“Its time to settle the score” [1] To what extent have historical representations of women being challenged in today’s media, with particular references to ‘She’s The Man’

Women are stereotyped; they are singled out in a patriarchal society: “the housewife is favoured, whilst the woman in power is often shown to be the villain.”[2] They are passive and vulnerable towards men. “Often when women are shown in a position of power, it is portrayed as being unnatural, because from the dominant ideology, it is the men who are the most powerful”[3] or who were the most powerful, until Feminism. In the late 1970s a movement of women for women dragged females into the limelight and brought a new chapter to their lives. From films such as the ‘Star Wars’ franchise which began in 1977 to ‘Alien’ in 1979, women became more powerful and dominant in both society and subsequently film. The increasing representation of women encompassed film, adverts, magazines and other media texts. The dominant ideology within society broke traditional stereotypes of housewives and mothers. ‘She’s The Man’ (2006) emphasises this break away from traditional values and brings forward a new outlook for women. This essay will focus on ‘She’s the Man’ and show how historical representations of females are being challenged in today’s world.

The Mainstream film ‘She’s the Man’ is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” which tells the story of Viola who “disguises herself as her twin brother Sebastian” [4] in order to play on a boys’ football team. This links to another teenage comedy, ‘10 Things I Hate About you’ (1999), which is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”. ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ juxtaposes two sisters by appearance. The first sister is immensely obsessed with her image as a typical female chick flick comedy character. In contrast, the other sister is deeply involved within her education and less concerned about her image. The first sister, therefore, reinforces stereotypes of a bimbo, whereas, the second sister challenges stereotypes by being intelligent, “It is also shown that a woman is either intelligent or beautiful; but rarely both”.[5] The sisters carry each single stereotype but cannot carry both. In addition, ‘Mean Girls’ (2004) portrays how image amongst females is vital and suggests females are typically as self-obsessed. Lindsay Lohan in the successful teen movie ‘Mean Girls’ is represented as a “plastic”[6], her beauty is emphasized and her intelligence is frowned upon, as her being a “plastic” is seen as more significant.

Teen comedy mainly relates to a female target audience. The genre began in 1950’s and since then many teen comedies have been made. Genre, being dynamic portrays how changes occur in the films, from films such as ‘Sixteen Candles’ (1984) to ‘Better Off Dead’ (1985) the genre’s purpose and representations of females has begun to change. Male audiences are now fond of the genre as well, but mainly for the ‘male gaze’ and alongside the stereotypical representations of females, a new female is introduced and is often juxtaposed alongside the stereotypical one.

In ‘Mean Girls’, the main female characters help fulfill the “male gaze”[7] as they are subjected to objectification due to their attractiveness and revealing clothing. Theorists Laura Mulvey’s theory of the “male gaze” emphases how females are sex objects and are only there to be looked at. ‘She’s the Man’ portrays this in two specific scenes, the first being the title sequence of the film, where close ups and medium shots are used to introduce the female characters at the beach. In addition, the scene at the restaurant is significant, as we see the ‘male gaze’ being reinforced through the main character Viola who is appearing as her brother Sebastian. Sebastian flirts and looks at other girls in order for him to fit in with the other boys. The scene focuses on the female’s lack of clothing and body parts. This, therefore, reinforces typical stereotypes of female characters “to-be-looked-at-ness” [8] possessing no other relevance but being objectified.
The fact that Viola has to cross reference herself to become a male and act like one, emphases how the role of the male consists mainly of objectifying the female which Viola has to do when she is her brother.

In ‘She’s the Man’ (2006) Viola is deprived of feminine qualities and is represented to the audience as more masculine; emphasized by the line: “sometimes I think you might as well be your brother”[9]. However, she challenges stereotypes as she is not image-obsessed but has an interest in football a sport which is normally associated with males. Stereotypes are simultaneously reinforced as, in order to play football, she must abandon her feminine qualities and adopt a male persona. Furthermore, Viola is represented as a tomboy in the text as she prefers to wear jeans, hats and jumpers. In comparison, to dresses, handbags and heels, Viola is juxtaposed with Monique who is represented typically in a pink top and heels and a handbag. This reinforces Viola’s masculine qualities from before she turned into her brother, reinforcing her masculine qualities more than her feminine. The British comedy ‘Bend It like Beckham’ (2002) a similar situation occurs in which the protagonist’s desire to play a male associated sport but is frowned upon by her mother. Similarly to ’10 Things I hate about you’ in ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ protagonist Jessminder is juxtaposed with her sister Pinky, a stereotypically feminine character even reinforced by her name. In ‘Bend It like Beckham’, however, Jessminder also possesses feminine qualities, for example when she dresses up to go clubbing in Germany. Jessminder however, still needs the help of her friends when it comes to dressing up, this representing her masculine qualities, and showing how her sister Pinky is more feminine than her.

