Magazine Article Inspiration: The Gender Politics of Survival

 The Gender Politics of Survival

The Article

• From the April 2013 edition of the Media Magazine, the article on ‘The Gender Politics of Survival’ within the Walking Dead, a TV Series and The Hunger Games, a film adapted from the Novel by Suzanne Collins, a comparison was made between the gender roles and their actions in a survival situation.  
• The actions and the way of survival by the characters was The actions and the way of survival by the characters were then compared to the traditional stereotypes of the male and females to see if they conformed or subverted.

Traditional Stereotypes

• For each gender, society has a particular view on how we should act and behave, which causes a sexist attitude from both male to female and female to male.  
• Therefore anything seen outside of this is typically frowned upon or critised by society, however the definitions of the genders and the expectations for how they should behave has changed very little over time.  
• The article from the Media Magazine compares The Hunger Games and The Walking Dead based upon these gender roles and stereotypes:

Male	Female
Masculine Dominant Powerful In Control Independent Aggressive A Leader Possessive Physically and Emotionally Strong Emotionless Sexually Aggressive Matter of fact	Feminine Submissive Weak Dependent Calm Gentle Sensitive Caring Over-emotional Innocent Sexually Submissive Theatrical

• The stereotyping also extends to the types of jobs and environments that the genders should be associated with based upon their traits.  
• Therefore the article also considers this when looking at the gender politics.  Examples of jobs for the genders are:

Male	Female
Farmer Policeman Fireman Doctor Boss Builder Plasterer Army Navy Air Force	Mother House wife Nurse Care Home Working Teacher Waitress Librarian Receptionist Maid/ Housekeeper Charity Worker

• Therefore there are strong links between the personality traits and stereotypes and the type of jobs and the environments for each gender that are deemed appropriate and acceptable.

The Walking Dead

What is ‘The Walking Dead’?

• The Walking Dead is an American TV show based upon the comic books by Robert Kirkman and the TV Show has been running from 2010 to the present day with an age rating of 18 due to the graphic violent content and the sexual nature of some scenes.  
• The plot is about a former Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes who wakes up out of a coma, after being shot on duty, to find the world he once knew has been infected with zombies.  
• After travelling home to find his wife and son missing, he travels to Atlanta to try and find them, narrowly escaping an encounter with the zombies.  
• Once they are reunited in a camp full of survivors on the outskirts of town, they must face attacks from zombies and other survival groups who are willing to do whatever it takes to survive. 

The Gender Politics

• Within the article, it lists the key points in which gender stereotypes and roles come into play when the fight for survival is key.  
• These examples reflect on how this show reverts back to traditional stereotypes and gender roles for both men and women.

Men

• The first example from the article is when Rick finds a little girl, who he presumes is alive and he calls out, ‘Little girl? I’m a policeman.  Don’t be afraid’.  
• This conforms to the traditional roles and gender stereotypes through his job as a policeman but also through the idea of the tough appearance of Rick who acts brave even in a new world.
• The next example is in the police car in which two male police officers are involved in a misogynistic exchange about women’s carelessness in a flashback of Rick’s past.  
• The stereotyping of the women and the men’s exchange highlight the sexism that is apparent towards women.  
• The use of men talking about women demining is another stereotypical trait of men as they use it to highlight their masculinity and their dominance over the women.

Female

• The first example for the women is when Lori hears Rick on the Radio and she begs Shane to let her get a car and put up a sign outside the city to warn people away from it.  
• When she is denied this, the audience are left to wonder why she has to ask permission to act.  
• The car symbolises a part of freedom and being denied that shows that in The Walking Dead, the females are shown as the stereotypical versions of themselves; weak, submissive and dependant on the men.
• Another example would be when the women are fulfilling the domesticated jobs regardless of their previous careers. 
•  This is highlighted by Jacqui who asks, ‘How did we get stuck doing the Hattie McDaniel work?’ 
•  Hattie McDaniel was an African-American Actress who had to work as a maid or a cook in order to earn money despite her having a job as an actress and henceforth this is where the term came from which is used commonly to describe women and the stereotypical jobs.
• Also the article gives an example of what happens when the women try to ‘overstep’ the boundaries of the stereotype.  
• When Andrea learns how to shoot, she suggests how she might be more useful within the patrol groups however she is quickly cut off and the idea is shut down by Lori and is accused of being self serving and not thinking of the greater good for the community.

