The Role of Female Cultural Heroes

1. The Role of Female Cultural Heroes Jane Austen, Coco Chanel, and Joan Jett By Gloria Castorena, Tessa Brawley, and Kaley Brown

2. 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"

3. 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)

4. Jane austen: cultural representations

5. 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

6. Coco chanel: cultural impact • Basic Principles of Chanel Style: • Understatement • Ready-to-Wear • Accessories, not embellishments • Active “Anything that has simple lines, skims the body, is easy to move in” can be traced back to Chanel. Coco Chanel (TV, 2008)

7. Coco chanel: cultural representations

8. Joan Jett • Born Joan Larkin in 1958 in Philadelphia, PA; LA County, CA • Forms first all-girl rock band at age 16 called The Runaways • Heavily influenced by underground rock musician Suzi Quatro • Runaways disbands after 5 albums and 5 years; Jett forms Joan Jett and the Blackhearts • Releases solo debut on her own record label after 23 rejections • “I Love Rock and Roll” is #1 hit; 10 million copies sold • Continues to write, produce, and perform music internationally

9. 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

10. 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

11. How are these three women Preserved as part of culture? What makes them icons?

12. Bibliography Bagby, Dyana. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Bad Reputation Nation. 2011. http://joanjettbadrep.com/cgi-bin/fullStory.cgi?archive=200606&story=20060624-01southernvoice.htm (accessed November 21, 2011). 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. Harman, Claire. Jane's Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World. New York : Henry Holt and Co., 2010. Karbo, Karen. The Gospel According to Coco Chanel. Guilford, CT: Skirt, 2009. Madsen, Axel. Chanel: A Woman of Her Own. New York, NY: Henry Holt, 1990. McMaster, Edward Copeland and Juliet, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Mina Carson, Tisa Lewis, and Susan M. Shaw. Girls Rock! Fifty Years of Women Making Music. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 2004. Raha, Maria. Cinderella’s Big Score: Women of the Punk and Indie Underground. Emeryville, CA: Seal Press, 2005. The Runaways. Directed by Kenny Laguna. Performed by Dakota Fanning Kristen Stewart. 2010. Thompson, Suzanne R. Pucci and James, ed. Jane Austen and Co.: Remaking the Past in Contemporary Culture. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003. Wiltshire, John. Recreating Jane Austen. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2001.