‘Clueless’ (1995), shows typical feminine roles being expressed. The tagline “Sex, Clothes, Popularity…”[10] immediately reveal apparent stereotypical roles and preoccupations of teenage females. It emphases the genre of the film as from the tagline we are able to understand it is a chick flick. “Sex, Clothes and Popularity” being associated typically with females shows how the film carries stereotypes. Furthermore,
the tagline stereotypes women and portrays how females were viewed at the time. In contrast to ‘She’s The Man’ where “It’s time to settle the score” portrays more masculine qualities, such as competitiveness. The “Sex” in the tagline of ‘Clueless’ is particularly significant as it draws attention to the “woman being a virgin, who is very much a part of the dominant ideology, but does not apply to men”.[11] Men are typically more associated with the word “sex”, as sexual desire in women is often “culturally viewed as sinful or immoral”[12] thus the tagline subverts a patriarchal society in associating sex with teenage females.

Historical representations are being challenged in today’s world regardless of previous texts due to films such as Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill’ (2004). Protagonist Uma Thurman is represented to the audience a powerful, dominant and revengeful. Notably linking with the cross-dressing element of ‘She’s The Man’ the iconic yellow outfit which Thurman wears is based on a Bruce Lee garment, thus strengthening her masculine qualities. This could however have a greater link with postmodernism rather than reinforcing a patriarchal society. ‘Kill Bill’ can be compared with previous texts such as, ‘Fatal Attraction’ (1987) where the first female is represented as weak and vulnerable. The vamp character in Fatal Attraction is punished for being bad yet in Kill Bill Thurman, who is being bad by going against typical female stereotypes, still manages to defeat the male in the film and gain a positive outcome, thus representing the change in attitude and historical representation of women.

Furthermore, other films such as ‘Casino Royale’ (2006) show role reversal, as men are objectified within the film. This is explicitly noticeable in the scene in which James Bond is seen coming out of the water semi-naked with direct reference to the iconic image of Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film ‘Dr No’ (1962) thus showing the changes from the typically patriarchal values of the films of the James Bond franchise. This links to ‘She’s The Man’, which shows Viola cross dressing as a male in order to fulfil her desires of playing football equally amongst men, thus suggesting that roles cannot be reversed and that masculinity is linked with success. However, “it is widely noted that since the 1980s there has been an increasing display and sexualisation of the male body in mainstream cinema and television and in advertising”[13] thus suggesting that males are subjected to objectification as well, proving that historical representations of both males and females are being challenged. “The number of housewife images began to decline slowly after the 1950s”[14] which is partly due to feminism and also World War Two during which women gained higher status and proved themselves as reliable and hard-working as men and that they could do anything that men were capable of doing. Directly following World War Two there was a backlash in response to women’s increased status with the development of the Film Noire character of the femme fatale “who misleads and ensnares a hapless hero or other male to further her own ends”[15] and is inevitably punished. Conversely in recent years of cinema positive, hard-working female role models have appeared in films such as ‘Erin Brockovich’ (2000) and ‘Million Dollar Baby’ (2004).

In contrast ‘Casino Royale’ maintains the trait of James Bond films and still objectifies women who remain in portrayals as sex objects. In the film “women are seen as disposable pleasures rather than a maintaining pursuit”[16] and although this contemporary text does subvert stereotypical roles to an extent, it still portrays females typically by subjecting them to objectification. Previous James Bond films, such as ‘Licence To Kill’ (1989) or ‘Goldeneye’ (1995) made little effort to challenge stereotypes and all had specific “Bond Girls”. However, in the more recent James Bond film, “Casino Royale” – 2006, we see James Bond being objectified as well as the women, showing historical representation to be challenged. In addition, ‘She’s the Man’, portrays how difficult it is for women to beat a man whilst being a woman, expressed by the line “if you can’t beat ‘em, be ‘em”[17] which conveys that by turning herself into a man Viola is more likely to be accepted and is more able to beat a male, a feat unlikely as for a female to achieve.
Other media texts, apart from film also express how the representation of females vary such as adverts, and with the breakthrough of feminism the adverts have become more active than passive towards females. Adverts such as Flash where the male is seen to be promoting the household products and is seen to be cleaning himself rather than his wife expresses how the females are breaking away from historical representations. In addition to this, the Mr Muscle adverts portray a man doing his own housework with no female in sight, both adverts representing a breakthrough of gender roles, and role reversal. “Male Chauvinism” [18] is dominant within males, as according to Peter F Murphy “all men are infected with male chauvinism; they were all brought up that way. It means we assume that women play subordinate roles and are less human than men” expressing how stereotypical roles are applied unintentionally towards females. However, both the adverts express how society is breaking away from this and a conforming to new roles: the typical gender, stereotypical roles are altering.

