Gendered Media Chapter 11 Gendered Media Media advances

Gendered Media Chapter 11

Gendered Media �Media advances representations of gendered and racial identities �Media have progressive and regressive tendencies �Media content can be challenged and changed

Media Saturation of Cultural Life �People today most mediasaturated and engaged in history �TV only one form of mass media ◦ Films, newspapers, etc. ◦ Social media to connect with others

Media Saturation of Cultural Life �Surveys show most think media affect others but not themselves �Media culture provides models of what means to be male or female �Media advance ideals of what is desirable in women and men

Gendered Media Use �Boys and men use media for instrumental purposes �Men more likely to read papers and watch television to get news or accomplish tasks

Gendered Media Use �Men also regard media as entertainment �Men and boys more avid consumers of video games that are action-oriented or violent

Gendered Media Use �Girls and women use media to build relationships �Girls and women use phone as way to massage relationships

Gendered Media Use �Girls and women perceive social media as allowing them to express themselves �Girls build online relationships that can be very intimate

Tell Us What’s Important �Early theories – hypodermic needle ◦ Theory too simplistic �Agenda setting – media set public agenda ◦ Media focus our attention

Tell Us What’s Important �Gatekeeper – person or group that controls which messages get through to audiences �News media influence how we perceive movements about gender and gender itself

Tell Us What’s Important �Beginning in 1960 s – news media have portrayed women’s movements negatively ◦ Bra-burning incident didn’t happen ◦ Facts to support claims of mommy track were flimsy

Tell Us What’s Important �Tend to negatively portray women who are identified as feminists �Imply that good women don’t leave children at home when in military service

Underrepresent Women & Minorities �Males outnumber females in mass media ◦ In reality, women outnumber men

Underrepresent Women & Minorities �Minorities less visible than women ◦ Appear in supporting roles ◦ Shown in white cultures – their racial values obscured

Underrepresent Women & Minorities �Black characters scarce ◦ Subordinate, athletic, exotic �Asians and Hispanics rare ◦ Males - villains or criminals ◦ Women - emotional and sexualized

Underrepresent Women & Minorities �Older people, mainly women, underrepresented ◦ Show few older women �Elderly stereotyped as sick, dependent, fumbling, passive

Portray Men Stereotypically �Men on prime-time television independent, aggressive, incharge �Portrayed as sexually active and not responsible

Portray Men Stereotypically �Reality TV portrays men in traditional, stereotyped ways ◦ Macho man proves manliness by degrading women �Not only advances degrading images of women, but portray men as immature and insensitive

Portray Men Stereotypically �White masculinity remains norm �Men seldom shown nurturing others �Portray men as incompetent at homemaking, cooking, child care

Portray Men Stereotypically �Media offer some more complex portrayals of men ◦ Male characters combine qualities traditionally associated with masculinity and femininity

Portray Men Stereotypically �Contradictory images of masculinity embodied by rock and rap artists ◦ Some rappers uphold traditional images of men, women relationships

Portray Women Stereotypically �Media aimed at youth show female characters shopping, grooming, being emotional �Portray women and young girls in sexualized ways

Portray Women Stereotypically �Representations of women assume whiteness is norm and ideal �Depictions of Black women rely on negative stereotypes of mammies, jezebels, welfare mothers

Portray Women Stereotypically �Prominence of white norms for female attractiveness ◦ Black women have lighter skin and straighter hair than typical ◦ Asian women and Latinas represented as exotic and sexualized

Portray Women Stereotypically �Media images reflect stereotypes of women and femininity ◦ Women as sex object ◦ Feminine ideal young and thin ◦ Preoccupied with men and children ◦ Enmeshed in relationships or housework

Portray Women Stereotypically �Female newscasters are young, attractive, and less outspoken than males

Portray Women Stereotypically �Led to pornification of mainstream media �Girls and women responsible for consequences of sexual activity �Portrayed as passive �Portrayed as ornamental objects

Portray Women Stereotypically �Reality TV reinforces traditional views of women and what makes women desirable

