Date of Award

1-1-2000

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Communication

First Advisor

Dr. Jeremy H. Lipschultz

Second Advisor

Dr. Glaser

Third Advisor

Dr. Latchaw

Abstract

This study is a textual analysis of Taiwanese music video. By analyzing Taiwanese music video and probing the definition of sex roles and patriarchy in Taiwanese culture, the researcher attempted to establish some basic foundations for developing a Taiwanese feminist theory. The results suggest that in Taiwanese music video, females are portrayed as docile, soft, passive, weak, vulnerable, innocent, childlike, narcissistic, and domestic. Yet, the image of a macho man is unpopular in Taiwanese culture; on the contrary, male roles are depicted as docile, soft, passive, vulnerable, obedient, moderate, and shy. Female-address videos often show positive male images; on the other hand, male-address videos reveal an ambivalent feeling toward women. The most significant differences between the portrayals of female and male are their roles and status In socie1y. Females' roles in socie1y are highly limited. Therefore, males have to bear all the social obligations, including obedience to the social order, pursuing a love relationship (in order to establish a family), and working hard (to support the family). The ideology that undergirds the definitions of sex roles in Taiwanese culture is Confucianism, which sustains a harmonious and hierarchical social order in which a distinct role and proper status are prescribed for each person. It is proposed here that a triangular model of power relations might explain the power struggles in Taiwanese culture. In Western cultural female and male are the 1wo roles involved in the power struggle; there are three roles involved in the power struggles in Taiwanese culture. That is, female, male, and the patriarch together form a triangular structure of power relations and the concept of patriarchy. While males as a group hold the dominant power, this dominant group is hierarchical itself. A male's role and power are determined in relation to the patriarch and must be obedient to the imperatives of role and sta1us. When a male becomes the familial patriarch, he then gains absolute power in the sphere of his family. In this power triangle, the female is always subordinate and powerless.

Comments

A Thesis Presented to the Department of Communication and the Faculty of the Graduate College University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts University of Nebraska at Omaha. Copyright 2000 Chung-Mei Wang.

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