Another part of my research involved using the Internet, including a feminist web site with a detailed overview of existing work on language and gender variation. Again, the majority of these were based on speech, although they remained interesting and informative. Also, Angela Goddard, who has completed extensive studies on this aspect of language, recently published a book, ‘Language and Gender,’ (2000), examining written language, such as that used by newspapers and magazines. I found this invaluable as a research tool and a source of background information, but although there were some references to gender bias in the media, these were general rather than detailed observations, so I decided to investigate whether they could be specifically applied to the aspect of media representation of women.
Using this research, and after studying my data in detail, I found that the sexist bias in female representation was accomplished through the use of several key language features, which were commonly used in the articles. As major linguistic aspects of media representation, these will form the basis of my analysis. After classifying my data into appropriate sections, the themes I intend to investigate include:
▪ Marked forms of language, and their inferences to the reader
▪ Emotive language and its connotations
▪ Description of women in terms of appearance, or relationship to men
▪ Gaps, distortions and differences in the way gender is represented by the media.
English Language Coursework Investigation
Classification of Data
All the terms listed here can be found in the data appendix and are applied to women, unless otherwise stated.
Marked terms
▪ Actress
▪ Seductress
▪ Teenage mothers
▪ Unmarried mothers
▪ Lone mother
▪ Female novelist
▪ Successful female artist
▪ Most famous female entertainer
▪ Richest woman in the world
▪ Girl group
▪ Girl fans
▪ Cover girl
▪ Clever girl
▪ Sweet girl
▪ Straight women
▪ Difficult women
▪ Gay women
▪ Young, women singers
▪ Female celebrity
▪ Female pop star
▪ Female teenagers
▪ Heroine
Description
Terms of appearance
- Luscious Rachael Sterling
- Blonde Tracey
- Beautiful women
- Bleach-blonde Meg Ryan
- Photogenic blonde
- An adorable waif
- Sexy babe
- Teenage beauty
- Blonde Gwen
- Pouting, thunderstruck pose
- Carmen is toned, lean and mean
- Kylie Minogue is hot
- Hottest-looking woman in the world
- Gorgeous Johnny Knoxville (male)
- Blond hunk (male)
Terms of career
- Spice Girl Mel B
- Beautician Tracey
- Model Caprice
- Actress Alyssa Milano
- Supermodel Linda Evangelista
- Ex-playboy model
- A-list actresses
- Latino star Jennifer Lopez
- Bafta winner Nicole Kidman
- Destiny’s Child singer Beyonce Knowles
- Author of Prozac Nation
- Snooker ace (male)
- Full Monty star (male)
- Film director husband Guy Ritchie (male)
- Limp Bizkit front man Fred Durst (male)
- Nu-metal star (male)
- Front man Damon Albarn (male)
- Former Bros bassist Craig Logan (male)
- Formula 1 star Jacques Villeneuve (male)
- Former boy band idol (male)
In relationship to men
▪ Barrymore’s wife
▪ Brad’s missus, Jennifer Aniston
▪ Jodie, daughter of a millionaire scaffolding contractor
▪ Danni, whose exes include…Craig Logan and Jacques Villeneuve
- Drew Barrymore, who was with boyfriend Fabrizio Moretti
Language with emotive connotations
▪ Wildcat Mylene Klass
▪ Desperate Cheryl
▪ Sobbing Cheryl
▪ Sexbomb
▪ Sexual tornado
▪ Sexual machine
▪ Sex slave
▪ Baby doll
▪ Jailbait
▪ Queen mall-rat
▪ Queen of sleaze
▪ Untouchable goddess
▪ Impressionable schoolgirls
▪ Pop princess
▪ Princess of Prozac
▪ Teenage tottie
▪ Classy chick
▪ Real rock chick
▪ Bad girl of rock
▪ Wealthy widow
▪ Gobby Kelly
▪ Teenage pregnancy statistic
▪ Virgin
▪ Whore
▪ Bitch
▪ Earth mother
▪ English rose
▪ Baywatch babe
▪ Wild child
▪ Bad boys (male)
▪ Former choirboy Noel (male)
English Language Coursework Investigation
Analysis
Marked terms
Analysing the data I collected for this investigation, it can be seen that marked terms are frequently used in newspapers, with various inferences and purposes. For example, when referring to women, the suffixes ‘ess,’ and ‘ette,’ are usually used, such as in ‘actress,’ or ‘usherette.’ Although these are socially accepted in English, the unmarked forms, such as ‘usher,’ are applied to males, and so adding suffixes to the female versions implies deviation from the male ‘default,’ form. This suggests that the female forms of these terms have lower status. The suffix ‘ette,’ in particular implies diminution or imitation, such as ‘suedette,’ to describe false suede, and applying these to the female forms of descriptive terms infers diminished status of women, or that they are imitations of the male ‘default,’ form, without the elevated status of their referents. Further examples of such lexical asymmetry found in my data include the noun “heroine,” a departure from the male term “hero.” This could also be seen as inferring subordination of women, since the term “heroine,” is usually only used in a limited context, such as in descriptions of romance novels or televison dramas. “Hero,” however, can be applied to men in a wide variety of contexts, perhaps reflecting power held by men in patriarchal society. The label “seductress,” a departure from “seducer,” which is now rarely used, with more colloquial phrases such as “ladies man” being applied to men.
