Topic 4 Flashcards
(21 cards)
Gender representation
Women are under-represented in positions of
power and influence in the management of
the media industry, and among editors,
journalists and TV producers
The IWMF (International Women’s Media Foundation;
2010)
found that in UK news companies women were
marginalized in news- rooms and decision-making
hierarchies, and that women faced a glass ceiling - an
invisible barrier to progress in their careers - that was
fixed at the junior professional level
Mulvey (2009 [1975])
called the male gaze, whereby men look (gaze)
at women as sexual objects, with images of women focusing on their
physical appearance and sexuality, using camera angles that focus on
women’s sex appeal, suggestions of or actual nudity, often in a way to
provide erotic pleasure for men.
Tuchman et al. (1978)
the symbolic annihilation of women,
involving the three aspects of trivialization, omission and
condemnation of women in the media
Women in Journalism report
Based on 2022 data,
men account for 70% of
quoted sources, with a
similarly high figure included
as experts (66%). Globally,
women are the subject of
news stories far less than
men.
The Global Media Monitoring Project (2010)
a study
of media across the world found about 76 per cent of
the people heard or read about in print, radio and
television news and on news websites were male,
compared to only 24 per cent female.
Cumberbatch et al. (2014)
found that women,
especially older women, are significantly under-
represented on popular TV shows compared to men,
who are often over-represented.
Wolf
The WAG- The wives and girlfriends of men
The Sex Object- sexually seductive, typically in red-top tabloids
The Supermum- the happy home-maker or part-time worker and manage family emotions
The Angel-Who is ‘good’
, domesticated and supports men in families
The Ball Breaker- Sexually active, strong, selfish
The Victim- In horror films, crime TV with men as the perpetrators
The Cult of Femininity’
Ferguson- Teenage girls’ magazines traditionally prepared girls for feminized adult roles and
produced a cult of femininity, including themes on being a good wife/partner which socialises girls
into these gender normatives.
Changing representation
Transgressive roles, independence, sexual power
Representation of men
In contrast, men appear in a much wider range of representations
Stereotypes of men
Hegemonic masculinity
Children Now (1999)
the joker, the jock, The strong silent type, the big shot, the action hero, the buffoon
Sexuality: heterosexual
Sexuality-people’s sexual characteristics and behavior - has
always been a central part of the hegemonic feminine
stereotype, as, in Britain and other Western countries,
women have been defined largely by their physical
attractiveness and sexual appeal to men.
Homosexuality
The media are controlled by middle-class
white predominantly heterosexual men, so the
media view of homosexuality is formed
through a heterosexual media gaze
Gross (1991)
media have often symbolically annihilated gay men and lesbians by excluding them
altogether, trivialized or condemned.
Stonewall (2010) Study
LGBTQ+ people appeared in less than 5% of TV shows
popular with young people.
shakespeare
suggests that disability is defined by societal norms that exclude those who don’t
fit the idea of ‘normal.’
Ofcom, 2020
Disabled people make up just 7% of
television employees
The Broadcasting
Standards Commission
(2003), Ofcom and
Cumberbatch et al.
found over three-quarters
(80 per cent) of the
impairments portrayed were
related to mobility, sensory
impairments, disfigurement
and physical or mental
illnesses/impairments
Cumberbatch and Negrine (1992)
Stereotypes: objects of pity, sinister or evil, super cripples, figures of ridicule, burdens, non sexual
