Throughout the semester, prompts based on class readings, screenings, lectures, and discussions will be posted on this blog. Responses will be graded on their level of critical thinking, pertinence, engagement with class texts, and grammar/spelling/proofing/
length. Be sure to read the prompt carefully and fully engage with the content of the class materials. At the bottom of your response, type your FIRST NAME and the FIRST INITIAL OF YOUR LAST NAME (e.g. Claudia Z.).
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Week Seven: Response 7.4
In Stefania Marghitu and Conrad Ng’s analysis of the
reception of Girls, describe some of the discourse surrounding Lena
Dunham’s body.
In Stefani Marghitu and Conrad Ng’s analysis of the reception of Girls, the description they give about the surroundings of Lena Dunham’s body is going out of the ordinary standards Hollywood has to perceive women to have on television. A Marghitu and Ng’s description of the surrounding of Lena Dunham’s body is figured as being pear shaped and not be figured as most of the bodies audience are used to seeing on television. Marghitu and Ng mention “Dunham films herself nude, with her skin breaking out, her belly in folds, chin doubled, or flat on her back with her feet in a gynecologist's stirrups. These scenes shouldn't shock, but they do, if only because in a culture soaked in Photoshop and Botox, few powerful women open themselves up so aggressively to the judgment of voyeurs” (Marghitu and Ng 2). Dunham’s body is not a common shape that is visualized when watching movies and television to appear naked, which makes the audience uncomfortable because it is going out of the ordinary. Another discourse surrounding Dunham’s body is how it is moving away towards the “male gaze”. Women’s body image in a film was meant for the visual pleasure while Dunham’s character reveals her body to be a part of nature and a reflection of what a large majority of women’s body look like in the United States, which is underrepresented in television and films. Other discourses Marghitu and Ng make surrounding Dunham’s is the comments that are made on the show about her weight. When a character in the show makes a comment and laughs about Dunham’s weight commenting she does not wish for her body to be funny. What Dunham did was being able to take on that her body does not define her and like many women in America, they have other things to worry about than their weight. Marghitu and Ng’s analysis of Lena Dunham’s body touches on how society has created this image for what a woman should look like in Hollywood and when it is something out of the ordinary people find it disturbing, what should be disturbing is how we have allowed ourselves to become superficial and have this one image for what beautiful and confident should look like.
Some of the discourse surrounding Lena Dunham’s body in her show Girls comes from the presentation of herself and the way she breaks television norms. In Stefania Marghitu and Conrad Ng’s analysis, Marghitu and Ng discuss how Dunham has become the pinnacle of both praise and scrutiny for her often-naked appearance on the show. The main discourse surrounds the fact that Dunham’s body is not the normal idealized Hollywood standard of attractiveness. Especially in television. Typically, girls in other shows are skinny, slender, and have long hair. Dunham breaks the mold which is what people often go to rather than her efforts in the show. The discourse surrounds her body, not her talent. In the analysis, Emily Nussbaum, a television critic for The New Yorker talks about this, and how when watching Girls, one of the main things to notice is Dunham’s body. Nussbaum goes on to talk about how real Dunham is in the T.V. show. She films herself nude, with her skin breaking out, her belly in folds, chin doubled, and her back with her feet in a gynecologist's stirrups. All which makes many uncomfortable but is still very relatable to all women. This causes Nussbaum to point out how real Dunham is with herself on the show should not shock people. The main reason people scrutinize her body is because it is not part of “a culture soaked in Photoshop and Botox.”