Even though with texts such as magazines like “Nuts” and “Zoo” which portray women as sex objects and objectify them to fulfil the male gaze, Women’s magazines, such as “Cosmopolitan” help fight back as they portray men in a similar sense, due to semi naked men being issued in the magazine. On the other hand, “Page 3” can be seen to portray what is seen as “scotophil” [16]. However; it can be seen as a post-modern text, which makes this representation more acceptable within society and of women.

“Today’s man has pumped his pecs and shoulders and exhibits well defined abs…not many years ago, the slick and refined look defined fashion’s ideal man. Now the muscular guy dominates the runways and magazine pages.” [19] his emphasises how men are concerned about their image more than before. Before women faced pressure to look a certain way, as magazines portrayed skinny models, however, recent years express the
change between the genders showing how men are just as pressured as females. On the other hand, women and adverts such as the Dove campaign – 2006, show how society is adapting to women who are not skinny and the media is starting to present realistic images of females. Therefore, portraying how the historical barriers of women are being broken due to the media bringing realistic images forward.

In my main text, ‘She’s The Man’ Viola associates herself with men in order to fulfil her desires for football. Viola has the football as a signifier which represents masculinity, but as she is female it can be seen to break away from stereotypes and she now is being associated with this object. However, even though she is being accepted with this challenging role by being dressed as a man, she still gets a positive outcome at the end “resolution” [20] as a female as she is able to play football being her own gender and is accepted. The narrative has a routine structure like other chick flicks, even though
it sticks to the conventions it challenges certain conventions by having the protagonist in the challenging role of not conforming to typical stereotypes.

The stereotypical qualities of femininity are: “Domesticated, weak, emotional and passive” [21] whereas, for masculinity they consist of being, “Strong, professional, aggressive and competitive.” [22] In ‘She’s the man’ Viola is represented as “Strong, and
competitive” as she wants to be treated the same as the men. Whereas, her ex-boyfriend is represented as “weak and emotional” as he cries when they lose a match or when he is upset. This is role reversal as the qualities are being crossed over, and stereotypes are being challenged. Women are now socially accepted in various roles, other than just being housewives or mothers as they are now more likely to be the protagonists in films. In addition, women are now able to do things that men can, equal opportunities are more apparent as they are able to have the same jobs as men allowing this change in society to be developed and emphasised on screen through media.
[20] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzvetan_Todorov -Background Theory
[21] Clark et al. Vivienne. (2002) Key Concepts and Skills for Media Studies. “Sex and Gender” section-Diagram four
[22] Clark et al. Vivienne. (2002) Key Concepts and Skills for Media Studies. “Sex and Gender” section-Diagram four


“Women are put into these categories of bitch, mother or sex symbol.” [23] These typical representations are associated with females in society. However, in She’s the Man, even though the “bitch” is still represented, Viola goes against the “sex symbol” representation as she challenges the stereotypes by acting upon male qualities and following her ambition instead of the typical bimbo character that would follow boys and look for popularity.

The institution, DreamWorks, promotes American values and ideologies as the institution is well known, audiences are encouraged to watch the film, which shows how films like
‘She’s The Man’ are able to get a clear message across of changing attitudes towards women and the breaking of stereotypes. Previous films produced by DreamWorks consist of ‘Roadtrip’ (2000) which portrayed women as sex objects mainly as they are used for sex and pleasure. Whereas, the men are portrayed as manipulating and sexually active compared to recent films such as She’s the Man where the message of females as taken a twist into a more positive sign.

"Maybe the past is like an anchor holding us back. Maybe you have to let go of who you were, to become who you will be." [24] With females breaking away from past stereotypes, they are making space for new more acceptable stereotypes to take over. Sex and the City-(1998-2004) as a comedy drama present sexually active women. They are able to be just as sexually active and get sexual pleasures like men, by challenging the typical representations as mentioned before of females being virgins. In addition to this, Monica in Friends-(1994-2004) does not rely on Chandler for financial support; she works independently and is successful. Furthermore, recent Diet Coke adverts portray women as successful and independent and the male window cleaner is subjected to objectification and a female gaze is created.
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[23] “Why are Women directors such a rare sight”- Guardian (2005)
[24] Sex and the City (1998-2004) Darren Star



In the Mid-1970’s, there were “nearly equal proportions of men and women in situation comedies” [25] which shows how the representation near the second wave of feminism brought forward change to television. The representation of women was being brought to screens just as much as the representation of men was, expressing equality and showing how the roles were challenged due to equality.

