of questions for a follow-up interview for Jenkins might be: “And how do you want to look on your wedding day? Do you plan on attending a bridal store and wearing a wedding dress?” She also refers to this show as a portrayal of “traditional gender roles” and “a backward representation of what it means to be a woman in the 21stcentury” (Jenkins n.pag.). But this is a reality TV show, using real people, really getting married. How is it a misrepresentation of a modern woman? The culture surrounding picking out a wedding dress has seldom changed and I doubt that it changes significantly any time soon. The way she views these women is unjustified and frankly inaccurate. Douglas shares her idea that because the feminist battle has already been won, there is no reason for a woman not to portray herself in a feminist form. There is no problem with a women looking feminine on her wedding day because she believes she is not being viewed as an object and it was her choice to present herself the way she has.
In a way, Jenkins can be seen as an oppressor of other woman. We have discussed that during the First Wave of feminism, white women were the driving forces of equality and women’s suffrage, but ultimately left black women behind both literally and figuratively. In Audre Lorde’s article “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House” (from Sister Outsider, The Crossing Press Feminist Series 1984), she discusses the oppression of black women by elite white women. While white women were off attending conferences for the strive for women’s rights, black women were left at home to take care of the home and children. They were unrepresented at meetings and conferences, and had few opportunities to attend them. Although Jenkins is not outwardly oppressing the woman on the television show, she clearly does not approve of their lifestyle and has to hold back to not show her true feelings. Whether she desires to make fun of them or feel bad for them, she is oppressing their expression as women. In my opinion, this would fall under the category of “slut-shaming” which is a problem that we have discussed in class. Why should women call each other sluts and whores while we have men to do that already? Supporting other women and their personal choices seems to be the simplest form of feminism one can render and it is distressing that Jenkins, a self-proclaimed feminist, cannot even do that.
One of Jenkins’s strongest points is that this type of entertainment is an example of how “popular culture undermines the progress of women” (Jenkins n.pag.). Putting the actual television show aside, Jenkins makes a point to bring up the ten minutes of advertisements that may be as offensive, if not more offensive, to the feminist movement. Advertisements and the exploitation of women to sell a product is a part of the feminist struggle that I would actually agree with Jenkins on. Women’s bodies are used extensively to sell a wide range of products from footwear to yogurt. Our society has been molded by a “sex sells” attitude that we are unable to break away from. It is a system that exploits women, but successfully supplies women with an unrealistic expectation of what being a true woman means. Jenkins explains that the advertisements objectify women, showing that their main purpose in life is to please men. For example, advertisements for cleaning products typically feature women because that is the industry's target market. Johnson’s article, “Patriarchy, the System: An It, Not a He, a Them, or an Us”, discusses the patriarchal structure of our society in which women are seen as the caretaker and men are the breadwinner. Our society has developed to accept that women should stay at home and take care of the house and family, and keep them away from the work force. Jenkins believes the advertisements selected by TLC support this stereotype because they are targeted at women who may give into the appearances shown on camera.
What does it say about Jenkins’s personal take on feminism that she feels required to take a break from the feminist movement? It gives the impression that she is forcing herself to be a radical feminist because she believes that it is her duty as a woman. While there is nothing wrong with her feminist ideals and beliefs, it does not make sense that she feels relieved when she gets the chance to forget about it for a short time. There are two ways that I approached this article that left me questioning how Jenkins interprets the true meaning of feminism. The first misinterpretation I spotted was that being a feminist should not require analyzing gender stereotypes and searching for the faults in today’s society regarding gender issues, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And the other problem I had with this is that a feminist can watch TV because they enjoy it and do not need to dedicate every thought and emotion they have on recognizing the problems women face.
Although there are women that center their lives on feminism ideals and problems facing women and gender stereotypes, being a feminist should not be a full time job. Jenkins’s approach to this interview exemplifies a woman who wants to be a staunch feminist with strong morals and opinions, but maybe takes it too far. Having a strong set of beliefs should definitely be a way to base your life and your decisions, but it does not have to control your life and prohibit you from doing things that give you satisfaction, like watching a great TV show.
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