In their analyzation of the television show, “Girls”, Marghitu and Ng underline the authorship and autonomy that Lena Dunham has over her own body as creator of the show. Rather than just portray the female body in a male-gaze serving narrative, she uses it to forward a narrative or tell jokes in a way that isn’t seen on television. What makes Dunham’s use of her body more unique is the fact that her body doesn’t conform to the idea of the perfect body type, yet she is still able to engage in an interesting romantic and sexual life. As Marghitu and Ng state, “Dunham, then, is never rendered asexual or unattractive because of her imperfections in the form of humor or less than idealized appearances. Both her character and real-life persona never attempt to live up to a post-feminist masquerade, proving that this assumed standard is not necessary to gain personal or professional success and self-fulfillment.” The antithesis of Dunham’s character is Allison Williams’ character, Marnie. While Marnie conforms to the societal standard of beauty, she experiences disappointments in her romantic and sexual life; these two characters are meant to show that a woman’s body type has little to no correlation to the love lives of women, as opposed to pop culture’s take in which a woman’s fulfillment in her love life is solely determined based on her sex appeal. Despite her refreshing approach to telling stories about females, commentary on Dunham’s work usually comes hand-in-hand with criticisms about her body, rather than her capability as a content creator. Despite this, it is important to note that Dunham does use her body as a source of inspiration to further her storytelling; she strays away from the thin, unblemished bodies that we are used to seeing on television, and exposes herself in real, creative ways that are relatable to the audience that “Girls” reaches.
Marghitu and Ng explain that Lena Dunham’s body authorship has been framed as a post-feminist masquerade. Also known as a female masquerade, it poses the narrative of “If you can’t beat them, join them.” Under this framing, Dunham, as a woman, is performing the dominant patriarchal culture’s view of femininity to use as a tool against patriarchal dominance. Dunham challenges the media’s “beauty standard”, but her post-feminist masquerade counters her attempts to break the status quo and still subjects the female under the male gaze. Dunham denies or resists the male gaze and her use of post-feminist masquerade in her TV show “Girls” because she claims authorship over her own body. Dunham’s message is that a body type is not connected to sexual satisfaction or confidence. “Girls” plays out Dunham’s message through the characters. One of the main characters, Marnie, is portrayed as sexually frustrated even though she has a “Victoria’s-Secret-type” body. On the other hand, Dunham’s character, Hannah, is shown to have a great sex life despite of her “average” body. Though Dunham’s message is positive, it presents a double standard because of her comedy. Since Dunham’s TV show “Girls” falls under the comedy genre, viewers might desexualize Dunham. Humor and sexuality do not mix, so the standard forces a woman to choose between one or the other. Mindy Kaling comments that Dunham’s body and conversations around her body actually overshadow her art. Another double standard on Dunham’s body authorship is what people expect from Hannah regarding her physical appearance. Many argue that Hannah would not be in a relationship with someone as attractive as her boyfriend, Adam. However, because of patriarchal dominance, no one wonders why some men considered “unattractive” have “attractive” on-screen partners. Woody Allen, Jerry Steinfeld, and Louis C. K. are given as examples of unattractive men with attractive on-screen partners. Nobody questions these men’s bodies or ability to woo partners. Instead, people assume that the men’s power, success, charm, or humor is what draws women in. Meanwhile, the same assumptions are usually not made for women.
Lena dunham is the creator, lead actress, writer and sometimes director of HBO’s Girls. This gives her authorship over how her body is portrayed on television. Her character Hannah is often naked and in sex scenes which has sparked many conversations because she does not have the “ideal” body type that you typically see in the media. She also refuses to use her body to serve the male-gaze. She denies the use of post-feminist masquerade which is a performance of the dominant culture’s view of femininity. Typically women will put on a display of hyper-femininity (or use their bodies) in order to get ahead in patriarchal culture. This can be seen on sex and the city.
Dunham resists this by having authorship of her own body. Her character has been describes as “pear-shaped,” but is actually closer to the average american woman’s body type. In her show her character is sexually adventurous and satisfies while her friend with the “ideal” Victoria’s Secret model body is sexually frustrated. This sends the message that your body type does not equal sexual satisfaction or confidence. Instead Dunham uses her body to move a narrative forward through the use of comedy. Though her messages and intentions are progressive, viewers often desexualize Dunham. Often female comedians are desexualized, Tina Fey and Cristela Alonzo are examples of this. This favors the stereotype that funny women, cannot be sexy and forces women to choose one or the other. While men have the privilege of being both. (example: the Wayans brothers, ryan reynolds on deadpool) While the messages about body image are progressive conversations about Dunham’s body also overshadows her art.
