Gender Stereotypes in Media

Media Representations of Gender

• Connell's theory of hegemonic stereotypes is a factor.
• Hegemonic males are portrayed as heterosexual, unemotional, strong, and aggressive, and not domestic
• Hegemonic females are shown as heterosexual, emotional, caring, dependent on men, concerned with physical appearance and domestic
• Women writers are underrepresented in media corporations.
• A Guardian study revealed that 77% of reports were written by men in a month, compared to 23% by women.
• Women face a glass ceiling, hindering their advancement to senior levels.
• Media is filtered through a male gaze due to the underrepresentation of women.
• Tuchman uses the term "symbolic annihilation" to describe the stereotyping and invisibility of women in media.
• The Wolf beauty myth sets unrealistic beauty standards for women
• Mulvey's Male Gaze shows women are often denied realistic representations and transformed into passive objects for male enjoyment.
• Ferguson's cult of femininity conveys girls' magazines prepare girls for feminized adult roles, turning them into hegemonic females
• Dworkin views pornography as dangerous to women, as the pornography industry dehumanizes women.
• There are new forms of popular feminism that promote assertiveness, confidence, and independence.
• Women are now being portrayed in more powerful roles.
• Male gender roles often show strong, silent types, action heroes, and buffoons.
• Research shows that young boys think men should be violent, rarely cry, and mainly be at work and not at home
• New male identities, like the metrosexual man and the New Man, are appearing in magazines
• Men are becoming more concerned with their physical appearance
• Factors usually affecting women now affect men
• Dangerous beauty standards for men are resulting in muscle-enhancing products

Media Representations of Sexuality/Sexual Orientation

• Heterosexuality is the dominant and normalized view of sexuality
• The media's view of homosexuality is filtered through a heterosexual media gaze
• Gross argues that media often symbolically annihilates gay and lesbian people by excluding them from media.
• A Cowan study found that gay people were 5 times more likely to be portrayed negatively on the BBC.
• A media moral panic formed around the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, and the gay community was wrongfully blamed
• Gill argues that advertisers were becoming sanitized in the media, and gay men were rarely shown in ads.
• There are increasingly more gay celebrities and characters.
• Gauntlett notes that these characters, sexuality isn't their master status.
• The "Pink Pound" (gay consumer spending) is attractive to advertisers
• Batchelor argues that heterosexuality is still presented as normal in the media

Media Representations of Disability

• The media is controlled by mainly able-bodied individuals, filtered through the perspective of able-bodied men
• Most people learn about disability through media, leading to media stereotyping
• Disabled people are typically underrepresented, portrayed negatively or symbolically annihilated
• 2.5% of people portrayed as disabled in the media with not being their master status
• Newspaper articles often linked disability to benefit fraud without describing their daily lives.
• Barney's arguments states that stereotyping leads people to think disabled people are dependent
• No longer portrays disability as the master in the media, such as Donna Yates where being disabled is not a big part of her personality
• The Paralympic Games have helped with social inclusion of people with a disability
• Pluralists view media representations of disability reflect the medical view that disability is abnormal
• Media representations can focus on the courage of people with a disability, presenting them as special
• Interactions such as Oliver and Barney see disability as socially constructed, with mass media playing a part
• The medical view dominates the Media Gaze on disability
• Media reflects the prejudice present towards the disabled
• Postmodernists argue that the dominant medical model is fragmenting, with disabled people constructing their identities

Media Representations of Ethnicity

• Very few ethnic minorities are in senior management roles
• The media is filtered through the Media Gaze of white media
• Common negative stereotypes include:
• Asians are viewed as being all the same
• Hall argues that Black and Asian people are often portrayed as dangerous, and a cause of social problems
• Black people are more than twice likely to be portrayed as criminals on TV
• There are moral panics about refugees and asylum seekers in the media
• Sections of the media imply that White people's lives are more important than ethnic minorities'
• Hall states the media exaggerates Black crime, creating moral panic over "Black Muggers" as "Folk Devils"
• They become scapegoats for blaming and Black victims are not given same attention
• Since the 2000s, media reporting of Islamic people is associated with terrorism, leading to racism, and being stigmatised.
• Muslims have concerns about negative portrayals in the media.
• Theoretical perspectives:
• Ethnic minorities are scapegoated, diverting attention from inequalities such as social deprivation
• Moral panics serve capitalism by diverting from true problems.

Media Representations of the Young

• Children up to about age 14 are generally represented positively in Media Gaze, stereotypically.
• Stereotypes do not normally show the everyday experiences of children.
• Advertisers target children to encourage them to become consumers.
• Pester Power is the pressure children have to make their parents spend money on TV products.
• Youth from ages 15 to early 20s, are often the subject of negative media stereotyping and presented as a social problem.
• Cohen's study of the mods and rockers shows the media provoked fights through headlines such as “when is the next fight going to be".
• Young people have become folk devils, stereotyped as an anti-social group.
• 82% of news items focus on youth as a threat to society, according to Wayne's research
• Negative representations are driven by news values as negativity sells more newspapers than positivity.
• Young people are now becoming citizen journalists and change their negative representations
• Theoretical perspectives of youth:
  • Functionalists say representations function as boundary maintenance as a form of social control
  • Images remind young people what is socially expected of them
  • Pluralists say media representations reflect social reality shown when young people commit more crimes
  • Interactivists state that public become labelled that turns into moral panics
  • Representations are only a small aspect of representation.

