Dangerous Curves: Action Heroines, Gender, Fetishism, and Popular CultureUniv. Press of Mississippi, 18 avr. 2011 - 288 pages Dangerous Curves: Action Heroines, Gender, Fetishism, and Popular Culture addresses the conflicted meanings associated with the figure of the action heroine as she has evolved in various media forms since the late 1980s. Jeffrey A. Brown discusses this immensely popular character type, the action heroine, as an example of, and challenge to, existing theories about gender as a performance identity. Her assumption of heroic masculine traits combined with her sexualized physical depiction demonstrates the ambiguous nature of traditional gender expectations and indicates a growing awareness of more aggressive and violent roles for women. The excessive sexual fetishization of action heroines is a central theme throughout. The topic is analyzed as an insight into the transgressive image of the dominatrix, as a reflection of the shift in popular feminism from second-wave politics to third-wave and postfeminist pleasures, and as a form of patriarchal backlash that facilitates a masculine fantasy of controlling strong female characters. Brown interprets the action heroine as a representation of changing gender dynamics that balances the sexual objectification of women with progressive models of female strength. While the primary focus of this study is the action heroine as represented in Hollywood film and television, the book also includes the action heroine's emergence in contemporary popular literature, comic books, cartoons, and video games. |
Table des matières
3 | |
Hardbodies and the Point of No Return | 20 |
The Bad Girls of Action Film and Comic Books | 43 |
3 ALIAS FETISHISM AND PYGMALION FANTASIES | 63 |
Sexy Cyborgs Game Girls and Digital Babes | 93 |
Power Revenge and Stripper Movies | 120 |
The Action Heroine and the Modern PostFeminist Girl | 141 |
Ethnicity and Comic Book Superheroines | 168 |
8 KINKY VAMPIRES AND ACTION HEROINES | 185 |
9 WHEN THE ACTION HEROINE LOOKS | 208 |
WONDERING ABOUT WONDER WOMAN Action Heroines as MultiFetish | 233 |
247 | |
257 | |
Autres éditions - Tout afficher
Dangerous Curves: Action Heroines, Gender, Fetishism, and Popular Culture Jeffrey A. Brown Aucun aperçu disponible - 2011 |
Dangerous Curves: Action Heroines, Gender, Fetishism, and Popular Culture Jeffrey A. Brown Aucun aperçu disponible - 2011 |
Expressions et termes fréquents
action films action genre action heroine active actresses Alias Aliens argues audience babe Bad Girl Barb Wire Batgirl beautiful Bionic Woman Blonde Buffy’s Chapter Charlie’s Angels cinema comic book contemporary costume depicted desire despite dominant dominatrix erotic eroticized ethnic example fans fantasy feature film female body female characters female investigator female sexuality feminine feminism feminist fetishistic fetishized fiction figure film’s gender girl action heroine Girl Power guns gynoid hero heroine’s heterosexual Hollywood horror ideal identify identity Jennifer Garner Kim Possible Lara Croft leather lesbian Long Kiss Goodnight look Maggie male characters male viewers masculine modern action heroine narrative passive performance phallic play players pleasure popular culture position post-feminist Powerpuff Girls relationship Resident Evil Ripley robotic roles Sarah Connor sex objects star story stripper movies striptease strong female superhero superheroines Sydney Bristow symbolic television tion Tomb Raider tough visual Wonder Woman Xena young girl