There is no need to introduce the topic before getting into the analysis.
To write an article, you must present your argument or thesis. Your argument may be based on theoretical concepts such as poststructuralist theories of performance, discourse analysis, deconstruction, social constructivism, or interpretive approaches to culture. It can also be supported by empirical evidence from case studies or field research. You do not have to agree with these perspectives; rather, you may question them critically and show their strengths and weaknesses. But make sure your analysis is coherent and consistent throughout the text.
In order to understand the performative nature of scandals, we must consider how they are constructed, represented, and disseminated through various media forms, including print, electronic, digital, and social networks. We should analyze how they shape public opinion and cultural norms about sexuality, power relations, gender roles, and ethics. This requires close attention to language use, representation, visualization, contextualization, and narration.
We can start by analyzing some examples of recent sexual scandals in which powerful figures were accused of sexually abusing subordinates or minors. These include Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Donald Trump, Kevin Spacey, and Jeffrey Epstein. What kind of language was used to describe these acts? How were they framed within broader political and economic structures? How did they intersect with popular conceptions of justice, law, and punishment? What impact did they have on public perceptions of morality and power dynamics?
We could look at the MeToo movement that emerged out of the Hollywood scandal involving producer Harvey Weinstein. This movement brought forward numerous women's testimonies of sexual harassment and assault by high-profile men in entertainment and politics. It also led to a reconsideration of social codes of conduct between genders, workplace hierarchies, professional etiquette, and legal procedures for dealing with accusations. Did this movement create new norms of behavior and accountability? Or did it reinforce existing ones? How has it changed collective understandings of what is acceptable and desirable in intimate relationships?
We might examine how sex scandals are portrayed in the media as spectacles that titillate and shock audiences while simultaneously affirming traditional gender roles and sexual scripts. By depicting such events as aberrations, aberrations, and deviations from established values, journalists, commentators, and filmmakers construct normative narratives about femininity, masculinity, respect, consent, dominance, and submission. At the same time, they can expose hypocrisies and contradictions in society's attitudes towards desire, pleasure, and violence.
I argue that sexual scandals should be seen as performative acts that transform our understanding of collective morality and power relations. They reveal underlying structures of inequality, domination, and privilege while offering new possibilities for contesting them through critical discourse, activism, and artistic expression.
Can sexual scandals be theorized as performative acts that redefine collective understandings of morality and power?
The concept of "performativity" has been widely used by feminist scholars to explore how social norms are constituted through language and actions rather than simply existing beforehand. Accordingly, it is possible to think of a sexual scandal as a public event that challenges existing conceptions of gender roles and moral values. By bringing out hidden dimensions of behavior or beliefs about sex and relationships, such events can create new ways of thinking about what is acceptable or desirable within a community.