Class Inequality in the Media

Exactly the same as gender…Who is in charge and what effect does this have?

Think of television shows where the main character or breadwinner is working class (does a manual labour job)

Glennon and Butsch (1982) 4% of sitcoms feature heads of the household who are working class In reality 36% of people are working class 50% of TV families had a head of household with a professional career (Lawyer, Architect, Doctor etc.) In reality only around 25% of families have a professional head of household

EIg EIg

What do the clips suggest to you about the working class?

Stuart Hall (1996) The media nearly always portrays the middle class in a positive light and the middle class in a negative light to reinforce class identities and class conflict

Glasgow Media Group Working class portrayed as: scroungers, lone parents, trouble makers

Ann Grey Women use the media differently Working class women watch tacky programming High social class women watch ‘classic’ and ‘quality’ programming

kck kck