Mass media: Topic 4 Media presentations of gender & sexuality

Gender & sexuality are 2 separate issues; gender referring to being male/female; sexuality referring to being heterosexual/homosexual. Tunstall says the presentation of women in the media is biased because it emphasises women’s domestic, sexual, consumer & marital activities to the exclusion of all else. Despite there having been improvements in women’s position in society, the way they are represented in the media has been criticised for the following reasons: 1.Allocated a limited range of roles 2.Less visible within the media than men 3.Presented as ideals 4.Selected to appeal to men 5.Men seen as aggressors, women as victims

Women in a limited range of roles Whilst men perform the full range of social & occupational roles within media representations, women are found to be in a narrow range of roles. Women particularly found in domestic settings – as busy housewives, contented mothers, eager consumers. Tuchman also points out that women have sexual & romantic roles. Women less likely to be shown in high status occupational roles, such as doctors & lawyers; and when they are, they are often portrayed as unfulfilled, unattractive, unstable, probs dealing with relationships, with their kids getting into trouble due to their focus on their career. Men rarely portrayed this way!! Tunstall says that men’s domestic & marital roles largely ignored (are they not fathers); women’s roles in paid employment also largely ignored – despite over paid being in paid employment. In more recent times we have to acknowledge that there has been an increase in stronger roles for women – Sex And The City; Tomb Raider. What does this indicate about the media?

Women being less visible In 1990, Cumberbatch found 90% of voice-overs for tv adverts were male. Was this because the male voice was seen to represent authority & wisdom? 66% of people appearing in adverts were male & females who did appear were likely to be young, blond & not in a workplace setting. In the 1990s, women were the main stars of only 14% of tv programmes. Women also absent from the top jobs in the media (executive positions). In 1992, there were no female sports editor on national or Sunday newspapers. More recently, we do see a change & women are more present; still not equal though. Female issues often marginalised within the media. This means issues concerning women are forced out of the mainstream. Evidence of this is that most newspapers have ‘women’s pages’ which focus on women as a special group, with special (often emotional) needs. These pages tend to concentrate on beauty, slimming & relationships. Tuchman uses the term ‘symbolic annihilation’ to describe the way in which women in the media are absent, condemned or trivialised. Symbolic annihilation basically refers to the under-representation of women in media texts, particularly tv, so that they become virtually invisible.

Women as ideals Ferguson conducted content analysis of women’s magazines from 1949 to 1980 & found that such magazines are organised around a ‘cult of femininity’. This promotes an ideal where excellence is achieved through caring for others, marriage, family & appearance. We must be aware that modern female magazines are moving away from these stereotypes; although Ferguson argues these still concentrate on ‘him, home & looking good.’ Winship has a less negative perception of magazines & stresses the supportive roles that such magazines play in the lives of women. She believes they tackle problems that have been largely ignored by the male dominated media, such as domestic violence & child abuse. In relation to film & tv presenting, most women tend to be under 30 & have a certain look. Physical looks, sex appeal & youth seem to be necessary attributes for women to be successful in the media. Is this the same for men?!! Wolf points out that the media, particularly advertising, present a particular physical image as the normal or ideal body image for women to have – even though this body image is unattainable for most. Orbach & Woolf have linked such distorted & idealised images to anorexia & bulimia in teenage girls.

Women selected to appeal to men Women often presented as sexual objects to be enjoyed by men. The extreme media version of this is pornography & page 3 girls in newspapers (now called glamour models!!) Mulvey argues that film-makers employ a ‘male gaze’, where the camera basically ‘eyes up’ the female characters. Films like Striptease, Basic Instinct & Showgirls are blatant examples of this. Male style mags (FHM, Maxim & Loaded) do encourage males to dress a certain way & follow the latest look, however there is less of a burden to on them to change themselves to conform. However, some would say the content of such mags indicates the ‘new man’. Whereas through the media women are often made feel they need to conform to ensure they are viewed by males as desirable. They feel the pressure to buy the latest ‘must have’ item & get that ‘bikini bod’. Research males & magazines

Men as aggressors, women as victims During the 1980s, films like Rambo, Die Hard & Commando presented males as tough & capable of saving the world. The lead roles in these films presented a very physical & threatening form of masculinity. More recently, male violence in cinema has become more stylish with Snatch, Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels. In popular shows like CSI women are often the victims of violent & sex crimes, adding to the notion that all women are potential victims & vulnerable to the superior strength of men. Smith says that female fear of violent assault is often the basis for many top movies, within which women need protected by other males. Examples?