In Stefania Marghitu and Conrad Ng’s analysis of the reception of Girls, they state that Lena Dunham attempts to resist the male gaze, and “post feminist masquerade”, with how she portrays her character in the show. She does this because with not only being the lead actress, Dunham is also the creator, director, producer, ad writer of the show, and so she has complete authorship over her body and what she does with it in the show, including the nudity. In the show, this relates to Dunham giving off the idea that someones body type does not equal their confidence or sexual satisfaction. She portrays this with the characters Hannah and Marnie. Hannah, played by Dunham, has an “average” body type, and has a satisfying sexual life. Marnie on the other hand, would be considered as having an above average body type, and “ideal” to some people, and she does not have a satisfying sexual life. Dunham would also be a comedian, and female comedians are usually desexualized. It is not likely that a female comedian will be portrayed as a “sexual” being, but Dunham goes against this in Girls.
An opposite reaction to the show Girls is portrayed through Mindy Kaling’s reaction to it. Kaling thinks that Dunham’s body, and the conversations around her body, “overshadow” her art. She means that people focus on Dunham’s body, and talk about her body more than they should, more than the actual art of her show.
Another reaction would be a negative one because of the fact that the show takes place in Brooklyn, all four girls are white. Dunham replied to this by saying that she did not want to be accused of “tokenism”. This brings up the ultimatums that the show could have brought in a person of color, but be accused of tokenism, or just keep it the way it is, with no diversity within the characters.
Lena Dunham has always been keen on expressing her personal views and opinions to the public. In ‘Reconsidering the Post-Feminist Discourse and Critical Reception of Lena Dunham’s Girls,’ the authors allow for a young, female viewer to connect to the show Girls. Girls is sometimes referred to as a newer Sex and the City, and allows for us to follow and relate to the four characters. Hannah (Dunham) to me is the most relatable because of what she looks like, and how she acts. Her body, not her work, is usually being criticised, “Dunham's often-naked appearance, which falls between normative Hollywood standards of attractiveness and those of comically asexual overweight actresses, remains a ubiquitous topic.. Dunham films herself nude, with her skin breaking out, her belly in folds, chin doubled, or flat on her back with her feet in a gynaecologist's stirrups. These scenes shouldn't shock, but they do, if only because in a culture soaked in Photoshop and Botox, few powerful women open themselves up so aggressively to the judgment of voyeurs.” This show goes against the beauty standards of Hollywood and goes to reveal that Dunham is comfortable in her skin and makes it reassuring that we all don’t have to strive to be stick thin. Her character is sexually liberated and in control with whom she is sexually active with. Not only is she someone to look up, Lena is also the writer and creator of the show. This helps with the notion that women in the 21st century are capable of being funny and starring in their own show, while creating and inspiring what is being shown. Lena’s actions in the show don’t allow for the male gaze to take away from what she is trying to put across. Girls is a positive step for women on television and help with body image progress. -Skylar A.
Lena Dunham’s show Girls is different than other shows in the way Dunham portrays her naked body on screen. Dunham’s body type is more similar to that of the average American woman: pear-shaped with belly in folds, double chin, and skin breaking out. There are a few women that are willing to expose their flawed bodies so openly. There are a couple of things that Dunham defies by exposing her body in this way. First, she defies the post-feminist masquerade, in which femininity is expressed to adhere to patriarchal standards and survive in a patriarchal society. Femininity is usually associated with slender bodies used to please men, but although Dunham does not have a slender body, she is still a sexual being. The male gaze is also defied in the show. The male gaze is associated with a woman being a passive image or object, while a man is the active viewer or subject. The male gaze is can explain the fact that women only view themselves how they are perceived by men. That means that if a man views a woman as unattractive, then that is the way that woman views herself. However. Dunham defies this in that even though her body type is not the one commonly thought of as desired by men, her character is still very sexual and is seen as desirable in the eyes of attractive men. Dunham reveals her body in both sexual circumstances and scenarios of everyday life. Through this we can learn three things. First, having a “perfect body” does not lead to sexual confidence. In the show, Dunham has more sexual adventures than her ideal body counterpart, Marnie, who is sexually frustrated with her partner. Secondly, even though the naked female body can be rendered as humorous, it does not mean that it is asexual, unattractive, or undesirable. Third, women that are naked together do not have to conform to the male gaze that sexually fantasizes this scenario.
