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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 1960s – 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=9TjEklyF7-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 1960s ◦ Breast reduction surgeries increased Motivate Us to Consume By 1980s, 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