With most directors mainly consisting of males, females were at disadvantage as their power off screen was limited. In addition, on screen power was also limited as females were portrayed as passive, weak and vulnerable. As Tushman states, “women are not seen much, there symbolically annihilated.[26] however, more women now are on screen not only in film but in other media texts such as, television. In contrast, however, off
screen still limits even though a number of female directors have come about, male directors still outnumber them.

In previous years, women were portrayed as the damsels in distress, who the hero would come and rescue: they were weak and vulnerable. Now, however, women do not need saving as their representations have changed and the roles are being altered. Propp distinguishes from “hero and villain” [27] roles; traditionally we would be encouraged to relate to the male protagonist now however, we are being influenced to relate to the female protagonist as females are now more likely to take on the main roles.

“The behavior of women in general has historically often received less attention than that of men, and cross-dressing is no exception.” [28] Now however, women receive a whole lot more attention and are able to get attention for more than just their appearance, they are appreciated and accepted in various ways in society.
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[25] “Representations of Gender in the past” – Gauntlet. David.
[26] “Representations of Gender in the past” – Tushman
[27] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propp - Propp’s background and theory.
[28] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-dressing - Cross dressing.





White Chicks – (2004) portrays two males dressed up as females; they are presented as strong and dominant. However, this strength is being portrayed through them being dressed up as females showing how females are gaining the same strength and attitude as men. In addition, it also shows how females such as Viola in She’s the Man do not dress up as men to gain power, or represent strength as men dress up as females too.

The genre of chick flicks is predominately growing as over recent years the build up of chick flicks films have increased. However, the conventions of chick flicks were mainly, high school romance, popularity, bimbo character and rebellious characters; which have been challenged to some extent as chick flick comedies are not as image centred now. They tend to include a moral at the end and break stereotypes within the film. “She’s all that” - portrayed an intelligent, quiet character who was not considered to be beautiful, however, she did not change herself to conform to typical stereotypes. In contrast, to

‘Mean Girls’ were Lindsay Lohan changes herself to fit in with the popular crowd. Linking to She’s the man, as even though Viola changes herself to fit in with the men she
does not do it for typical feminine purposes but she does it for her ambition. “Masculinity qualities are Ambitious” [29] thus representing how females are gaining qualities that males were normally to be associated with, this again showing how ‘She’s The Man’ is challenging historical representations by bringing forward new representations.

“Binary opposition” [30] is used when Monique and Viola are talking outside Viola’s house, it can be used due to their representations being juxtaposed at the start of the scene. Viola’s role is being challenged as even when she is acting as her own gender, she is dressed more masculine to what is known as a “tom-boy” style; with a cap, jeans, trainers and a hood. In contrast, to what Monique is wearing, with heels, pink top and a handbag, accessories which are typically associated with females. However, even though the other females in ‘She’s The Man’ are dressed typically with high heels, skirts and handbags, the cross dressing enables there to be an ease at this topic as cross dressing can be seen as a way to disguise in this sense. However, in Some Like it Hot – (1959) it can be seen as to create humour amongst the audience.
In conclusion, contemporary media texts and society suggest how the “score” has been settled. The historical representation of females has been broken in not one but many ways over recent years, She’s the Man helps portray how females are as able as men and can carry out the same activities and actions as them. Society itself has adapted to this change through Feminism and with changes in society the media represents the change. ‘She’s the Man’ helps show through Viola how females are gaining the same status as men. Not only through film is this change represented but other media texts follow, the adverts of Diet Coke to Flash and magazines such as Cosmopolitan help to bring forward a whole new change for women allowing the historical representations of females to be challenged. From damsels in distress to protagonists, women have progressed within the roles in films. After all, every woman should think, “I can do whatever I want and I have a right to voice and I can find the expertise to make that voice be heard in the world.” [31]
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[29] Clark et al. Vivienne. (2002) Key Concepts and Skills for Media Studies. “Sex and Gender” section-Diagram four.
[30] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Strauss - Strauss’ background and theory.
[31] “Why are Women directors such a rare sight”- Guardian (2005)

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