UNMASKED IDENTITY PODCAST 210010175

This information explores the evolution of gender construction in society, comparing the early 20th century to the present. It discusses the film "Making a Man of Her" and how it depicts gender norms and inequalities of that time. The podcast also mentions Judith Butler's book "Gender Trouble" and her views on gender as a performative act. The film's ending and the portrayal of Louise's empowerment are analyzed. It then discusses Louise Glaum's career and her experiences with gender discrimination in the film industry. The podcast further compares the themes of cross-dressing in the films "She's the Man" and "Mulan" to the historical film "Making a Man of Her," highlighting how gender fluidity and empowerment are portrayed in these contemporary films. Hello listeners, and welcome to Unmasked Identity, a podcast which will explore how the construction of gender in society has evolved, highlighting and comparing differences between the early 20th century and our contemporary moment with reference to the film Making a Man of Her, directed by Al Christie. Making a Man of Her, a short movie with a western setting, is a silent film based on a woman who disguises herself as a man in order to get a job as a cook on a ranch. Problems arise, however, while she attempts to maintain her identity as a man. First, in order to comprehend the gender norms in the early 20th century, we must dive into the historical context informing assumptions about gender roles during the period. During this time, women's roles were deeply established. They were recognized as homeworkers or housewives taking care of children, and were typically seen as being physically weaker than men, whereas men were seen as providers associated with the world beyond the domestic sphere. This meant work, politics, and commerce. This is illustrated in the film when a man writes on the board advertising vacancies for hiring a cook in the employment office, but once Louise tries to get the job, the viewer is shown via an intertitle that there are no more kitchen maids for the ranch and is dismissed. A man dismissing Louise when there were job vacancies illustrates the separate spheres inhabited by men and women in the early 20th century. The fact that the male boss decides who is and is not eligible for work also reinforces this imbalanced and, innately, gender power dynamic. The scene arguably evokes empathy for women who had limited access to a working field dominated by the decisions of men. In the 21st century, there has been a significant shift in how society celebrates the social construction of gender. In comparison to the 20th century, feminist movements have achieved numerous successes over the years supporting feminine equality. Many scholars have addressed this particular issue. One example is the book Gender Trouble, written by scholar Judith Butler and published in 1990. In her book, Butler criticizes the assumptions behind representation that distinguish the gender, identity, and sexuality of men and women. Butler ignores the politics of identity, instead offering a new way of looking at how these politics are socially constructed. She argues that gender is not something that is inherent, but is instead a performative act. In other words, gender is a repeated form of performing. For example, in her book, she refers to philosopher Simon de Beauvoir, who explains how a woman's identity is shaped by a man's expectations and must follow the idealized form of womanhood. This means being a mother, caregiver, doing house chores. Men too have been conditioned to make distinguishing judgments about a woman's identity, facial appearance, or physicality. However, Butler deconstructs both genders and uses de Beauvoir to challenge these general assumptions. In other words, that being a woman gender should influence the way we act. Returning to the film now, this ideology of a woman's social construction of gender is illustrated in the scene when seven ranch workers look at two upper-class women as they leave, first flirting with them and then apparently making jokes about their looks. This illustrates how men idealize and distinguish women according to their looks and how historically society would do this based on the way a woman would dress. As mentioned before, the film portrays the futility experienced by women searching for work independently by presenting how a woman would have to disguise herself as a man to get that job. However, in modern times, women do not have to do this. Instead, society in the 21st century to some extent celebrates the social construction to do this. Therefore, in reference to the scholar Judith Butler and the film Making a Man of Her, we can see how the social construction of gender has evolved in relation to the sphere of work by highlighting and comparing the differences between the early 20th century and today. Christie's film uses humor and situational comedy to subvert gender stereotypes. This is shown in the film when Louise changes into the clothes of a man and uses these as a disguise. This scene highlights the absurdity of gender norms, illustrating the idea that in order for a woman to find a job, she must transform as a man. Ultimately, however, Louise does conform to expected gender norms by marrying a man and resuming her established place in the domestic sphere. In relation to the film's ending, it's important to establish that the movie was directed by a man, Al Christie, and therefore may ultimately be asserting a male understanding of the issue. Depending on our reading of the film, this could be seen to consolidate or undermine any subversive or feminist potential that we might locate within it. On the other hand, the film does not completely foreclose its feminist potential simply by virtue of the fact that it does highlight the inequality of the period and stage the difficulties faced by women, albeit within a comic frame. At the film's comic denouement, Louise