Notes on Women in Animation

- “The main issues we face today were prefaced by the work done by the previous waves of women. We are still working to vanquish the disparities in male and female pay and the reproductive rights of women. We are working to end violence against women in our nation as well as others. We are still fighting for acceptance and a true understanding of the term ‘feminism,’ it should be noted that we have made tremendous progress since the first

The women’s liberation movement (or feminism as it is now known) of the 1960s and 1970s touched every home, business, and school (WA, 705). The movement even touched the sports and entertainment industries, in fact, “There are few areas of contemporary life untouched by feminism” (WA, 717). The word feminism in the early 1960’s wasn’t often used and when it was it was used with condescension or hatred. However, in the late sixties that changed thanks to a new group of women. This new diverse group of women included the: young, old, heterosexual, lesbians, working class, and even the privileged. This diverse group came together and collectively created the second wave of feminism.

The extent and degree of information and detail written in this article about each represented author and their contributing works can ultimately be seen as one of the articles main strengths. However, although this article gives a vast amount of information on the women’s opinions and beliefs the article at times seems disassembled and erratic. The flow of the article is somewhat hard to follow, and without an increased measure of concentration, the ability of the reader to comprehend and decipher whom the author is speaking of can be lost. Also, with the extensive amounts of information and detail that each female author contributes to the argument, readers are bombarded with data to interpret and distinguish upon. With the author of the article not decisively choosing the strongest points of argument from each author, the information becomes overwhelming and possibly confusing at times.

using water colors and oils, and did excellent pen and ink drawings. He began to make a name for

Women are often confined to a set of ideals and expectations because of one simple fact: they are women. Many of the women who contributed to this book have faced gender stereotyping and discrimination. Instead of allowing traditional social norms to confine them to an unwanted lifestyle, they challenged these conventional ideals, risking failure and facing condemnation from strangers as well as people close to them. People often associate feminism with negativity and pessimism. In “Feminism is a Dirty Word,” Cindy Simon Rosenthal talks about how people refuse to define themselves as a “feminist.” However, the movement does not advocate for women’s special privileges. Feminism celebrates social equality and supports the utilization of all talents.

Throughout the history of the women’s rights initiative, activists have continually struggled to endorse their cause in a inoffensive, non-derogative style. With audiences acclimated to sexist societal norms, these pioneers had to advocate their ideas with tact and caution. If they were too enthusiastic, they were received as radical. Too meak, and none would listen. Finding a balance was imperative to the success of their message. This equilibrium is excellently exemplified in Virginia Woolf’s speech, “Professions for Women,” which was delivered to the Women’s Service League in 1931. In her oration, Woolf describes her inner struggles with the patriarchy in the context of her writing career. She tries to encourage other women to

In “Who Is a Feminist Now?” Marissa Meltzer explores different female celebrities on their views of feminism. Meltzer starts off by asking Charlene Woodley’s , “whether or not she considers herself to be feminist.” To which she responded no , giving the reason that those who are feminist are taking the power away from the man. As the article progresses, Meltzer continues asking other female celebrities’ their opinion regarding whether or not they consider themselves to be feminist. As the article progresses Meltzer expresses her opinion on how different this generation is compared to those prior. Also stating that not all females see themselves as feminist due to the lack of knowledge regarding the topic. Meltzer continues by taking into

Whether if it’s in the form of conscience raising activism or trying to one up men by proving that certain activities don’t have to drip masculinity, a new wave of feminism is blooming. Author Ariel Levy was a witness to this but it seemed that what many considered liberating she considered bawdy, and the two were not synonymous in her book. I on the other hand, find this new wave to be an act of women reclaiming their sexuality as it’s so often determined by men on how we utilize it. This change is not pervasive or extreme but rather a breaking down of social constructs that were kept in power by the dominant group, men. Of course, there are those who only see this liberation as raunchy but it’s honestly a way for us to use our femininity to challenge objectification. It’s time to welcome acts of self-expression rather than internalizing

Most of them said when they thought of feminists they thought of as “people that lived off in the forest”, “extremists”, and “bitter”. They also though women who were feminists were more masculine while men that thought of themselves as feminists were more feminine. They were also asked why they did not self-identify

Today when one thinks of feminism many sneer and roll their eyes in displeasure, perhaps remembering the bra-burning, empowered and angry feminists of the mainly 1970’s feminist movement featuring Margaret Atwood and Germaine Greer. It is easy, apparently, to forget that while things are still far from perfect for women there was a time in fact not very long ago when women were denied the most basic human rights. It comes as no surprise that women took to alternative ways of vocalising what everyone desperately tried to quash. Literature and art became vessels for the struggles and opinions of those that society tried so incredibly hard to push back into the kitchen. One of the best ways for women to express their dissatisfaction with the deeply patriarchal and oppressive society that they had been raised within was through art, which severely lacked female historical representation until this point. The USA was a centre-place for this movement but there is no denying the huge feminist presence that emanated from New Zealand. Documented as one of the first female artists in New Zealand to paint from a female perspective, Jacqueline Fahey paints narrative insights into her life, echoing that of many women at the time. She utilized her paintings to not only narrate her daily life but to make radical insights and critiques about the lives of many women, suburban or fellow artists, of the time.

In this essay it will assess to what extent feminism has added to our understanding of society.

Although animated cartoons have long been associated with children’s entertainment, many cartoons suggest they are for adults as well. Ranging from character portrayal to perceived gender roles, cartoons such as The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Scooby Doo both reflect societal values from their time periods as well as perpetuate the developed stereotypes. Comparing the earliest popular cartoons to more recent productions, shows progress towards a less stereotypical character portrayal in regards to gender.

e problem is—the problem has always been—that feminism is not fun,” Zeisler declares. “It’s not supposed to be fun. It’s complex and hard and it pisses people off. It’s serious because it is about people demanding that their humanity be recognized as valuable. The root issues that feminism confronts—wage inequality, gendered divisions of labor, institutional racism and sexism, structural violence and, of course, bodily autonomy—are deeply

For this week’s discussion a chose the following passage from Nikki Giovani’s poem titled, Dreams. “then i awoke and dug that if i dreamed natural dreams of being a natural woman doing what a woman does when she’s natural i would have a revolution” The beginning of chapter four in CTT discussing feminist criticism starts with quotes like “I am not feminist-I like men! “and “I am not a feminist -I wear a bra!” Indeed, I frequently voiced the preceding opinions before.

Average people that have little to no idea how animation is done still (hopefully) understand that it takes creativity, unique ideas, and most of all passion to do your job successfully. So it is my guess that one would be very surprised to find out that even in the animation industry, men are more desired for jobs than women. How can animation be dominated by a single gender? Men and women have great ideas, both can tell wonderful stories, and both can pull from their personal experiences and incorporate them to their work - so what reason would there be to discriminate against female artists? At this point the word "discriminate" may or may not be sudden of me to suggest, especially from the point of view of those who have trouble imagining such a thing happening in an industry such as this. My way of getting through to you would be to bring up facts here and now, so that we can start off on the right track.