Access over 20 million homework & study documents

Femmes Fatales Research Paper

Content type
User Generated
Subject
Sociology
Type
Research Paper
Rating
Showing Page:
1/3
Surname 1
Name
Professor’s name
Course
Date
Femmes Fatales (causing male anxiety)
Femme Fatales have redefined the perception of traditional women in society. A
conventional outlook of women is associated with demeaning characteristics, which in most
cases perceive them as helpless individuals and always dependent on males. This view presents
men as the archetypes of society who define typical society elements, and females have to
conform to the said norms. Men have so long been enjoying superiority and dominance that they
felt that the depiction would stay forever. Early and modern films have, however, challenged this
view. Currently, femme fatale depictions in films are being integrated into the current society.
Femme Fatales is designed to thwart men's power through usual female charms and eventually
diminish their influence. Although the perception first took effect in films, it is evident that their
effect has been a source of stress and anxiety among men (Walker 11). Films describe a woman
who is ready to prey on men through lies and playacts.
Additionally, femme fatale has been caused by male anxiety where men are rendered
duped and inscrutable and duplicitous by females. The current study identifies these characters in
men and connects them to women's advantage over men to exert elements of power and control
over men. These elements portray femme Fatales as the figments contributing to symptoms and
projections of male anxiety.

Sign up to view the full document!

lock_open Sign Up
Showing Page:
2/3
Surname 2
Recent works
According to Bronfen (2004), a femme fatale is a stereotype of feminine evil and male
anxiety. In other words, the character is seen as an illusional figure present in emanations of
other people (Bronfen 114). This argument translates to the elemental effect femme Fatales have
on men. To them, she is an influential figure that is difficult to control. The character does not
show at first view, but when it does, it can leave men dazed and confused about who the woman
is as they will be seeing a different woman. In an article by Jones (1991), the new role of women
presented by femme Fatales is a source of male paranoia. Once encountered by these women,
men become fearful about losing the traditional patriarchal framework and become subjects of a
new postmodern society (Jones 297). The presentation of femme Fatales, in this case, is the
production of male anxiety due to the collapse of conventional laws about gender difference.
These laws have since been in force for a long time when men were above women in different
sectors and were elemental power figures. However, through the introduction of femme Fatales,
these institutions are collapsing and making men fall into bouts of depression and anxiety. Hales
(2007) argues that femme fatale characters have contributed to male anxiety. The author argues
that male fears about feminism are actualized by the representation of femme fatale characters
who act as emblems of historical movements (Hales 228).
Conclusion
The current study will identify the effect of femme fatale characters in presenting men
with anxiety. Femme fatale characters reject the traditional institution of patriarchy and lead to
the collapse of the male ego. By losing their position in society, men are likely to worry about
their fate in society when the character is adopted by a more significant percentage of women in
society.

Sign up to view the full document!

lock_open Sign Up
Showing Page:
3/3

Sign up to view the full document!

lock_open Sign Up
Unformatted Attachment Preview
Surname 1 Name Professor’s name Course Date Femmes Fatales (causing male anxiety) Femme Fatales have redefined the perception of traditional women in society. A conventional outlook of women is associated with demeaning characteristics, which in most cases perceive them as helpless individuals and always dependent on males. This view presents men as the archetypes of society who define typical society elements, and females have to conform to the said norms. Men have so long been enjoying superiority and dominance that they felt that the depiction would stay forever. Early and modern films have, however, challenged this view. Currently, femme fatale depictions in films are being integrated into the current society. Femme Fatales is designed to thwart men's power through usual female charms and eventually diminish their influence. Although the perception first took effect in films, it is ...
Purchase document to see full attachment
User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.

Anonymous
Very useful material for studying!

Studypool
4.7
Trustpilot
4.5
Sitejabber
4.4

Similar Documents