THE ROLE OF FEMALE
CULTURAL HEROES
Jane Austen, Coco Chanel,
and Joan Jett
By Gloria Castorena, Tessa Brawley, and Kaley Brown
JANE AUSTEN
 Born in 1775, seventh of eight children in a close -knit family
 Jane's education derived mostly at home guided by her father
and older brothers
 The family entertained themselves by writing and performing
plays
 Jane had access to her father's extensive library
 In Jane's early twenties, she wrote what would become "Pride
and Prejudice" & "Sense and Sensibility”
 At the age of 35, she publishes her first novel only identified
as, "a lady"
JANE AUSTEN
First published
anonymously: received little
fame or money during her
lifetime
What would Jane Austen do?
Emergence of Janites
Jane Austen as an academic
focus
Sequels, Prequels, and
Adaptations
Jane Austen Book Club (2007)
JANE AUSTEN: CULTURAL
REPRESENTATIONS
COCO CHANEL
 Born into poverty as Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel in 1883 in
Saumur, France; learned to sew at the orphanage in Aubazine
 Took on the name “Coco” during a brief stint as a nightclub
singer
 Worked as a seamstress and milliner until, with the patronage
of a few wealthy businessmen, she was able to open her own
dress shops in Paris and Deauville
 Reacting against the formality and extravagance of the
Victorian period and the Belle Époche, Chanel designed
simple, easy -to-wear dresses and suits made out of moveable
and comfortable materials like jersey
 Her designs helped liberate women in a physical way through
clothing, allowing them to be more active and freer in an
increasingly modern society
COCO CHANEL: CULTURAL IMPACT
 Basic Principles of
Chanel Style:
1. Understatement
2. Ready-to-Wear
3. Accessories, not
embellishments
4. Active
“Anything that has
simple lines, skims the
body, is easy to move
in” can be traced back
to Chanel.
Coco Chanel (TV, 2008)
COCO CHANEL: CULTURAL
REPRESENTATIONS
JOAN JETT
 Born Joan Larkin in 1958 in Philadelphia, PA; LA County, CA
 Forms fir st all -girl rock band at age 16 called The Runaways
 Heavily influenced by underground rock musician Suzi Quatro
 Runaways disbands af ter 5 albums and 5 year s; Jett forms Joan Jett
and the Blackhear ts
 Releases solo debut on her own record label af ter 23 rejections
 “I Love Rock and Roll” is #1 hit; 10 million copies sold
 Continues to write, produce, and per form music internationally
JOAN JETT’S CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
Forged her own path through extreme adversity,
opposition, criticism
Vehemently defied culturally -acceptable gender
roles
First woman to own and operate her own record
label
JOAN JETT’S CULTURAL LEGACY
 “Godmother of Punk Rock;” cited as a major influence for
countless female musicians who followed Jett’s example
 Women in Riot Grrrl movement credit her as role model
 Venerated through film, memoirs, the inclusion in most
historical/cultural surveys of rock and roll music or musicians
 1 of 2 women named in Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest
Guitarists of All Time”
 A nominee for induction into the 2012 class of the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame
HOW ARE THESE THREE
WOMEN PRESERVED AS
PART OF CULTURE?
WHAT MAKES THEM
ICONS?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Bandits, Dirty. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. 2011. http://www.joanjett.com/index.html (accessed November 12, 2011).
Driscoll, Catherine. "Chanel: The Order of Things." Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture (2010): 135-158.
Echo Magazine. "10 Things to Know About Joan Jett." April 15, 2010.
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Karbo, Karen. The Gospel According to Coco Chanel. Guilford, CT: Skirt, 2009.
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