(In)visible bodies : how surveillance affects female identity and social power dynamics

Abstract

Does patriarchal surveillance in society have an effect on female identity and social power dynamics, and how? This dissertation explores the field of feminist surveillance studies, using the traditional media of novels, namely Girl, Woman, Other, The Penelopiad, and Galatea, and the more modern media of podcasts, namely Dear Patriarchy, UnLadylike, and Call Your Girlfriend, as case studies to understand the gendered burden of surveillance, and consequently how putting the voice of the Other at the forefront can help to resist the male dominant narrative and to craft a space for a multiplicity of voices to reach the public sphere. Chapter Two expands on Michel Foucault’s exploration of panopticism in order to analyse the link between power and the gaze, and to understand how this has created an androcentric society. Following this, Chapter Three expands on the consequences of androcentrism, and presents a feminist outlook on Foucault’s docile bodies, particularly through the work of Sandra Lee Bartky and Susan Bordo, who argue that the construct of femininity turns females into docile beings. This chapter also looks at how this docility places females under selfsurveillance to perform their gender in adherence to social norms, as explored by Judith Butler. While these chapters present the female as more passive, Chapter Four looks at how the concept of narrative voice and broadcasting the voice of the Other can be used as a form of resistance against patriarchal norms. In conclusion, this dissertation highlights the importance of understanding the danger of presenting one image or voice to society, and thus the necessity of breaking down the so-called universal male narrative to bring forth not only the female voice, but the voices of all those who have been otherised by authoritative societal institutions.