Discuss the representation of females in the media, and what if anything, should be done about this?

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Audience Research

Name: Kate Adams

ID: 104104

Lecturer: John Penhallurick

Tutor: Annabel Beckenham

Question Four:

Discuss the representation of females in the media, and what if anything, should be done about this?

It is generally accepted that the media, primarily television, ‘lags’ behind reality and current social trends (Butler and Paisley, 1980) (Gunter, Television and Sex Role Stereotyping). However, This does not make the way women are portrayed in the media any better. Women are not only under-represented in the media but more importantly are portrayed to be “half clad, half witted and needing to be rescued by quick thinking fully clothed men” (Stereotypes, Adelson 1990). Women are most commonly portrayed as sexual objects and housewives; whose lives revolve around landing the right man. “When women are in the news, their role is often trivialized. World leaders are described in terms of their hats or dress designers” (Benedict, Virgin or Vamp, 1992). Women are portrayed as jealous and insecure, and often neurotic. This type of unrealistic ideal portrayed in the media is being forced upon society today, and is having serious negative effects on the way women are being viewed and treated in society. Most media forms are similar in the portrayal of women (for example, television, magazines, and newspapers), however; the advertising industry takes the stereotype of women to the edge and are branded as being the worst mediums in the portrayal of women.

Stereotypes are conventional, oversimplified conceptions, opinions or images. Stereotypes exist as they are of cognitive importance to humans. It may be argued therefore, the process of stereotyping is a necessity, so we can make sense of the world and our environment. They allow people to do less searching when looking for evaluations of people and behaviours. They also give specific cultures a sense of belonging and an identity. Therefore humans will continue to stereotype whether we like it or not. The media uses stereotypes in order to relate to audiences. However, gender based stereotypes towards women in the media should be changed, but how? When the media changes perhaps the stereotypes of women in real life will also begin to alter…

According to Gunter stereotyping can be divided into sex role stereotyping and sex trait stereotyping. Sex role stereotyping of a female is, for example, the beliefs held about the value of the family and the role of a woman in society. This sex role of women has changed in society in recent years with many women taking part in activities outside the home such as careers. Women are also tending to delay motherhood until later in life and are having fewer children if indeed they choose to have any. In reality however, these changes have not been reflected in the media. An example of this is the way many TV programs portray a woman’s role as having to please men. Sex trait stereotyping are stereotypes about a woman’s characteristics and personality traits (Gunter, Television and Sex Role Stereotyping, 1986). For example, the media portrays women to be very emotional, delicate and dependent. This sex trait stereotyping can have very damaging effects on society, as whether we like it or not, the media influences the way many people think and dictates to them what they should think. Therefore, while the sex role of women has changed in recent years, peoples’ perceptions of a woman’s sex traits are still being very much influenced by what they see in the media. Specifically this tend to be a very old-fashioned view that woman are delicate, fragile and ‘sweet’. Women are being dictated to, directed how to act and ‘educated’ as to what a ‘lady’ should be.

The representation of women does differ significantly depending on the genre of the medium, and to whom the media is aimed. However, two main representations tend to occur over and over and across the board: the ‘virgin’ and the ‘vamp’. In other words the motherly housewife or the sex object, respectively. A large amount of advertising portrays women in these ways and many people find it offensive. Women are portrayed as possessions, showing them to have limited interests and careers and portraying them as incompetent, nagging and/or stupid. Women are constantly shown in the media shopping for groceries, cooking, cleaning. The ‘virgin’ mother or the housewife are typically married, with children and are happy and overly exited about cleaning products or products that are good for her children (Nutella). Her life revolves around making the house dirt free. She goes about her laborious tasks with a smile. The ‘Swiffer’ ad is a perfect example, with the woman shown as dancing and singing at the excitement of having a static inducing, throw away mop. Men are usually portrayed as incompetent in the house and smarter than the female. It was found by Trowler 1988 that women were seven times more likely to appear in personal hygiene ads, and 75% of all ads using women were for bathroom or kitchen products. It was also found that the media showed women as only having 18 different types of occupations, most of which were clerical, compared to 43 for men.

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The ‘sex object’ is usually pretty, tall and slim, possessing perfect teeth, skin, hair and nails. They are male dream girls and are usually using their bodies or some other feminine quality to entice and sell a product. The ‘sex object’ is used in many TV programs but also in advertisements to sell jewellery, perfume, cosmetics, and clothes. Young single women in the media tend to be portrayed as sex objects and conform to the ‘ideal image’. Once wedded however she usually becomes a possession, losing all her sexual appeal and commonly resorts to the ‘neck-to-knee’ fashion statement ...

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