Stefia Marghitu and Conrad Ng article discusses hit series show, “Girls” creator, writer, and star Lena Dunham and her nudity in the show. The article states that Dunham’s body does not typically fit the Hollywood body mold. Unlike many other women on television, Dunham is short, pear shaped, and tattooed. Dunham would also film scenes where she is breaking out, her belly in folds, showing her double chin, and flat on her back getting an annual gynecologist checkup. Although this should not be a shock to everyone, since we all have our own fair share of flaws, it sadly is. Dunham showing her naked and flawed body can even make one uncomfortable because it is out of the ordinary. In a business where Photoshop, Botox, and unnatural ways to fix the body exit and normal, what Dunham is doing is a progressive and defying act. Marghitu and Ng states because of Dunham’s actions and decisions to have nudity scenes she is defying the male gaze, and taking total and complete authority, and ownership of her body. Women can be filmed in the nude without conforming to the sexual connotation of the male gaze. Filming her nude body, Dunham makes a point that one does not have to have the “ideal body” in order to have a confident, amazing, and active sex life. In one episode of Girls, Dunham’s character, Hannah’s body, her stomach in particular is ridiculed (in a comical way) by on screen boyfriend Adam. He states that her body is funny, and that she only really needed to lose three to four pound, and ask her if she has previously tried to lose weight before. Hanna states that she has not because, frankly, she has other important issues in her life. This statement sheds a light on the culture of women’s bodies. Apparently, women’s bodies are supposed to be her most defining characteristic. With this statement, and Dunham’s nudity, we learn that even with an imperfect body, you can have a wonderful sex life, and a woman’s body is not her most defining characteristic. Ciarajane D.
Lena Dunham, producer of Girls, has received praise and ridicule over her HBO show. Lena Dunham’s body is often times found nude in a comical asexual sense. Her body is filmed completely bare of alterations or modifications. Far from the classic “Hollywood” status of beauty, Dunham is not thin, has tattoos and she often times “lets herself look like hell”. She films herself nude with break outs, belly fold and even in stirrups at the OBGYN. Marghitu and Ng address Dunham’s authorship as undervalued and understudied. They believe that Dunham establishes a new form of authorship and performativity through her level of creative control on her HBO platform Girls. Not only in her creative and producing pursuits is Dunham autonomous. She also demonstrates controlled authorship over her body in declining to shoot for Playboy. She wanted to be the only person to produce naked mediums of herself. The male gaze as learned about in the first half of the semester is the concept of the woman being the passive image/object and the man being the active viewer/subject. Dunham’s show and character within the show does not give into the male gaze. She makes it clear that the ideal body doesn’t always lead to sexual confidence or satisfaction, female nudity can lead to humor without rendering this woman asexual, unattractive or undesirable. Women can be naked, even together, without confirming the male gaze. These discourses around Dunham’s body truly try to fight the male gaze on a very conscious level - Victoria L.
They find Dunham’s body type and the way she displays her body on her TV series to go against the usual standards of the “male gaze”. She has shown her body in awkward positions but has also demonstrated that although she does not have the ideal body type she is more than capable of having a satisfying sex life. Her character is often humorous and pokes fun at her own body but can still be sexual, attractive and desirable. Dunham is not the only female nude on her series and at times female characters are nude together in one scene with the intention of not being sexual or conforming to the “male gaze” which is often filmed a certain way to view the female body in a sexual manner. Viewers also were surprised to see that with a pear-shaped body that Dunham was able to have sexual relationships with attractive fit men, which is a double standard since nobody ever questioned when Woody Allen (a man not known to be attractive but humorous) would be cast to have attractive love interests. It’s a double standard that Dunham and her character had to deal with. Dunham’s body was not meant to be funny but meant to show another type of woman, a woman who is the average American body and should not be ashamed to have, because women with an average body type have just as much chance of have a satisfying sexual relationship with attractive while being witty and smart. Dunham is attempting to portray a closer reality to the average woman’s life than depict an ideal.
