Gender Representations in Media

Question 1

give the 4 key phrases and their theorists associated with patriarchal representations of women in the media

Answer 1

-symbolic annihilation; Tuchman et al
-cult of femininity ; Fergusson
-sex objects ; Wolf
-conflicted working

Question 2

explain Tuchman et al’s findings of symbolic annihilation and give an example

Answer 2

women are left out of media discourse eg women’s sport overshadowed by mens sport

Question 3

explain Ferguson’s findings of the cult of femininity and give an example

Answer 3

-found magazines focused on women’s appearance/ marriage/ kids and women encouraged by media to be ‘domestic goddesses’
-eg Snow White

Question 4

explain Wolf’s findings on sex objects and give an example

Answer 4

-women are used in media for the male gaze; the beauty myth is pushed
-mean girls, devil wears prada

Question 5

explain conflicted working and give an example

Answer 5

working mothers are presented as conflicted if they cannot fulfil their role, working fathers are not which suggests women are made for domestic roles
eg Bad Moms

Question 6

give three key phrases and their theorists associated with empowered representations of women in media

Answer 6

transgressive roles (Lib fems)
sexually powerful (Gill)
independent

Question 7

explain transgressive roles and give an example

Answer 7

-media shows progress from 70/80s eg career women are more prominent in media
-lib fems argue there is progress but it has not fully caught up to change
-eg Elle Woods Legally Blonde

Question 8

explain sexually powerful and give an example

Answer 8

-Gill found that women shown to use sexuality for power more
-rad fems find this regressive
-eg Charlie’s Angels

Question 9

explain independent and give an example

Answer 9

music/ media is a source of aspiration and independence for young girls
eg Taylor Swift and Beyonce

Question 10

give 3 statistics about women in media

Answer 10

-approx 30% of speaking characters are women
-female characters 5x more likely to receive sexist abuse on TV
-2% of sports presenters are women

Question 11

what are the four key concepts associated with men’s representations in the media and their theorists

Answer 11

-hegemonic masculinity (Connell)
-crisis of masculinity
-toxic masculinity
-retributive masculinity (Gauntlett)

Question 12

explain hegemonic masculinity and give an example

Answer 12

-Connell ; western cultures idea of a ‘real man’ / ‘alpha male’ aspired for by young boys, based on strength, success, competition etc
-James Bond, superheroes

Question 13

explain the crisis of masculinity

Answer 13

-precise roles for men are now offered to women which causes masculinity crisis and may replace hegemonic masculinity to toxic masculinity

Question 14

explain toxic masculinity and give an example

Answer 14

negative aspects of hegemonic masculinity eg violence, misogyny and homophobia, boys bottling up emotions
eg Andrew Tate

Question 15

explain retributive masculinity and give an example

Answer 15

-Gauntlett ; media reasserts traditional masculine traits eg Top Gear
-there is a choice of masculinities to choose from in contemporary society however this choice can lead to confusion and feed masculinity crisis

Question 16

what was the Children Now study about (for men)

Answer 16

boys age 10-17 perceived male characters as violent, leaders, not vulnerable

Question 17

what was the McNamara study about (men)

Answer 17

-analysed lots of media to find they failed to represent reality of masculine life
-80% was negative and 20% metrosexual

Question 18

what was Gauntlett’s study about

Answer 18

men’s media eg Men’s Health transmitted metrosexual values, although this was not all media eg Penthouse

Question 19

what two adverts were banned by Watchdog for promoting sexist ideals

Answer 19

-Philadelphia Cream Cheese (new dads presented as incapable of looking after their children)
-VW; men engaged in adventurous activities but women were all mothers

Question 20

what two adverts defy gender stereotypes

Answer 20

It’s Time: Marriage Equality (at end of ad the pov was a gay man not a woman)
Always : Like a Girl

Question 21

describe the feminist perspective on representations of gender

Answer 21

-media shows women as ‘domestic goddesses’ or ‘sex objects’ which limits young females aspirations

Question 22

describe the liberal feminist view on media representations of gender (and give a theorist)

Answer 22

-media rep is slow to change in response to womens societal achievements aka ‘cultural lag’
-Mills argued that the newsroom has a deeply entrenched bloke culture that excludes women

Question 23

describe the marxist feminist view on media representations of gender (3)

Answer 23

-stereotypes are pushed to appeal to traditional audiences
-false needs creates around beauty myth and womens anxieties are manipulated and exploited for profit
- diet industry is worth $100billion a year in USA

Question 24

describe the radical feminist view on media representations of gender (3)

Answer 24

-traditional images are deliberately transmitted by male dominated media to keep women oppressed into a narrow range of roles
-beauty myth creates FCC in women
-mens magazines encourage retributive masculinity

Question 25

describe the popular feminist view on media representations of gender (and it’s theorists)

Answer 25

-McRobbie argues women in 21st century promote popular feminism which is now mainstream in commercial culture whereas traditional feminism is ignored as old feminism

Question 26

how does Gauntlett criticise McRobbies view of popular feminism

Answer 26

-media audiences are so diverse there is bound to be mixed messages over gender and sexuality
-eg magazines for older women vs magazines for younger generation

Question 27

describe the postmodernist view on media representations of gender and it’s theorist

Answer 27

-Gauntlett ; unlike the past, men and women have a variety of media messages about masculinity and femininity
-eg new emphasis on mens emotions and girl power

Question 28

describe the pluralist view on media representations of gender (3)

Answer 28

-feminists underestimate womens ability to see past gender stereotypes and stereotype women as impressionable and easily influenced
-there is no evidence of women noticing media content that supposedly affects their attitudes
-media simply reflects public attitudes and meets public demands

Question 29

give a critique of the pluralist perspective of gender representations in the media

Answer 29

-failed to consider that the media may be responsible for creating public needs in the first place