Gender

• Features of hegemonic masculinity

  • physically strong
  • Risk taking
  • Aggression
  • Independence and self reliance
  • Sexual dominance
  • Repressing emotions
  • Heterosexuality
• features of dominant femininity

  • emotionally expressive, caring and sensitive
  • avoidance of risk
  • physically weak
  • emotional and unpredictable
  • majorly concerned with appearance
  • responsible for housework and childcare
  • heterosexuality
• How are women marginalised in the media industry? International Women’s Media Foundation (2010)

  • women marginalised in hierarchies
  • glass ceiling - fixed at junior professional level (gathering news but not defining or shaping company policy)
  • 60% of senior roles filled by men
  • 1/3 of media management roles were filled by women
• What is the “male gaze”

  Mulvey: men look at women as sexual objects and camera angles are used to focus on their breasts and nudity for the purpose of providing erotic pleasure for men
• What did the Leveson enquiry find ?

  Tabloid press failed to show “consistent respect for the dignity and equality of women“

  And there is a “tendency to sexualise and demean women“
• What is “page three” and how did it symbolically annihilate women?

  • Topless “glamour models” on the 3rd page of specific tabloids
  • The Sun (stopped in 2015)
  • Daily star (stopped in 2019)
  • Way to sell newspapers
• How are women symbolically annihilated in the media ?

  Women’s achievements are often not reported, or are condemned or trivialised by the mass media. Their achievements are presented as less important than their looks and sex appeal
• How do women‘s magazines promote a cult of femininity?

  Ferguson (1983): content analysis of women’s magazines

  • magazines promote a traditional ideal where excellence is achieved through caring for others, the family, marriage and appearance
• How does Winship argue against womens magazines promoting a cult of femininity ?

  • women’s magazines promote a supportive and positive role
  • present women with a broader range of options that have been largely ignored by the male-dominated media such as domestic violence
• What are the common media stereotypes for men?

  • appear in the media in a wider range of jobs and in higher status jobs
  • masculinity is based on strength, aggression, competition and violence
  • Gilmore: “the provider, the protector, the impregnator”
  • Media stereotypes: Jock, hero, big shot
• Marxists / Marxist feminist explanation of gender stereotyping

  Media Imagery of gender is rooted in the need to make profit - advertisers stereotype or promote their products e.g. cosmetics, diets)

  Media generated patriarchal imagery projects lifestyles in which working class women cant participate in - confirms their sense of inadequacy and reasserts the hegemony of the male dominated middle class lifestyle
• Pluralist explanation for media stereotyping

  Stereotyping occurs because this is what audiences want. The media content is driven by profit- they will produce whatever draws the biggest audiences
• Liberal feminist explanation for gender stereotyping

  Media representations of gender are a result of the under-representation of women in positions of power in the media industry.

  This will change as women gain more power and break the glass ceiling
• Radical feminists explanation for gender stereotyping

  Media representations arise from the necessity to promote and reproduce patriarchy.

  Media representations keep women subordinate to men, making women conform to the beauty myth and look good to satisfy the male gaze
• Are media representations of gender changing?

  McRobbie: in a postmodern society, there is much more fluidity and flexibility in the representations of men and women in the media

  Gauntlett: growing social expectation of gender equality and sees this being reflected in the media. The media presents a wider range of gender identities beyond traditional stereotypes
• How have representations of women changed?

  • feminisation of the economy: women more likely to have aspirational attitudes towards education and careers
  • Women being presented as powerful ‘tough girls‘ e.g. Brave the Disney movie and the hunger games
• How might the changing representations of women still continue to reinforce patriarchal values ?

  Knight: apparent reversal of women’s traditional roles is accompanied by underlying conventional femininity with these roles being mostly played by conventionally attractive women such as Angelina Jolie and Scarlett Johansen
• How have representations of men changed?

  “New man” emerging: values gender equality, being emotionally vulnerable, caring more about appearance and being more active fathers
• How might representations of men not be changing?

  Gauntlett argues there’s still magazines aimed at men which sexually objectify women and stress images of traditional masculinity
• Why have the representations of gender changed?

  • Advertisers want to make more money through new markets e.g. men’s cosmetics
  • Traditional stereotypes are less relevant to modern working women - the media needs or reflect this to keep audiences engaged
  • Individuals can opt out of traditional media and find a wider variety of representations in the new media
• Argument for representations of gender not really changing

  The new media provides new opportunities for female exploitation e.g. revenge porn