Media Representations of Gender

Question 1

what are the 5 steps of success in terms of representations of women in the media?

Answer 1

1-what is hegemonic portrayal?
2-is it positive/negative?
3-why is this the hegemonic portrayal?
4- what is the impact of this portrayal?
5- is it improving?

Question 2

who came up with hegemonic feminity?

Answer 2

Connel

Question 3

what is hegemonic feminity?

Answer 3

the dominant view of women’s expectations and what a woman should be
-the female ideal, usually traditional, sexual and stereotypical

Question 4

what did the class’ content analysis of adverts show about women?

Answer 4

the adverts sexualised and objectified women, with them being shown to be controlled by men and the housewife

Question 5

what did the Burger King advert say when sexualising women?

Answer 5

‘four inches has never been so satisfying’

Question 6

what was Trowler’s evidence of content analysis of women in the media?

Answer 6

-75% of TV ads used women for bathroom and kitchen products
-twice as many women were shown with children than men
-56% of ads portrayed women as housewives

Question 7

what did Trowler say about women in the media?

Answer 7

women’s bodyies are ‘exploited shamelessly’

Question 8

what did Jean Kilbourne say about women in advertising?

Answer 8

-killing us softly
-tells us how we look, with us feeling shame when we don’t achieve it
-photoshop, women turned into objects
-bodies are dismembered, women are dehumanised
-causes violence against women, eating disorders arise

Question 9

what message did Orbach say has been sent through the media in terms of women in the media?

Answer 9

slimness= success and happiness

Question 10

what percentage of 6-12 year olds have tried a diet?

Answer 10

39%

Question 11

what did Wolf say?

Answer 11

‘beauty ideal’
-women think they should have a certain body type, long legs, clear skin, etc
-women should treat their bodies as a project in constant need of improvement striving for perfection

Question 12

who came up with the cult of feminity?

Answer 12

Ferguson

Question 13

what is the cult of feminity?

Answer 13

-women’s magazines focus on ‘him, home and looking good (for him)’
-tries to socialise girls into the role of women

Question 14

what is meant by the limited range of roles?

Answer 14

women are represented in a narrow range of social roles in the media whilst men perform the range of social/occupational roles

Question 15

according to Wolf and Tebbel, what are the 6 stereotypical roles women are given in films/shows?

Answer 15

-the WAG
-the Sex Object
-the Supermum
-the Angel
-the Ball Breaker
-the Victim

Question 16

how are women portrayed in sport?

Answer 16

-there is little coverage of women’s sports
-when there is coverage, women are sexualised, trivialised and devalued

Question 17

what is the piece of evidence about women’s sport coverage in the 2012 Olympics?

Answer 17

4.5% of news covered female sport, with this falling to 3.2% in 2020, even though women make up 40% of the sporting teams

Question 18

what are the 3 reasons why women are represented this way in the media?

Answer 18

1- ‘boys club’
2- male gaze
3- profit for capitalism

Question 19

what is ‘boys club’?

Answer 19

-those who own and make the media are ‘male, pale and stale.’
-woman are facing a glass ceiling= women think they can get to the top but they are actually blocked

Question 20

what is some evidence about gender imbalances in power of media?

Answer 20

-less than 5% of chief executives of largest media companies in Britain were women
-fewer than 10% of editors of national newspapers are female

Question 21

what percentage of all speaking characters in American films between 2002-2019 were male?

Answer 21

68%

Question 22

from 2013-2016 how many episodes of Tv shows on BBC, ITV, channel4/5 were directed by women?

Answer 22

only 25%

Question 23

what did Mulvey say about the male gaze?

Answer 23

film-makers employ a ‘male gaze’ where the camera lens essentially eyes up the female characters, providing erotic pleasure for men
= the camera lens acts as the male gaze

Question 24

what is the profit for capitalism according to marxists?

Answer 24

-the beauty market drives unobtainable goals and makes profit
-women are constantly trying to meet the unrealistic standards (false needs) so keep on buying products
-pornography= exploitation of women for profit, sex sells

Question 25

what are the 2 impacts of woman’s portrayal in the media?