Media Representations of the Old

• Elderly people in the USA were portrayed only 1.5% of the time and were symbolically annihilated according to Cuddly and Fiske .
• They were presented as forgetful according to Biggs study
• Elderly representations in the media tended to be Ageist
• Older men are on average presented more positively than older women, reinforcing the patriarchy present in the media.
• Now accounts for 50% of the consumer spending year, because of this they want to present the elderly in a more positive light
• Marxist theory shows that the elderly are of no value to the government as they don't contribute to the capitalist economy.
• Newspapers describe the elderly as a burden to the taxpayer, reinforcing the dominant class's values.

Media Representations of Social Class

• The mainstream media gaze filters social class through the eyes of the rich and powerful upper class
• The working class is getting worse representation.
• Neo Marxists argue that the media helps the ruling class ensure its cultural hegemony over the working class.
• Mass media celebrates wealth and hierarchy.
• Newman has found that even though few people own stocks, a large amount of newspaper content is dedicated to the stock market.
• Mass media representations of the Monarchy encourage portraying it as normal despite wealth
• They portrays the monarchy as a national symbol, which results in the working class viewing it positive
• Upper class are presented as superior and respectable that are presented in a romanticised fashion.
• Pluralists says coverage give what the public wants.
• Owen Jones view is that the values and lifestyles of the middle class are presented in the media
• The middle class have a media gaze and promote a dominant ideology.
• Most TV dramas are about the middle class.

Media Representations of the Working Class

• Curran and Seaton view is some newspapers consider the working class aren't interested in political analysis
• Marxists see it as a distraction tactic used to distract the working class from the inequalities of capitalism.
• McKendrick: poverty ignore in media and only broadcast when newsworthy
• Media does not report poor face difficulties positively representing capitalism
• An Ofcom report the BBC shows their presenters are of high salaries and they don't represent working class
• Media shows praising the Royle Family and Still Game represent the working class well
• Negative underrepresentation and stereotypes are apparent.
• Working class presented as immature and incompetent.
• Reinforcing that the ideological hegemony justifies existing patterns
• Programmes present there are romanticising
• Middle class gaze doesn't actually working class
• Lazy and committing to benefit fraud or lazy
• Anti social and drug addict
• Contrast to hard work family
• Now realistic view of the working class

Relationship Between Ownership and Control of the Media

• Most mass media is owned by global media
• Moguls control that power
• America and 6 company controlling the media.
• Companies own publishing houses, newspapers and video games company's
• Companies are Comcast, Disney, Sony, Time Warner and News Corporation
• Three groups own 90 percent of the united kingdom
• Key features
• Operate global
• Own media across the globe.
• Vertical Integration is company owns steps .20th century own the stage
• horizontal the media owner own the competitive. Example Facebook by Elon Musk own Twitter

Sociological Views on the Ownership and Control of the Media

• Marxist thoery own control the content
• Kept it working by the images
• Working distract the work of the critical thinking
• Currran media owner the content
• Rupert Murdoch the editor

Views On the Control

• Plutarist wide range and make a profit
• Not time deal time only news paper
• Also content for the change it become more
• Neo market time to control
• editors will pick for the them
• Jones journalist journalist in media
• Traditional market instead
• Editors where white
• Dominant ideology
• GUMG acts to ways the dominant ideology
• Way to change and setting and focus
• Critical main street will show it
• Views over the new media
• Mass of viewpoints
• Newspaper dominos

Media and Effects

• Media is falling
• Control it
• Show choice for the people
• Journalism better centre
• Ownership of contro
• Media owner
• Saturated so they never have control anything
• Citizen journalism

The Role of Media

• Digitise
• 80 percent use inter
• Convergences on
• Intertwingle way
• More content
• Intelligence to all

debates

• optimist fans of new media
• gives improve quality and
• Collective and allows ordinary
• Alternative that is
• Promotes diversity and blurred
• Pessimistic

Stratified

• Divide generation 10 than like under 55 plus
• Elderly class don’t socially
• Use middle
• Disadvantage
• Element
• Digitals
• World wide developed
• Only population
• There

Views

• Mchuhan argue for
• Global corporations
• Products and the same
• Marxism negative
• Mass produce
• That there not the choice they the control it
• Ideology attention meanings
• Class exploit
• Identity hobby list
• Surround interest
• Background them

Violence

• Violence
• Violence
• Media violence
• Tragedy

Debate

• Knives that cause violence
• BOBO doll
• Prove adults have to

Debate:

• ethical concerns
• Howthorm
• Told child what does me
• Bandura family history to do media
• Violence becoming normal
• Superhero good so does it

Debate Media and effect

• girl X the web before violence Evidence the report prove
• Separate background the only media
• Fushbath
• They violence
• Sensitisation to you think again
• Measure people react and and they what do