Gender and The Media

1. Gender and The Media Gender as Social Construction

2. Today: • Lecture/Discussion on Gendered Media • View part of Mickey Mouse Monopoly and additional clips

3. Clips • Tough Guise • Analysis of Modern Family Episode • Miss Representation • Beyonce video, Rush video, ad examples • Mickey Mouse Monopoly clips and discussion

4. Gendered Media • Media advances representations of gendered and racial identities • What does it mean to be male? Female? • Media have progressive and regressive tendencies- What does this mean? Examples? • Media content can be challenged and changed. Should it? How could it?

5. Media Influences • 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

6. Do men/women use media differently? • How do boys use media? • How do girls use media?

7. Gendered Media Use • Differences in how women and men tend to view media • Boys and men use primarily for instrumental purposes • More likely to read papers and watch TV to get news • Use Internet to gather information • Use to accomplish tasks

8. Gendered Media Use • Girls and women often use media to build relationships • Perceive social media as allowing them to express themselves • More likely to blog, etc.

9. Gendered Media Use • We use media as platforms for discussing and sometimes challenging cultural expectations for femininity and masculinity • Young people use media as means of taking their culture apart and remixing it • Beyonce Lies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p72UqyVPj54

10. Tell Us What’s Important • Early theories of media’s influence likened to hypodermic needle • Theory too simplistic

11. Tell Us What’s Important • More sophisticated approach is agenda setting • Media set our agenda by telling us what’s important • Have ability to direct audience’s attention to issues • Focus our attention

12. Tell Us What’s Important • “Gatekeeper” – people and groups that control which messages get through to audiences

13. Tell Us What’s Important • In early days of radical feminism, media portrayed feminists as man-hating, bra-burning extremists • Coverage of women ignores substantive issues.

14. Tell Us What’s Important • TV and radio programs tend to negatively portray women who are identified as feminists • Is this true? Can you think of examples? • Sandra Fluke:TC3:57 • http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/29/rush-limbaugh-sandra-fluke-slut_n_1311640.html

15. Palin vs. Hillary? • How are each represented? • SNL Palin Clinton Skit • http://www.hulu.com/watch/34465

16. Tell Us What Are/ Should Be • Media present us with images of what women and men are and should be • What kind of images are those?

17. Portray Men Stereotypically • Men on prime-time television independent, aggressive, in-charge • Portrayed as sexually active and not responsible

18. 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

20. Portray Men Stereotypically • White masculinity remains norm • Hip hop and rap music – exception

21. Portray Men Stereotypically • Men seldom shown nurturing others • Portray men as incompetent at homemaking, cooking, child care • What to expect when expecting • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9v_kZLQp9M

22. Portray Men Stereotypically • Media offer some more complex portrayals of men • Male characters combine qualities traditionally associated with masculinity and femininity

23. Portray Men Stereotypically • Contradictory images of masculinity embodied by rock and rap artists • Some rappers uphold traditional images of men, women relationships

24. Portray Women Stereotypically • Portray girls and women in ways consistent with traditional stereotype • Media aimed at youth show female characters shopping, grooming, being emotional, and engaging in domestic activities

25. Portray Women Stereotypically • Show male characters working, building, fighting, thinking • Increased trend to portray women and girls in highly sexualized ways

26. Portray Women Stereotypically • Most traditional stereotype is woman as sex object • Ideal is young and extremely thin and preoccupied with men, children, shopping • Even newscasters are young, attractive, less outspoken

27. Portray Women Stereotypically • Pornification of mainstream media • Encourage girls to model themselves after hypersexualized female characters • Send message girls and women responsible for consequences of sexual activity

28. Portray Women Stereotypically • Makeover reality shows reinforce traditional views of women and what makes women desirable

29. Portray Women Stereotypically • Media favor two opposite prototypes • Good • Bad

30. Portray Women Stereotypically • Good women • Pretty, deferential, faithful, focused on home and family • Bad women • Witch, bitch, whore, iron maiden

31. Portray Women Stereotypically • Criteria for good woman have been challenged in some recent films and TV shows • If we look closely at some nontraditional images of women, we see she meet traditional stereotypes of femininity

32. 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

33. Carrie Bradshaw Postfeminists?What about the new show Girls? Sex in the City

34. Gendered Images in Advertising • Advertising’s influence on views may be more powerful than programmed media content • Advertisements are repeated

35. Gendered Images in Advertising • Majority of ads emphasize visual images • Less subject to conscious analysis • We think we’re immune • Research suggests differently

36. Gendered Images in Advertising • Advertising portrays men and independent, successful, engaged in activities • In some ads, men appear angry – rebels against authority • Images can contribute to negative self-images

37. Gendered Images in Advertising • Advertising directed at men often link products with hypermasculinity and violence • Men’s dominance also emphasized by positioning

38. Gendered Images in Advertising • Ads for cooking and cleaning products caricature men as incompetent klutzes • Women are often shown anguishing over dirty floors and bathroom fixtures only to be saved by products • Male voice overs often used

39. Gendered Images in Advertising • Objectification of women • Highly sexual poses • Hope product will make us more like women in ads or more likely to be appealing to them

40. Gendered Images in Advertising • Advertising plays role in promoting appearance and pleasing others • Emphasize women’s need to change themselves • If woman fails man might leave her

41. Let’s do a quick gender analysis of the following advertisements.

42. Ads, technology, and men

43. Ads, technology, and women

44. Advertizing and domesticity

45. Anna Kournikova Omega Ads Pierce Brosnan

46. Natalia Vodianova Louis Vuitton Ads Sean Connery

47. Jennifer Aniston Glacéau Water Ads Tom Brady

48. Pantene Ads

49. Cologne Ads

50. Perfume Ads