In Stefani Marghitu and Conrad Ng’s analysis of the reception of Girls, the description they give about the surroundings of Lena Dunham’s body is going out of the ordinary standards Hollywood has to perceive women to have on television. A Marghitu and Ng’s description of the surrounding of Lena Dunham’s body is figured as being pear shaped and not be figured as most of the bodies audience are used to seeing on television. Marghitu and Ng mention “Dunham films herself nude, with her skin breaking out, her belly in folds, chin doubled, or flat on her back with her feet in a gynecologist's stirrups. These scenes shouldn't shock, but they do, if only because in a culture soaked in Photoshop and Botox, few powerful women open themselves up so aggressively to the judgment of voyeurs” (Marghitu and Ng 2). Dunham’s body is not a common shape that is visualized when watching movies and television to appear naked, which makes the audience uncomfortable because it is going out of the ordinary. Another discourse surrounding Dunham’s body is how it is moving away towards the “male gaze”. Women’s body image in a film was meant for the visual pleasure while Dunham’s character reveals her body to be a part of nature and a reflection of what a large majority of women’s body look like in the United States, which is underrepresented in television and films. Other discourses Marghitu and Ng make surrounding Dunham’s is the comments that are made on the show about her weight. When a character in the show makes a comment and laughs about Dunham’s weight commenting she does not wish for her body to be funny. What Dunham did was being able to take on that her body does not define her and like many women in America, they have other things to worry about than their weight. Marghitu and Ng’s analysis of Lena Dunham’s body touches on how society has created this image for what a woman should look like in Hollywood and when it is something out of the ordinary people find it disturbing, what should be disturbing is how we have allowed ourselves to become superficial and have this one image for what beautiful and confident should look like.
ReplyDeleteJoselyn G.
Some of the discourse surrounding Lena Dunham’s body in her show Girls comes from the presentation of herself and the way she breaks television norms. In Stefania Marghitu and Conrad Ng’s analysis, Marghitu and Ng discuss how Dunham has become the pinnacle of both praise and scrutiny for her often-naked appearance on the show. The main discourse surrounds the fact that Dunham’s body is not the normal idealized Hollywood standard of attractiveness. Especially in television. Typically, girls in other shows are skinny, slender, and have long hair. Dunham breaks the mold which is what people often go to rather than her efforts in the show. The discourse surrounds her body, not her talent. In the analysis, Emily Nussbaum, a television critic for The New Yorker talks about this, and how when watching Girls, one of the main things to notice is Dunham’s body. Nussbaum goes on to talk about how real Dunham is in the T.V. show. She films herself nude, with her skin breaking out, her belly in folds, chin doubled, and her back with her feet in a gynecologist's stirrups. All which makes many uncomfortable but is still very relatable to all women. This causes Nussbaum to point out how real Dunham is with herself on the show should not shock people. The main reason people scrutinize her body is because it is not part of “a culture soaked in Photoshop and Botox.”
ReplyDeleteSarah D.
In their analyzation of the television show, “Girls”, Marghitu and Ng underline the authorship and autonomy that Lena Dunham has over her own body as creator of the show. Rather than just portray the female body in a male-gaze serving narrative, she uses it to forward a narrative or tell jokes in a way that isn’t seen on television. What makes Dunham’s use of her body more unique is the fact that her body doesn’t conform to the idea of the perfect body type, yet she is still able to engage in an interesting romantic and sexual life. As Marghitu and Ng state, “Dunham, then, is never rendered asexual or unattractive because of her imperfections in the form of humor or less than idealized appearances. Both her character and real-life persona never attempt to live up to a post-feminist masquerade, proving that this assumed standard is not necessary to gain personal or professional success and self-fulfillment.” The antithesis of Dunham’s character is Allison Williams’ character, Marnie. While Marnie conforms to the societal standard of beauty, she experiences disappointments in her romantic and sexual life; these two characters are meant to show that a woman’s body type has little to no correlation to the love lives of women, as opposed to pop culture’s take in which a woman’s fulfillment in her love life is solely determined based on her sex appeal. Despite her refreshing approach to telling stories about females, commentary on Dunham’s work usually comes hand-in-hand with criticisms about her body, rather than her capability as a content creator. Despite this, it is important to note that Dunham does use her body as a source of inspiration to further her storytelling; she strays away from the thin, unblemished bodies that we are used to seeing on television, and exposes herself in real, creative ways that are relatable to the audience that “Girls” reaches.
