Media

• 1.5 million people in the UK have an eating disorder – 90% of them women and girls
• Only 57% of films tested against the Bechdel test passed all 3 criteria
• Only 23 % of reporters on national daily newspapers in the UK are women with only 1 female editor of a national daily.
• Research on UK media found that men typically outnumber women as “experts” by 4:1 on major TV and radio programmes across channels
• What are the 4 reasons for the inequalities within the media?

  1. Male Gaze -- Mulvey
  2. Beauty Myth -- Wolfe, McRobbie
  3. Superhero stories -- Marsh & Millard, Giroux
  4. Stereotypes of women -- Wolfe & Tabbel
• Who argues that in the male gaze, women are visually positioned as “objects” of heterosexual male desire?

  Mulvey
• Mulvey found that women were perceived as objects ( male gaze). Meaning that their feelings, thoughts and own sexual drivers were less important than being “framed” by male desire.
• Which sociologist found that magazines reinforce the “beauty myth” which convinces women there is a set standard of what beauty looks like eg thin, young curves etc?

  Wolfe
• Wolfe claimed that the Beauty Myth keeps women “in their place” and is another form of patriarchal control.
• McRobbie added onto Wolfe's theory around the Beauty Myth finding that celebrity magazines such as Heat and Closure have a negative impact on girls and the need to focus on an often unattainable body image
• Marsh & Millard - argue that men continue to take the leading roles in films, often playing the part of heroes who are needed to save women eg spiderman, James Bond.
• Giroux adds to Marsh & Millard's findings - stating that women are represented in narrow and restricted ways in the media. They are reduced to housewives and mothers and their roles are trivialized just to their image. By reinforcing these stereotypical hidden messages in visual media it can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy.
• Wolf & Tabbel argues the main stereotypes of women are:?

  1. WAG: women concerned with beauty love and getting and keeping men
  2. Sex Object: The slim sexually seductive figures found in media.
  3. Supermom: The happy homemaker or part-time worker who focuses on domestic roles.
  4. Angel: She is good, displays little sexuality, sensitive, is domesticated and supports her man.
  5. Ball Breaker: Sexually active, strong, selfish, independent, ambitious, career-driven driven and independent
  6. Victim: As seen in horror and crime. Men are the cause of their problems but also frequently their saviour.
• Which sociologists talked about the different main stereotypes of women in the media?

  Wolf & Tabbel