Liberal feminist perspectives of media representations They are concerned about media representations because they believe the mass media plays a major role in the social construction of gender roles; how kids learn to be masculine & feminine. They are particularly concerned about the emphasis on women as domestic goddesses and sex objects. Why? Because this can limit female aspirations & behaviour. Lib fems accept the trivialisation of women has lessened due to greater number of female journalists, editors etc. Lib fems still concerned about lack of women’s progress in media professions.

Socialist/Marxist feminist perspectives Roots of the stereotypical images of men & women in the media are economic. Media (mags) make profits from advertising & so promote false needs around beauty, fashion, anti-ageing etc in order to attract advertising revenue from such industries. Women’s anxieties about weight & age are deliberately exploited by the media so they continue to be consumers of body-related products.

Radical feminist perspective Media reproduces patriarchy; traditional images deliberately transmitted by male-dominated media to keep women in a narrow range of roles. Media dupe women into the beauty myth & see this as their central goal, rather than compete with men for positions of power. Men’s mags that encourage retributive masculinity are a backlash against the gains made by women. They want women to remain as subordinate sex objects.

Popular feminist perspective According to McRobbie, much of young women’s media today constitutes a form of popular feminism. Popular feminism describes the promotion of girl power in female mags. Hollows says popular culture in the form of women’s mags is a site of cultural struggle where new forms of feminism are being defined.

Postmodernist perspective Postmodernist thinker, Hermes, thinks people can respond to media images & stereotypical portrayal of women in a variety of ways. Individuals can reject media messages in light of other knowledge & experience they have – people aren’t all easily led!! Gauntlett argues the mass media challenges trad definitions of gender & are a force for change for encouraging diverse masculine & feminine identities. Alternative images, ideas & consumer products are producing a greater diversity of gender identities. Gauntlett rejects the radical feminist view that mags deliberately focus on retributive forms of masculinity. They believe young men today have grown up with women their equals & so don’t feel threatened by changes in femininity. Overall, the media audience bits & pieces from media content to construct their own identities.

Key thinkers on gender & the media Gender TuchmanCumberbatchWinshipFergusonOrbachWoolfMulveySmithHermesMcRobbieGauntlett

Media representations of sexuality The way in which tabloid newspapers & tv news have reported aspects of sexuality has resulted in social anxiety or moral panics. Society learns to fear/be critical of particular social groups. In the 1980s, homosexuals practically blamed by the media for the spread of HIV & Aids; referred to as the ‘gay plague.’ In the 1990s, focus was on the promiscuity of teenage girls & their supposed deliberate pregnancies to attain benefits & housing.

Young people & representations of sexuality Batchelor & al state the mass media have an important role to play in shaping the knowledge & attitudes of young people with regard to sexuality. Content analysis carried to examine how sexuality presented in mags & tv. See page 186 for study method & findings & summarise.

Representations of homosexuality Batchelor & al found that being gay was not generally integrated into mainstream media representations; rather it was presented as mainly a source of anxiety & embarrassment, or a target for bullying. Why do you think this is the case? Justify media representations. Also, lesbianism almost completely invisible. What is this saying about this form of homosexuality? Dyer argues the media construct stereotypical ‘signs of gayness’, such as voices, stance, hand movements, clothing in order to make ‘visible the invisible.’ Consequently, if any person displays such ‘signs’ they are them labelled as gay by others & may be subjected to prejudice & discrimination.

Media presentations of sexuality are predominantly heterosexual. Gerbner says there is evidence of symbolic annihilation of gays & lesbians by their exclusion or negative stereotyping. Gauntlett argues that, although underrepresented, non- heterosexual relationships are being featured more positively. Examples? Overall, it is fair to say there has been an increase in the number of positive representations of homosexuals in adverts, films & tv shows; however there is still a long way to go for equality within society & within the mass media.

Key thinkers on sexuality & the media BatchelorDyerGerbnerGauntlett

Exam Question (spec paper) Media stereotypes both of gender & of sexuality tend to portray well-worn stereotypes. To what extent do sociological arguments & evidence support this view?(33 marks)