ReplyDeleteCaitlyn B
Marghitu and Ng explain that Lena Dunham’s body authorship has been framed as a post-feminist masquerade. Also known as a female masquerade, it poses the narrative of “If you can’t beat them, join them.” Under this framing, Dunham, as a woman, is performing the dominant patriarchal culture’s view of femininity to use as a tool against patriarchal dominance. Dunham challenges the media’s “beauty standard”, but her post-feminist masquerade counters her attempts to break the status quo and still subjects the female under the male gaze.
ReplyDeleteDunham denies or resists the male gaze and her use of post-feminist masquerade in her TV show “Girls” because she claims authorship over her own body. Dunham’s message is that a body type is not connected to sexual satisfaction or confidence. “Girls” plays out Dunham’s message through the characters. One of the main characters, Marnie, is portrayed as sexually frustrated even though she has a “Victoria’s-Secret-type” body. On the other hand, Dunham’s character, Hannah, is shown to have a great sex life despite of her “average” body. Though Dunham’s message is positive, it presents a double standard because of her comedy. Since Dunham’s TV show “Girls” falls under the comedy genre, viewers might desexualize Dunham. Humor and sexuality do not mix, so the standard forces a woman to choose between one or the other. Mindy Kaling comments that Dunham’s body and conversations around her body actually overshadow her art.
Another double standard on Dunham’s body authorship is what people expect from Hannah regarding her physical appearance. Many argue that Hannah would not be in a relationship with someone as attractive as her boyfriend, Adam. However, because of patriarchal dominance, no one wonders why some men considered “unattractive” have “attractive” on-screen partners. Woody Allen, Jerry Steinfeld, and Louis C. K. are given as examples of unattractive men with attractive on-screen partners. Nobody questions these men’s bodies or ability to woo partners. Instead, people assume that the men’s power, success, charm, or humor is what draws women in. Meanwhile, the same assumptions are usually not made for women.
Beatriz L.
Lena dunham is the creator, lead actress, writer and sometimes director of HBO’s Girls. This gives her authorship over how her body is portrayed on television. Her character Hannah is often naked and in sex scenes which has sparked many conversations because she does not have the “ideal” body type that you typically see in the media. She also refuses to use her body to serve the male-gaze. She denies the use of post-feminist masquerade which is a performance of the dominant culture’s view of femininity. Typically women will put on a display of hyper-femininity (or use their bodies) in order to get ahead in patriarchal culture. This can be seen on sex and the city.
ReplyDeleteDunham resists this by having authorship of her own body. Her character has been describes as “pear-shaped,” but is actually closer to the average american woman’s body type. In her show her character is sexually adventurous and satisfies while her friend with the “ideal” Victoria’s Secret model body is sexually frustrated. This sends the message that your body type does not equal sexual satisfaction or confidence. Instead Dunham uses her body to move a narrative forward through the use of comedy. Though her messages and intentions are progressive, viewers often desexualize Dunham. Often female comedians are desexualized, Tina Fey and Cristela Alonzo are examples of this. This favors the stereotype that funny women, cannot be sexy and forces women to choose one or the other. While men have the privilege of being both. (example: the Wayans brothers, ryan reynolds on deadpool)
While the messages about body image are progressive conversations about Dunham’s body also overshadows her art.
- Andrea W.