What does this all mean?

• According to the article, the examples given above suggest how the characters within The Walking Dead have to return to the stereotypical roles and traits in order to survive.  
•  It also suggests how when the women return to the stereotypical roles and traits that this is based upon ideology and not the need to survive. 
• It also suggests that the women are essentially forced into the old stereotypes in order to fuel the masculine presence of the male characters by setting up boundaries and rules for the women.

The Hunger Games

What is ‘The Hunger Games’?

• The Hunger Games is the first in a series of films based upon the novels by Suzanne Collins and was first shown in cinemas in 2012 with an age rating of 12 for the levels of violence and threat.  
• The film follows earth in the future in which the Capitol is led by President Snow, who rules over 12 districts, each with a specific speciality e.g. mining or fishing.  
• As a reminder for a past rebellion, each year a boy and a girl aged between 12 and 18 are chosen in the ‘reaping’ to fight to the death in the annual Hunger Games.  
• When Katniss’ sister Primrose is picked, she volunteers to take her place along with the male tribute Peeta.  
• The film follows their journey to and within The 74^th Hunger Games.

The Gender Politics

Within the article, it lists the key points in which gender stereotypes and roles come into play when the fight for survival is key.  These examples reflect on how this show subverts the traditional stereotypes and gender roles for both men and women.

Male

PEETA MALARK

• Peeta is the character that is used to mainly represent the male population within the film.  
• Throughout, he demonstrated more feminine than masculine stereotypical traits and therefore suggests that the male character is more complex and can’t be defined just by the stereotype.
• Within the arena, Peeta demonstrates his brute strength by throwing a large weight across the training area however he also demonstrates a feminine stereotypical trait of being weak and inferior when he is in league with the careers, who are male and females who are elite in their districts, due to his lack of masculine skills such as being able to fight with a sword or a spear or any other weapon. 
• His self-preservation is also key to him as he values this over everything and he through this he again demonstrates more feminine stereotypes due to his camouflaging himself to blend in with his surroundings once he has been injured by the careers when they try to get to Katniss.   
• Furthermore, he demonstrate this through his sensitive side and his caring attitude towards Katniss and also his dependency on her in order to get back to District 12, however it could be argued that this is based upon his masculinity as he is protecting the stereotypical weaker sex in the arena.

Female

KATNISS EVERDEEN

• Similar to Peeta, Katniss is used to represent the female characters within the Hunger Games within the article.  
• However, Katniss tends to show more of the masculine stereotypical traits compare to the feminine ones due to the world she has been forced to grow up quickly in.
• Her masculine qualities are shown within the reaping scene in which she volunteers to take her sister’s place in the arena.  
• The display of heroism is typically saved for the male characters but shows her subverting her stereotype in order to save her rather feminine sister from the fate of being killed or killing other people.  
• Also the fact that she is skilled with a bow and arrow further highlights her masculinity.
• However Katniss also has some feminine qualities as demonstrated when she is with people she cares about or loves.  
• When she volunteers to take her sisters place, her feminine stereotypical traits are shown through her loving and caring attitude towards her sister but also her emotion as she frantically volunteers.  
• Moreover, her caring and sensitive side is shown when she cares for Peeta after he has been injured by the Careers.  
• There she tends to his wounds and ensures his survival by tending to his every need.

What does this all mean?

• The article uses this to highlight how when it comes to survival, females and males don’t always completely return to their traditional stereotypes but they adopt features from the other genders stereotypes and this helps to ensure their survival.  
• t also suggests how having traits from both stereotypes produces a more realistic look on society and also highlights how a single stereotype can’t define a person when there is danger, especially when that person must adapt from their traditional environment and essentially evolve in the fight for survival.