4. representations within the media (m)

Question 1

what is a limited range of roles?

Answer 1

-women are represented in a narrow range of social roles in the media whilst men perform the full range of social & occupational roles
-women especially found in domestic roles- busy housewives, contented mother, etc
-tuchman et al (1978) adds sexual and romantic roles to this list
-women rarely shown in high status occupational roles, such as doctors
-if they are, they’re shown to have problems with their unusual circumstances. portrayed as unfulfilled, unattractive, etc

Question 2

what do papers say about women?

Answer 2

-most papers have women’s pages which focus on women as a specialised group with special, often emotional needs
-these pages often focus on beauty and slimming
-tuchman uses the name ‘symbolic annihilation’ to describe the way women in the media are absent, condemned or trivialised

Question 3

what do people say about women in sport?

Answer 3

-research by newbold (2002) into tv sport presentation shows that what little coverage these is tends to sexualise, trivialise and devalue women’s sport
-duncan & messer (2005) agree with the views of new old, they argue that different types of ‘discourse’ is used when talking about women in sport in
-men described as ‘gutsy’ and ‘aggressive’ whereas women referred to as ‘vulnerable’
-women athletes viewed through ‘male gaze’

Question 4

what is women as ideals?

Answer 4

-ferguson (1983) carried out a “content analysis” study of womens magazines between 1949 and 1980
-concluded that many magazines were like “apprentice manuals” to teach women domestic skills
-she noticed that such magazines are organised around ‘a cult of feminity’ which promotes an ideal where excellence is achieved through caring for others

Question 5

what did Angela McRobbie (1982) say?

Answer 5

-she studied specifically girls magazines and drew similar conclusions to ferguson
-magazines like Jackie encouraged girls to see romance and marriage as primary goals and to value themselves only in terms of how they’re valued by boys

Question 6

what did wolf (1990) say?

Answer 6

-‘body ideals’ through advertising and printed media

Question 7

what are some criticisms of the study’s about stereotypes?

Answer 7

-many would say that these studies are now dated
-the character of women’s magazines has now changed

Question 8

what do marxists feminists say about stereotypes?

Answer 8

-penny (2012) stresses the supportive role such magazines play in women’s lives. successful women who have been able to have loads of children and become top managers in business firms (fueling capitalist ideologies)

Question 9

what does McRobbie (1999) say about magazines?

Answer 9

-women are encouraged to be assertive, confident, and supportive of each other through magazines and the media

Question 10

what does Ballister (1991) say about magazines?

Answer 10

-notes that magazines seem to present conflicting messages
-on the one hand, women are encouraged to behave radically in terms of sexuality and careers but are encouraged to conform to traditional feminine ideals concerning appearance
-women therefore suffer from contradictory messages

Question 11

what do some people say about women in tv?

Answer 11

-most women in films and on tv tend to be under 30
-physical looks, sex appeal and youth seem to be necessary for women to be successful in tv and cinema
-the same thing isn’t true for men, who are still accepted as sexually appealing until much later in life
-wolf (1990) points out that the media present a particular physical image as normal or ideal body image though this is often unattainable for most

Question 12

what is sex appeal?

Answer 12

-women often presented as sexual objects to be enjoyed by men
-most extreme version of this is in porn and ‘page 3 girls’ in newspapers
-mulvey (1975) argues that film makers employ a ‘male gaze’, whereby the camera lens “eyes up” the female characters, providing erotic pleasure for men
-men’s magazines like fhm & maxim encourage young men to dress, smell & consume in certain ways
-however, less pressure on men to change themselves to this ideal

Question 13

what did guy cumberbatch (1990) say about women?

Answer 13

-his study of tv commercials concluded that ads reflect an ‘unacceptable face of sexism’ and contribute to the patriarchal idea that ultimately women exist in what is essentially a man’s world
-study found that youth & beauty were the main features of women in commercials, and that women occupy a decorative role far more than men

Question 14

what did Gaunlett (2002) say?

Answer 14

-inc in proportion of main female characters, from 18% in 1992-93 to 43% in 1995-96
massive dec since 1979s in proportion of women being portrayed as a housewife. now 3%
-‘female and male characters are likely to be as intelligent, talented & resourceful or stupid as each other’

Question 15

what is the new media?

Answer 15

-green & singleton- women can be empowered by digital media
-plant- the internet has the power to disable patriarchy as women can explore, subvert and create new identities
-critique- many women who use new media are subject to sexism in different ways. some receive death threats, or sexist abuse.

Question 16

what did Hakim (2011) say about erotic capital?

Answer 16

-in addition to the 3 recognised personal assets (economic, cultural, social), everyone has a fourth asset- erotic capital- that they can and should use to advance in society
-erotic/sexual capital is the social power someone or a group accrued as a result of their sexual attractiveness & social charm

Question 17

what are some criticisms of feminism?

Answer 17

-venker (new right) criticises feminism, suggesting that now, men are the ‘butt if the jokes’ in ads and tv shows
-she argues men are constantly being emasculated
-we’re living in a ‘woman’s world’
-she suggests this isn’t an improvement

Question 18

what is the research group ‘children now’ (1999)?

Answer 18

-asked boys between 10-17 what they thought about males they see on tv:
•attention focused on girls
•mainly shown in workplace, not at home
•violent and angry
•leaders and problem solvers
•funny, confident, successful
•rarely cry

Question 19

what are children now?

Answer 19

-found that there were 6 common types of representation of men in the media
•the joker •the jock •the strong silent type •the big shot •the action hero •the buffoon

Question 20

what is the masculine myth?

