Perhaps what is most unique about this year in Hollywood are
the various attempts throughout the year and the Awards Season that have been
dedicated to the initiatives we have seen many celebrities take to battle
gender sexism. Research blatantly illustrating the gender wage gaps,
expectations, and stereotypes brought rise to numerous initiatives by powerful
stars such as Emma Watson’s #heforshecampaign.
However, she was not the only one, the hashtag #AskHerMore supported by
many celebrities in particular Reese Witherspoon aimed to challenge Hollywood
tradition of asking females who they are wearing at the Oscars and instead pose
questions focused on their work, and achievements as opposed to their clothing.
As we have spent time discussing the notion of contradiction
I see an interesting example of this in this #AskHerMore Movement. In many ways
these female stars promoting this message are contradicting a prominent
tradition that is blatantly sexist challenging an even greater ideology of
women being judged and given value solely by their beauty (clothes etc.). In
this case these female stars contradict this larger theme by forcing reporters
and ultimately society at large to see women for their intellect and what
actually makes them who they are which can hardly be summed up by a dress.
However, nonetheless this movement is interesting because
while on one hand the stars confront dominant ideology and stereotypes refusing
to answer questions about what they’re wearing, they still continue to wear
these exorbitantly expensive outfits to expose their beauty and enhance it due
to the elegant way these designer outfits are made. So, in some ways the stars have a bit of a
double standard, they don’t want to be asked questions about their outfits to
stand out and illustrate a political message, yet in order to conform to their
star persona they continue to wear this type of wardrobe to fit with tradition
and societal expectations. If the stars message they really want to get across
is seeing women as unique individuals who represent more than what the
designers name of their clothes is, then would their movement be more powerful
if they simply decided to neglect the elite attire all together and instead
bought a nice dress from Macy’s or Nordstrom that was not attached to any
specific designer?
I think that's an incredibly interesting line to watch celebrities walk. I think Tina Fey actually hovers on this line a lot when she hosts award shows. She always does these incredible, smart jokes about the insane standards of beauty for women, but she in fact meets these standards. She lost weight when she decided to go on camera. She does the gown and the make up for awards and is very pretty. It's a strange thing to see someone point out the box they're standing in while they're (seemingly) standing placidly inside.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was watching the Oscars, someone else in the room pointed out how much more interesting and daring the clothes are for the "unknown" people winning awards. Would any of the A-List actresses where an outfit like the one Laura Poitras wore last night? Maybe Helen Bonham Carter, but that would actually fit in with her star persona. But Poitras look was great and interesting and different--good for her!
I think you're right, if stars were TRULY embodying #AskHerMore in its fullness, more of them would probably look like Poitras.