Feminism
... makes several sexual references. Harper bullies around Maria and tries to intimidate her through physical and verbal abuse. By the end of the scene Maria is shaken up and frightened by Harper. This is a classic example of a lesbian woman appearing to be in power and having malicious intent. The role of white heterosexual women as being innocent and abused by lesbian women is a common genre in film. By seeing heterosexual and lesbian women in this context people, especially young people, begin to generate stereotypes of all lesbian women based upon such women genre films. “…for millions of parents, learning that one’s son is gay or daughter is lesbian would be their worst nightmare.”1 People are fearful of their children being gay because of misconceptions given by the over use of these stereotypes. The use or under use of women of different race is also a primary theme in film. Black women are rarely included in the stereotyping of women’s roles. In a 1931 women’s prison film called “Paid,” there is a shower scene that is different from other movies. In this clip a new, white heterosexual prisoner is introduced to what goes on during their shower time. When the guards give the signal all of the women drop their towels and enter the shower and have a very limited amount of time to clean themselves. When the new prisoner enters the room she is met with many other women starring at her and harassing her. Then when she is about to get into the group showering area, she sees a black women laughing taking a shower with the group. Due to this new discovery she is afraid and refuses to get into the shower with them. It is implied that because there was a black lesbian woman in the shower, she did not want to enter. She feels that the black woman is somehow inferior to her and even barbaric because she is laughing while in the shower with many lesbian women. This film was made in the 1930s, when segregation was at an extreme. By seeing lesbian black women portrayed in such a manner and by black women frequently being left out of movies, the white community developed a stereotype for black women that has been around for over 70 years. It made black lesbian women look inferior to straight white women, a stereotype which still exits today. There are not always clear examples of mass stereotypes taking place. In many films there are submerged representations of lesbianism. Submerged representations of lesbianism happen quite often, usually without the audience knowing. The 1933 movie, “Lady They Talk About” is a good example. In this film there is a scene where once again a new, white heterosexual female prisoner is brought into a room with lesbian women standing all around. In this scene, the woman passes by the other group of women but not before there was a long stare between her and one of the lesbian women. In this scene a woman from the lesbian group stares keenly, with ...