How is gender represented in the media, and what do van Zoonen and bell hooks each add to a feminist analysis of representation?
Representation: feminist theory. Liesbet van Zoonen (gender as constructed, the objectification of women, the male gaze) and bell hooks (feminism as a political struggle against patriarchy, intersectionality of race, class and gender).
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to gender and feminist theory. Covers Liesbet van Zoonen (gender as constructed, objectification, the male gaze) and bell hooks (feminism as political struggle, intersectionality of race, class and gender), with the application skills the representation essays reward.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this dot point is asking
OCR names two feminist theorists in the representation area: Liesbet van Zoonen and bell hooks. You need each theorist's core argument, the ability to apply them to a gendered representation in a set product, and the judgement of whether a product reinforces or challenges patriarchal ideology.
The answer
van Zoonen: gender as constructed, and objectification
The male gaze describes how the camera and the audience are positioned as a heterosexual male viewer, with women framed for visual pleasure. van Zoonen's argument exposes how such representations reinforce patriarchal ideology, while also stressing that, because gender is constructed, representations can change.
bell hooks: feminism as struggle, and intersectionality
bell hooks (conventionally written in lower case) argues that feminism is a political struggle to end sexist oppression and patriarchy, and that it must be active and inclusive. Her central contribution is intersectionality: oppression operates through the intersection of gender, race and class, so different women face different experiences. She criticises mainstream feminism and media for centring white, middle-class women and marginalising women of colour and working-class women.
Applying the two together
The two theorists complement each other. van Zoonen gives you the analysis of objectification and the male gaze; bell hooks widens it to intersectional oppression and reminds you to ask which women a representation includes or ignores. A full answer can use both, and then judge whether the product reinforces patriarchal ideology or offers a challenge or countertype.
Examples in context
A strong answer applies a named feminist theory to specific signs, considers intersectionality, and judges whether the product supports or resists patriarchal ideology, rather than asserting that a representation is sexist or empowering.
Try this
Q1. Explain what bell hooks means by intersectionality. [5 marks]
- What the marker wants. Oppression as the intersection of gender, race and class, so women's experiences differ, with feminism as an inclusive political struggle (AO1).
Q2. Analyse the representation of masculinity or femininity in one set product, using van Zoonen. [10 marks]
- Cue. Read the signs, apply objectification and the male gaze where relevant, and judge whether the product reinforces or challenges patriarchal ideology (AO2).
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR H409/01 202215 marksAnalyse the representation of gender in one set product, using a feminist theory. [15]Show worked answer →
An Analyse question naming a theory (AO1 and AO2), marked by levels of response. The marker rewards close analysis plus accurate feminist theory.
Method. Identify the gendered representation and the signs that build it (costume, framing, action, language). State what each connotes.
Develop. Apply van Zoonen: gender is constructed and varies by context, and women are often objectified, displayed to be looked at (the male gaze). Or apply bell hooks: consider how race and class intersect with gender. The top band judges whether the product reinforces patriarchal ideology or challenges it.
OCR H409/01 202320 marksEvaluate the view that feminist theory remains useful for analysing media representations of gender. Refer to set products you have studied. [20]Show worked answer →
An extended essay (AO1 and AO2), shown at the 20-mark cap, marked by levels of response.
For. van Zoonen shows gender is constructed and women are often objectified through the male gaze, exposing patriarchal ideology; bell hooks adds that oppression is intersectional and feminism is a political struggle. Apply to named set products.
Against. Some products offer empowering or countertype representations, audiences decode actively (Gauntlett, reception), and postfeminist or fluid representations complicate a simple objectification model.
Judgement. Feminist theory remains a powerful lens, strongest when it accounts for change, intersectionality and active audiences. A judgement grounded in set products reaches the top band.
Related dot points
- Representation: Stuart Hall's representation theory. Representation as construction not reflection, selection and mediation, stereotyping and the exercise of power, and the reinforcing or challenging of dominant ideologies.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to representation and Stuart Hall. Covers representation as construction not reflection, selection and mediation, stereotyping as the exercise of power, and how media reinforce or challenge dominant ideologies, with the analysis skills the representation questions reward.
- Representation: social groups and stereotyping. How age, gender, ethnicity, region, sexuality and class are represented; stereotypes and countertypes; selective and constructed representation; and how representations position the audience.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to representing social groups. Covers age, gender, ethnicity, region, sexuality and class, stereotypes and countertypes, the selective and constructed nature of representation, and how representations position the audience, with the analysis skills the representation questions reward.
- Representation: ethnicity and postcolonial theory (Paul Gilroy). The legacy of colonialism, otherness and racial hierarchies, the civilisationism that ranks cultures, and postcolonial melancholia, applied to media representations of ethnicity.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to ethnicity and Paul Gilroy's postcolonial theory. Covers the legacy of colonialism, otherness and racial hierarchies, civilisationism, and postcolonial melancholia, applied to media representations of ethnicity, with the analysis skills the representation essays reward.
- Representation: theories of identity (David Gauntlett). The greater diversity of representations in modern media, audiences using media as a pick-and-mix resource to construct fluid identities, and the shift from singular role models to negotiated selves.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to theories of identity and David Gauntlett. Covers the greater diversity of representations in modern media, the pick-and-mix construction of identity, the shift from singular role models to negotiated selves, and the link to participatory media, with the application skills the representation essays reward.
- Theoretical perspectives: applying the representation theories. Choosing and applying Hall, Gauntlett, van Zoonen, bell hooks and Gilroy to set products, combining constraint and agency theories, and reaching the ideological judgement the essays reward.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to applying the representation theories. Covers choosing and applying Hall, Gauntlett, van Zoonen, bell hooks and Gilroy to set products, combining constraint and agency theories, and reaching the ideological judgement, with the exam skills the higher-tariff questions reward.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR A Level Media Studies (H409) specification — OCR (2023)
- Feminist Media Studies — Liesbet van Zoonen (1994)