Portray Women Stereotypically �Media limit portrayals of women to two opposing types: good and bad ◦ Good �Pretty, deferential, focused on home and family �Cast as victims, angels, martyrs

Portray Women Stereotypically �Media offer bad woman image ◦ Witch, bitch, whore, iron maiden �Encounter in children’s literature

Portray Women Stereotypically �Criteria for good woman challenged recently ◦ But if look more closely at nontraditional images, see woman must also meet traditional stereotypes of femininity

Portray Women Stereotypically �Commodified sexuality prominent in reality TV shows �Hypersexual identity achieved through consumption of products and services

Portray Women Stereotypically �Trend of combining traditional and nontraditional images of gender in single character �See the trailer of Erin Brockovich ◦ http: //www. youtube. com/watch ? v=9 Tj. Ekly. F 7 -E

Gendered Advertising �Advertising’s influence on views may be more powerful than programmed media content ◦ Advertisements are repeated

Gendered Advertising �Majority of ads emphasize visual images ◦ Less subject to conscious analysis �We think we’re immune ◦ Research suggests differently

Gendered Advertising �Advertising portrays men and independent, successful, engaged in activities �In some ads, men appear angry – rebels against authority

Gendered Advertising �Men in ads have muscular bodies, perfect hair, teeth �Contribute to negative self-image and dangerous behavior

Gendered Advertising �Advertising directed at men links products with hypermasculinity and violence �Men’s dominance is emphasized by positioning

Gendered Advertising �Ads for cooking and cleaning products show men as incompetent �Also represent men in home situations as lazy dolts

Gendered Advertising �Ads represent women as competent in cleaning and caregiving roles �Male voice-overs reinforce view of men as authorities

Gendered Advertising �Objectification of women �Highly sexual poses �Women are perfect, sexy

Gendered Advertising �Advertising plays role in promoting appearance and pleasing others ◦ Emphasize women’s need to change themselves ◦ If woman fails man might leave her

Gendered Advertising �Sometimes advertisers control content of magazines ◦ Complimentary copy – articles that increase appeal of product

Gendered Advertising �Product placement – showing or mentioning product in show �Immersive advertising – incorporates product in to storyline

Tell How Relate to Each Other �Most of time, media tell us that women and men relate to each other in traditional ways

Dependence/ Independence �Media portray women as domestic and dependent on men �Media portray girls and women as dependent and boys and men as independent

Dependence/ Independence �Books aimed at adolescent females emphasize importance of being pretty and popular �Women and minorities cast in supporting roles in television shows for children and adults

Dependence/ Independence �Beauty more emphasized than health in women’s magazines ◦ Magazines aimed at girls brim over with advice on how to lose weight and look better

Dependence/ Independence �Music videos portray females as strippers or prostitutes �Males shown ignoring, exploiting, directing women �Women sexualized and infantilized in video games

Dependence/ Independence �There are exceptions ◦ Law and Order Special Victims Unit

Incompetence/ Authority �Men shown as authorities who save or take care of less competent women ◦ Children’s literature portrays females rescued by males �This stereotype occasionally challenged

Incompetence/ Authority �Newspapers convey message men are authorities and by near absence or lack of power women are not �More than 2/3 of cited sources are male

Incompetence/ Authority �Women unlikely to be represented as experts �Blacks cast in racially stereotyped roles

Motivate Us to Consume �Some ads are claimed to help with need we have identified �But cultivate desire in us by convincing we have problems weren’t aware of yet

Incompetence/ Authority �Women more often represented as victims on front page �Stories about powerful women focus more on appearance and personal lives

Primary Caregivers/ Breadwinners �Media portrayals of women give little attention to career activities �Shown predominantly in roles as homemakers, mothers, wives

Primary Caregivers/ Breadwinners �Newspapers and TV news emphasize men’s independent activities �Define news as stories about men ◦ Stories about men focus on work and achievements

Primary Caregivers/ Breadwinners �Fewer stories about women ◦ Emphasize roles as wives, mothers ◦ Women presented in terms of attractiveness or unattractiveness