marries a man on the ranch. This dramatizes the normative social construction of gender during that time, how women could not work only men. Therefore, Louise marrying a man towards the end of the film consequently is a way of making fun of this social construction of gender and diminishing the subversive potential of Louise's self-definition as a man. Furthermore, towards the end of the movie, the viewers presented with the title of Louise telling the man, I'd like to have cowboy pants too, and after the camera presents her dressed in cowboy pants in the scene once the cowboy pants are finally on Louise, she puts on a big smile and begins to laugh. This facial expression illustrates female empowerment and therefore arguably advocates women's rights. During the early 20th century, this would have been a dangerous and rebellious act. In reality, society would not have accepted this from Louise. Why don't we talk about Louise Guam with reference to this ideology of female empowerment and gender discrimination amongst women? Throughout her career, Louise Guam's roles in many movies represented female empowerment and instances of social prejudice towards women by the perpetuated actions and aptitudes of men. One example is the American silent film, Greater Than Love, directed by Fred Nieblo. This film focuses on six young girls who stage jazz parties in a New York apartment. Grace, Louise's character, is one who does not value men and despises them. After a heavy amount of partying, her friend Eloise, Virginia Ra'ate, takes her own life. However, Louise Guam did not finish the movie and instead sued the studio in response to the death of her friend Virginia Ra'ate, who likely died as a result of a sexual assault from director Thati Arbuckle, who had worked with both Louise and Ra'ate. The court did not believe this and fabricated a history of Ra'ate's drinking. This was not true, according to her witness and friend Louise, but the case was nevertheless dismissed. Not only does Louise's character in Greater Than Love, seeing men as ruthless, demonstrate discrimination amongst women by men, but this incident also portrays extreme toxic masculinity and gender discrimination towards women, especially in the film industry during the early 20th century. Thati Arbuckle is a reminder of the Me Too feminist movement that originated from allegations of a sexual misconduct against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Although this case and film is not explained at all on any media platform, which further emphasizes the disempowerment of women and disgraces the memory of Virginia Ra'ate. Since we have talked an abundance of gender stereotypes, we will now discuss how the ideology of cross-dressing as from the historical filmmaking of Man of Her can be compared to two contemporary films, Mulan, directed by Tony Bancroft, and She's the Man, directed by Andy Fickman. Both contemporary films have been chosen because they share the theme of cross-dressing, found in Making a Man of Her. In She's the Man, the main protagonist, Viola, disguises herself as her twin brother in order to compete in the football team at her brother's boarding school because she is not allowed to compete in her hometown. The scene of Viola disguising herself as her brother occurs when she asks her hairdresser Paul to change her style and playfully takes on the persona of a man by trying on different false moustaches and beards. Throughout her transformation, humor is used to imitate what it is like to dress up like a man. The vivid imagery of Viola's transformation and cross-dressing highlights how gender fluidity is a performative act not inherent. This is further emphasized throughout the film as Viola tries to conform to assumptions about masculine gender as she interacts with the male characters. Viola's facial expression and humor used in her transformation suggest how society has moved on from the rigid and strict gender norms of the past. Moreover, throughout the film, Viola begins to have feelings for her roommate until he finds out her true identity. This is shown in the scene where she is shown on a soccer field explaining her reasons for lying to Duke, Viola's crush. After this happens, he still falls in love with her and, towards the end, forgives her. This act of Duke still falling in love with Viola even after she reveals her identity challenges the heteronormative assumption that one's gender would only be attractive to the opposite sex. Another contemporary film that uses this theme of crossover dressing is Mulan. In order to protect her father, Mulan disguises herself as a man in order to join the army and take her father's place. In this scene, when Mulan disguises herself as a warrior, demonstrates female empowerment because in Chinese society, cross-dressing challenges the traditional roles assigned to women. This is related to making a man of her as cross-dressing was a rebellious act for women in a society which limits one's capabilities because of one's gender. Overall, we can see how the film Making a Man of Her explores the evolution of social gender construction from historical and contemporary perspectives. These perspectives have been analyzed with reference to Judith Butler's book, known as Gender Trouble, who argues that gender identity is not a fixed category but is continually influenced through social norms. Her argument is linked to the idea of cross-dressing, which is illustrated in Making a Man of Her, Mulan, and She's the Man. This idea of cross-dressing creates female empowerment as it challenges the traditional roles of women during the early 20th century. These challenges relate to how gender discrimination towards women is still common within the film industry both during the early 20th century and the 21st, which in this moment has resulted into the emerging of feminist movements. Thank you all for listening. I hope you have all enjoyed this informative discussion. Until next time!