Answer 25

1- Symbolic Annihilation 2- Triviality of Achievement

Question 26

according to Tuchman, what is symbolic annihilation?

Answer 26

-women are destroyed by the media, with them focusing on beauty/body, and not achievements/intelligence -women are reduced down through the media -sexy lamp test

Question 27

what is the triviality of achievement according to Tuchman?

Answer 27

woman was hailed as brave for showing her acne = is this really the biggest achievement of women?

Question 28

what are two evaluation points for women’s portrayal in the media?

Answer 28

-things are now changing -Lauzen= women now account for 27% of executive roles in the media (producers, editors and directors)

Question 29

what is the first theoretical evaluation of women's portrayal in the media?

Answer 29

NEW MEDIA= the women will allow women to destabilise patriarchy. -women now have a voice and are prosumers, spreading their opinions and voices through the media

Question 30

who spoke about the new media evaluation of women in the media?

Answer 30

Plant

Question 31

what is the second theoretical evaluation of women in the media according to Gauntlett?

Answer 31

FEMALE EMPOWERMENT= the traditional view of woman has been kick-boxed out of the picture by feisty 'girl power' icons

Question 32

what is the first way that men are portrayed in the media?

Answer 32

hegemonic masculinity= traditional/dominant masculinity

Question 33

how are men seen through the media based on hegemonic masculinity?

Answer 33

-breadwinner -sexually dominant -powerful/physically strong -primal -risk-taking etc

Question 34

according to Easthorpe, what is the masculine myth?

Answer 34

the media gives the impression that a real man is based on 'strength, aggression and violence.' =this is an ideological myth as majority are unable to reach this goal of true 'hegemonic masculinity'

Question 35

which type of man is most likely and least likely to be shown through the media?

Answer 35

most= macho man/action hero (32%) least= good hearted (-31%)

Question 36

how are men portrayed in Disney?

Answer 36

-men fight for girl -sexism, strength and dominance eg- gaston, hans, peter pan

Question 37

what is the Children Now as a piece of AO2?

Answer 37

-asked boys aged 10-17 about what they thought about males seen on tv -strong, aggressive, leaders, successful/confident, real men don't cry -1/3 of these boys had never seen a man doing domestic work

Question 38

what is toxic masculinity?

Answer 38

harmful/damaging, characteristic of masculinity can become toxic as men are believing that they have to fit in to specific categories.

Question 39

what is the female gaze when speaking of men's portrayals in the media?

Answer 39

-through the female lens, men are shown in a way to 'excite' women -men are often shown to have an athletic build, which may make some men have low self-esteem if they don't have this body type -eg= underwear adverts/shoots, magic mike

Question 40

what are three statistics that show how men feel about their appearance?

Answer 40

-55% of men feel uncertain about their appearance -63% of men said they always feel like they can lose weight -41% of men said they worry people judge their appearance

Question 41

have things changed in terms of how men are expected to act?

Answer 41

YES= 'be a man' ideas have changed, man's position in family has changed (more time with children) NO= man's role is hidden, they are still told to look a certain way

Question 42

what did Gauntlett say about the New Man?

Answer 42

-content analysis of men's magazines, with FHM and GQ content being extremely positive for men today -it encourages men to be caring, considerate lovers, useful in the home, fashionable and funny -men can now redefine their identity

Question 43

what is a piece of evidence supporting the New Man idea?

Answer 43

Rihanna's savage x fenty, showed different body types not just the typical musclely and fit man

Question 44

according to Mort, what is the metrosexual man?

Answer 44

=men now care about and look after their appearance, in terms of products/toiletries, with them unafraid to show their emotions -rise in male fashion magazines/advertising of products reflects an important shift in the social attitudes of men

Question 45

what did rutherford say about retributive masculinity?

Answer 45

=many WC men have resisted this change, men seek to reclaim their masculinity to make sure men are not too feminine?

Question 46

what are the 3 Bs for retributive masculinity?

Answer 46

Birds Boobs Balls Booze