Primary Caregivers/ Breadwinners �Stories about women’s achievements mention marriage, family

Victims & Sex Objects/Aggressors �Women portrayed as sex objects for men’s pleasure �Images show desirable men as aggressive and dominant �Images show desirable women as young, pretty, sexual, vulnerable

Victims & Sex Objects/Aggressors �Men seldom shown nude �Women routinely shown nude �Images common in music videos �Portrayals encourage to see violence as erotic

Victims & Sex Objects/Aggressors �Hip-hop, rap, gangsta rap carry messages about relationships between women and men ◦ Portray women as sex objects ◦ Portray men as egocentric, insensitive abusers

Victims & Sex Objects/Aggressors �Adolescents who listen to music with highest level of sexually degrading lyrics more likely to engage in sex

Victims & Sex Objects/Aggressors �Much of rap glorifies violence ◦ Conveys messages about gender and race

Motivate Us to Consume Media encourage us to consume If we buy product or have procedure will look better

Motivate Us to Consume �Media encourage us to perceive normal bodies and normal physical functions as problems ◦ Unacceptable, defective

Motivate Us to Consume �Advertising increasingly focused on girls ◦ Girl power is reduced to purchasing power ◦ Encourages them to aspire to sexualized image

Motivate Us to Consume �Media pathologize male bodies ◦ Bodybuilding trend created unrealistic and unhealthy ideals �Contributes to increasing abuse of steroids among men

Motivate Us to Consume �Normal changes in men’s sexual vigor represented as problems �Not problem until drug companies decided could make money

Motivate Us to Consume �Advertising effective in convincing need products to solve problems ◦ Normal body weight for women abnormal ◦ Encouraged to cover up gray hair ◦ Facial lines can be removed

Motivate Us to Consume �Belief women should remove body hair grows out of media campaign �Hair removal campaign has recently targeted men

Motivate Us to Consume �Many women’s breast size exceeded cultural ideal in 1960 s ◦ Breast reduction surgeries increased

Motivate Us to Consume �By 1980 s, cultural standards changed to define large breasts as ideal ◦ Breast augmentation surgeries accelerated ◦ Surgery can lead to disfigurement and loss of sensation

Motivate Us to Consume �More women having parts of toes removed ◦ Improves toe cleavage �Can fit into pointed-toe shoes

Motivate Us to Consume �Surgeries to conform to white ideals on the rise

Motivate Us to Consume �Efforts to pathologize natural physiology can be serious ◦ Emphasis on excessive thinness contributes to severe dieting and eating disorders

Motivate Us to Consume �Most top female models are skeletal �Dangers include heart attack, stroke, liver disease �Dangers exist for men who use steroids

Assess Ourselves Unfairly �Unrealistic images encourage us to see ourselves as inadequate �Portrayals of relationships between men and women also unrealistic

Assess Ourselves Unfairly �Most encounter problems in relationships that can’t be solved in 30 minutes �Most will not be able to pursue career and be relaxed and always available to family and friends

Assess Ourselves Unfairly �Readers of self-help books have less realistic ideals ◦ Experience more frustration and disappointment ◦ Likely to be dissatisfied with real, normal relationships

Assess Ourselves Unfairly �When besieged with impossible images, difficult not to feel inadequate ◦ May feel we and our relationships are inferior ◦ Research supports this

Normalizing Violence Against Women �Naïve to claim media cause violence �Mounting evidence media contributes to increasing male violence

Normalizing Violence Against Women �After watching sexually explicit films that degrade women, men become more dominant toward women �When see violence in media, come to view as commonplace, acceptable

Normalizing Violence Against Women �Video games push envelope of mediated violence ◦ Some researchers think violent games harmless ◦ Majority of scholars think games dangerous because engage one virtually in violence

Normalizing Violence Against Women �Social learning theory claims we engage in behaviors that are rewarded and avoid behaviors that are punished

Normalizing Violence Against Women �Cognitive development theory focuses on use of role models on which to base behaviors and identities �Symbolic interactionism highlights importance of social views in shaping identities