Identities: Feminist theory and blog task

How might this video contribute to Butler’s idea that gender roles are a ‘performance’?
Butler's idea that gender roles are a "performance" is due to the fact that that male and female behaviour is socially constructed rather than the result of biology. This is evident in Beyonce's video as she is shown to be doing stereotypical domesticated activities such as cooking. However, her inability to correctly do these activities reinforces Butler's idea as it her inability to do so could be down to the fact that it his not in her biological capability and as such she feels she is not a part of the society that she is aware of.

Would McRobbie view Beyonce as an empowering role model for women? Why?
McRobbie would definitely view Beyonce as an empowering role model for women due to the fact that the in the music video there is a lack of male presence which could show that she is the main focus of the video and therefore helps to empower her as she is confident in her sexual side and is willingly sexualising herself positively. Furthermore it can also be interpreted as Beyonce is shown to be attempting stereotypical domestic activities of a woman but is unsuccessful in her attempts and could go to show that these stereotypes are not the only thing about women.

What are your OWN views on this debate – does Beyonce empower women or reinforce the traditional ‘male gaze’ (Mulvey)?
I personally think that Beyonce empowers women but also reinforces the traditional "male gaze". She does this in a very unique manner as her videos have overt sexual tones that help to create profit through the theories of Mulvey and the male gaze, but also due to the fact that not only men view her as sexual appeal, so do women as they aspire to be like her. However, the difference between Beyonce's work and other work with overt sexual stereotypes towards women, she adds a touch of empowerment to her work by creating work that does not completely follow the same conventions but rather challenges them in artistic manner, which then in turn means that her work is both empowering but also reinforcing a male gaze in order to maximise profits, but then again you could argue that the fact that she is able to work the system in such a way is empowerment in itself.