Gender Fluidity In Pop Culture Essay

Though gay rights have only recently been legally approved nation-wide, discussions on gender awareness, definitions, and queerness are not new. Whether these topics have been around for thousands of years or just in the last hundred, they have been sighted in many ways over time. One such way is in pop culture: the accumulation of materialistic things, such as fashion, songs, and objects, and the non-materialistic things, such as ideas, beliefs, and values, of a population. Society and pop culture have a cyclical relationship - a revolution in society is reflected in pop culture, but a change in what is shown in pop culture can also impact society. The film industry is one of the most influential parts of pop culture through its wide reaching audience and celebrity fan base. Therefore it makes sense that, in terms of society and pop culture, one of the ways that gender is challenged most is in cinema. What makes a man? What makes a woman? The answer is generally whatever society says a man or woman are. But since the film industry has the ability to shift what it’s audience, society, believes in, …show more content…
Cinematography lends a hand in providing different models of men and women by documenting them in different ways. For example, to make an actress look as feminine as possible to the audience, her skin has to look soft and she has to have sparkling eyes: “Extreme care was taken to enhance the stars looks … to obtain the wanted results” (Raimondo-Souto 104). Dreaminess is an important quality in an actress in order to be seen as the “perfect” female model. The cinematographers and camera crew from this era of the film industry were able to change the appearance of a male or female easily through soft lenses, light fixtures, and high or low