In Stefania Marghitu and Conrad Ng’s analysis of the reception of Girls, they state that Lena Dunham attempts to resist the male gaze, and “post feminist masquerade”, with how she portrays her character in the show. She does this because with not only being the lead actress, Dunham is also the creator, director, producer, ad writer of the show, and so she has complete authorship over her body and what she does with it in the show, including the nudity. In the show, this relates to Dunham giving off the idea that someones body type does not equal their confidence or sexual satisfaction. She portrays this with the characters Hannah and Marnie. Hannah, played by Dunham, has an “average” body type, and has a satisfying sexual life. Marnie on the other hand, would be considered as having an above average body type, and “ideal” to some people, and she does not have a satisfying sexual life. Dunham would also be a comedian, and female comedians are usually desexualized. It is not likely that a female comedian will be portrayed as a “sexual” being, but Dunham goes against this in Girls.
ReplyDeleteAn opposite reaction to the show Girls is portrayed through Mindy Kaling’s reaction to it. Kaling thinks that Dunham’s body, and the conversations around her body, “overshadow” her art. She means that people focus on Dunham’s body, and talk about her body more than they should, more than the actual art of her show.
Another reaction would be a negative one because of the fact that the show takes place in Brooklyn, all four girls are white. Dunham replied to this by saying that she did not want to be accused of “tokenism”. This brings up the ultimatums that the show could have brought in a person of color, but be accused of tokenism, or just keep it the way it is, with no diversity within the characters.
-Lorena C.
Lena Dunham has always been keen on expressing her personal views and opinions to the public. In ‘Reconsidering the Post-Feminist Discourse and Critical Reception of Lena Dunham’s Girls,’ the authors allow for a young, female viewer to connect to the show Girls. Girls is sometimes referred to as a newer Sex and the City, and allows for us to follow and relate to the four characters. Hannah (Dunham) to me is the most relatable because of what she looks like, and how she acts. Her body, not her work, is usually being criticised, “Dunham's often-naked appearance, which falls between normative Hollywood standards of attractiveness and those of comically asexual overweight actresses, remains a ubiquitous topic.. Dunham films herself nude, with her skin breaking out, her belly in folds, chin doubled, or flat on her back with her feet in a gynaecologist's stirrups. These scenes shouldn't shock, but they do, if only because in a culture soaked in Photoshop and Botox, few powerful women open themselves up so aggressively to the judgment of voyeurs.” This show goes against the beauty standards of Hollywood and goes to reveal that Dunham is comfortable in her skin and makes it reassuring that we all don’t have to strive to be stick thin. Her character is sexually liberated and in control with whom she is sexually active with. Not only is she someone to look up, Lena is also the writer and creator of the show. This helps with the notion that women in the 21st century are capable of being funny and starring in their own show, while creating and inspiring what is being shown. Lena’s actions in the show don’t allow for the male gaze to take away from what she is trying to put across. Girls is a positive step for women on television and help with body image progress.
ReplyDelete-Skylar A.
Lena Dunham’s show Girls is different than other shows in the way Dunham portrays her naked body on screen. Dunham’s body type is more similar to that of the average American woman: pear-shaped with belly in folds, double chin, and skin breaking out. There are a few women that are willing to expose their flawed bodies so openly. There are a couple of things that Dunham defies by exposing her body in this way. First, she defies the post-feminist masquerade, in which femininity is expressed to adhere to patriarchal standards and survive in a patriarchal society. Femininity is usually associated with slender bodies used to please men, but although Dunham does not have a slender body, she is still a sexual being.
ReplyDeleteThe male gaze is also defied in the show. The male gaze is associated with a woman being a passive image or object, while a man is the active viewer or subject. The male gaze is can explain the fact that women only view themselves how they are perceived by men. That means that if a man views a woman as unattractive, then that is the way that woman views herself. However. Dunham defies this in that even though her body type is not the one commonly thought of as desired by men, her character is still very sexual and is seen as desirable in the eyes of attractive men.
Dunham reveals her body in both sexual circumstances and scenarios of everyday life. Through this we can learn three things. First, having a “perfect body” does not lead to sexual confidence. In the show, Dunham has more sexual adventures than her ideal body counterpart, Marnie, who is sexually frustrated with her partner. Secondly, even though the naked female body can be rendered as humorous, it does not mean that it is asexual, unattractive, or undesirable. Third, women that are naked together do not have to conform to the male gaze that sexually fantasizes this scenario.
