On March 22nd, 2011, Cumberland University was treated to a presentation by Dr. Claire S. King of Vanderbilt University as part of Vise Library’s ongoing iRead program. Dr. King’s presentation was titled “Imitation of Life: Mediated Constructions of Gender”. She began by showing a provocative advertisement of a beautiful woman in lingerie. The text of the ad said “Bet you didn’t notice the armadillo”. Sure enough, there was an armadillo sitting on a chair next to the half-naked woman. Dr. King explained the various meanings of this ad, from woman as an object of heterosexual male gaze, to the humor inherent in pointing out that a va-va-voom female tends to draw attention to one’s eye to the exclusion of anything else in the picture.
Dr. King went on to explain the concept of “gendered looking”—the idea, exploited by movies, TV, and other visual media, that women are to be looked at and men do the looking. She tied this point back to Cumberland’s iRead selection, Bich Minh Nguyen’s Stealing Buddha’s Dinner, by pointing out the impact that popular culture and other children had on the author while growing up: Nguyen learned what she was “supposed” to eat, wear, and play by observing others. Indeed, her desire to be like her American classmates was strong enough to spur her on to seek out images and culture that would help her fit in.
Dr. King then explained the position of a particular scholar, Judith Butler, who argues that gender is culturally constructed and there is no such thing as “natural” gender. According to Butler, gender is a choice (often made unconsciously and sometimes even made for us, such as when baby girls are dressed in pink) and a performance we engage in every day. Butler challenges the idea of a “true, authentic self”, something that is a dearly held belief among many individuality-loving Americans. Instead, Butler argues that we all look outward for cues on how to adopt and form an identity.
Dr. King was an engaging speaker who was able to take complex and controversial theories and clearly explain them in an accessible way. Her friendly demeanor made it easy for audience members to ask questions both during and after the presentation. It was a real treat to hear Dr. King speak on the fascinating issue of gender and media.
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