Answer 20

-easthorpe (1990) argues that a variety of media like hollywood girls and video games give this impression that a real man is based on his strength, aggression and violence
-however, this is an ideological myth as the majority of men are unable to reach this goal of true ‘hegemonic masculinity’

Question 21

what did Mcnamra say about the media failing to portray the reality of masculine life?

Answer 21

-McNamra examined media representations of men:
•80% of representations were negative, showing men as violent and aggressive
•20% focused on the metrosexual male
•on the whole men are demonised by media representations of masculinity

Question 22

what happened in the 1980s with magazines?

Answer 22

-the 1980s saw the emergence of a new breed of glossy magazines aimed at m/c men
-within which men are portrayed as:
•emotionally vulnerable
•shouldn’t be afraid to get in touch with their feminine side
•should treat women as equals
•should care more about their appearance
•active fatherhood is important

Question 23

what is the metrosexual male?

Answer 23

-postmodernist sociologists
-frank mort (1988)- rise in male fashion magazines/products reflects the change in social attitudes of men and the emergence of the metrosexual man
-tim edwards (1997) argues the ‘new man’ was simply a product of advertisers so they can sell their products to males and females

Question 24

what did gaunlett (2008) say about masculinity in the media?

Answer 24

-studied the content of the FHM magazine
-extremely positive as it encouraged men to be caring, considerate lovers, useful in the home, fashionable and funny

Question 25

what did colliers (1992) say about men’s magazines?

Answer 25

-men’s magazines are often contradictory in their representations
-there are still images of rugged extra strong macho men circulating in popular culture
-women are also still sexualised in images in these magazines

Question 26

what did Rutherford say about retributive masculinity?

Answer 26

-rutherford suggests that magazines that still objectify women today are used in the attempt to reclaim traditional masculine authority by celebrating traditionally male concerns in their content
-for example: ‘birds, booze and football’

Question 27

what do postmodernists say about masculinity in the media?

Answer 27

-men and women no longer get straightforward messages about masculinity and femininity
-the mass media is challenging traditional gender roles
-there is emphasis in the media in men’s problems
-the media is producing a greater diversity of identities

Question 28

what do pluralists say about masculinity in the media?

Answer 28

-symbolic annihilation underestimates women’s ability to see through gender stereotypes and manipulation. they believe that feminists are guilty of stereotyping females as impressionable and easily influenced
-the media simply reflect the social attitudes and tastes of the time. media’s meeting the needs of men and women, if ppl are unhappy they wouldn’t use of buy the media products

Question 29

what did Batchelor say about some aspects of sexuality being presented positively in the media?

Answer 29

-publicity of sexual health
-discussion of consent
-being ready for sex
-limitations in coverage
-contraception represented as female responsibility
-boys and men seen as pursuers of sec and women and girls seen as the pursued
-lack of positive images for LGBTQ community

Question 30

what is a moral panic?

Answer 30

-an exaggerated outburst of public concern through the media, over the morality or behaviour of a group in society

Question 31

what is the media portrayal of HIV/AIDS?

Answer 31

-condition first noticed as something strange & different in june 1981, when the centers for disease control reported 5 gay men in LA all died from a similar rare set of disease symptoms
-media homogenised the risk to an entire age group, sex or sexual orientation
-portrayed ppl living with aids as guilty
-US news media associated aids with gay men-there was a depiction that it was a ‘gay male disease that is problematic’

Question 32

what is the symbolic annihilation off gay and lesbian sexuality?

Answer 32

-gross (1991) argues that the media have symbolically annihilated gays and lesbians by excluding them altogether or making fun of them
-gauntell (2008) argues that this is changing, but there is still massive underrepresentation of negative portrayal
-cowan (2007) found that almost a fifth of ppl think that tv is to blame for anti-gay prejudice

Question 33

how are soap operas less stereotypical?

Answer 33

-the BBC was flooded with 145 complaints after screening a gay kiss on EastEnders before the 9pm watershed

Question 34

what is the pink economy?

Answer 34

-a term used to describe the purchasing power of the LGBTQ+ community
-couples within the community are often dependent-free so are thought to have more disposable income to spend on media products or products advertised

Question 35

what is the LGBTQ+ and new media?

Answer 35

-because the content of the new media is user-generated the presentation of the LGBTQ community is more positive & present
-organisations have created groups for support and advice for the community. e.g the pride flag option to add to photos

Question 36

how can the new media and LGBTQ be bad?

Answer 36

-the new media attracts attention of homophobes and the LGBTQ community has suffered as they have been open to abuse
-BT had an option for parents to filter out access sites on LGBTQ lifestyle content as well as info on abortion

Question 37

what is the social construction of disability?

Answer 37

-disability created by interactions between ppl with impairments and their social environment, which social & environmental barriers limit the opportunities for ppl to take part in society
-tom shakespeare argues disability should be seen as a social construction- a problem created by the attitudes of society
-the stereotypes of any society of a ‘normal’ of acceptable body may generate a disabled identity among those with bodies that don’t conform to this stereotype
-the media gaze nearly always represents disability as a problem for the individuals rather than something created by society

Question 38

what is the symbolic annihilation of disability in the media?

Answer 38

-in 2020-21 the number of ppl who reported a disability was 14.6 million, an inc of 3 million since 2010-11
-the % of ppl who reported a disability is now 22% of the population
-they’re seriously underrepresented among those who work in the media industry and in the media content, & often portrayed in negative ways
-cumberbatch et al (2014) in a content analysis of the most popular tv programs in 2013-14 found that ppl portrayed as disabled represented just 2.5% of the tv population compared to more than 1 in 5 in the real world