Amber M.
Stefia Marghitu and Conrad Ng article discusses hit series show, “Girls” creator, writer, and star Lena Dunham and her nudity in the show. The article states that Dunham’s body does not typically fit the Hollywood body mold. Unlike many other women on television, Dunham is short, pear shaped, and tattooed. Dunham would also film scenes where she is breaking out, her belly in folds, showing her double chin, and flat on her back getting an annual gynecologist checkup. Although this should not be a shock to everyone, since we all have our own fair share of flaws, it sadly is. Dunham showing her naked and flawed body can even make one uncomfortable because it is out of the ordinary. In a business where Photoshop, Botox, and unnatural ways to fix the body exit and normal, what Dunham is doing is a progressive and defying act. Marghitu and Ng states because of Dunham’s actions and decisions to have nudity scenes she is defying the male gaze, and taking total and complete authority, and ownership of her body. Women can be filmed in the nude without conforming to the sexual connotation of the male gaze. Filming her nude body, Dunham makes a point that one does not have to have the “ideal body” in order to have a confident, amazing, and active sex life. In one episode of Girls, Dunham’s character, Hannah’s body, her stomach in particular is ridiculed (in a comical way) by on screen boyfriend Adam. He states that her body is funny, and that she only really needed to lose three to four pound, and ask her if she has previously tried to lose weight before. Hanna states that she has not because, frankly, she has other important issues in her life. This statement sheds a light on the culture of women’s bodies. Apparently, women’s bodies are supposed to be her most defining characteristic. With this statement, and Dunham’s nudity, we learn that even with an imperfect body, you can have a wonderful sex life, and a woman’s body is not her most defining characteristic.
ReplyDeleteCiarajane D.
Lena Dunham, producer of Girls, has received praise and ridicule over her HBO show. Lena Dunham’s body is often times found nude in a comical asexual sense. Her body is filmed completely bare of alterations or modifications. Far from the classic “Hollywood” status of beauty, Dunham is not thin, has tattoos and she often times “lets herself look like hell”. She films herself nude with break outs, belly fold and even in stirrups at the OBGYN. Marghitu and Ng address Dunham’s authorship as undervalued and understudied. They believe that Dunham establishes a new form of authorship and performativity through her level of creative control on her HBO platform Girls. Not only in her creative and producing pursuits is Dunham autonomous. She also demonstrates controlled authorship over her body in declining to shoot for Playboy. She wanted to be the only person to produce naked mediums of herself. The male gaze as learned about in the first half of the semester is the concept of the woman being the passive image/object and the man being the active viewer/subject. Dunham’s show and character within the show does not give into the male gaze. She makes it clear that the ideal body doesn’t always lead to sexual confidence or satisfaction, female nudity can lead to humor without rendering this woman asexual, unattractive or undesirable. Women can be naked, even together, without confirming the male gaze. These discourses around Dunham’s body truly try to fight the male gaze on a very conscious level
ReplyDelete- Victoria L.
They find Dunham’s body type and the way she displays her body on her TV series to go against the usual standards of the “male gaze”. She has shown her body in awkward positions but has also demonstrated that although she does not have the ideal body type she is more than capable of having a satisfying sex life. Her character is often humorous and pokes fun at her own body but can still be sexual, attractive and desirable. Dunham is not the only female nude on her series and at times female characters are nude together in one scene with the intention of not being sexual or conforming to the “male gaze” which is often filmed a certain way to view the female body in a sexual manner. Viewers also were surprised to see that with a pear-shaped body that Dunham was able to have sexual relationships with attractive fit men, which is a double standard since nobody ever questioned when Woody Allen (a man not known to be attractive but humorous) would be cast to have attractive love interests. It’s a double standard that Dunham and her character had to deal with. Dunham’s body was not meant to be funny but meant to show another type of woman, a woman who is the average American body and should not be ashamed to have, because women with an average body type have just as much chance of have a satisfying sexual relationship with attractive while being witty and smart. Dunham is attempting to portray a closer reality to the average woman’s life than depict an ideal.
ReplyDeleteClaudia S.