This sex-specification in language was investigated in the early 20th century by Dike (1937), and Withington 1937), and it is a feature which is still in use today. However, a sign of changing attitudes may be that some of these terms, such as “authoress,” are now almost obsolete, although marked terms such as “female novelist,” from my data, are still applied to women, showing the prevalent assumption that high-status positions are usually held by men.
Correspondingly, marked terms such as “gay women,” and “teenage mother,” both of which can be found in my data, are used to infer that the label departs from an unstated typical or expected situation. For instance, “lone mother,” implies that the ideal is marriage or a long-term relationship, and connotes disapproval. The Guardian’s article, ‘Mother Care,’ from my data uses this language feature extensively, and its purpose in this context is to infer the author’s disapproval of “unmarried mothers,” without explicitly articulating sexist, stereotypical views, which could be seen as outdated or offensive.
Further examples include “successful female artist,” “female pop star,” and “female celebrity,” with this employment of marked terms implying deviation from traditional ‘female’ roles, and imitation of the male ‘default’ form. Although they have no obvious negative connotations, this sex-specification is indicative of gender bias evidenced through language.
These subtle but effective uses of marked terms are common throughout the media, and are therefore significant when examining the representation of women.
Emotive language
Gender–biased emotive language is an important factor in the analysis of the current representation of women. For example, terms of description with emotive connotations, which can be found in my data, include; “wildcat,” “desperate,” “sex slave,” and “wealthy widow.” These descriptions all have connotative meanings, which are conveyed to the reader, and this is a language feature which has been widely analysed, such as the investigation by Strodtbeck and Mann in 1956, which examined the way in which language influences our perception of people, and also later articles by Ackerman (1962) who discussed the connotative difference between a “lady” and a “woman.” Lakoff was also interested in this aspect of language (1973).
Description such as “desperate,” and “sobbing,” both of which are applied to Cheryl Barrymore in The Sun’s article, are emotive and have connotations of weakness and emotional instability, implying subordination of women. By using language such as this, the stereotype of women as weak or helpless is presented as salient, and therefore strengthened. These terms of description may be employed in order to conform to the reader’s pragmatic awareness of social roles, and as a form of commentary on the typical characteristics and functions of each gender.
Similarly, other emotive language is used to display women as predatory or sexually aggressive. For example, the Sunday People’s article describes Mel B as a “horny devil,” “kinky,” and “money-grabbing.” All of these descriptive terms have negative connotations, as do the verbs “dragged,” betrayed,” and also “lured,” which is usually used in the specific field of hunting. Its use to describe Mel’s actions, with its predatory connotations, therefore implies sexual aggression. The term, “wildcat,” and the verb “snarled,” which are applied to Mylene in the News of the World’s article, also imply fierceness or irrational, “wild” behaviour, and this lends credibility to the stereotype of women as voracious, as does The Sun’s labelling of Britney as “forward and aggressive.”. These labels are employed to mask a range of implicit descriptions, and their connotations are revealing of current views.
Another purpose of emotive language is to persuasively convey the authors’ opinions in order to encourage the reader to share their views. For example, in ‘Mother Care,’ the author describes “the journey from sin to support,” and this is an explicit description of teenage pregnancy and sexual activity as sinful. The noun “sin” suggests evil, or a crime, and has biblical connotations, perhaps with the inference that women should adhere to the outdated female roles, which are often portrayed in religious documents. In the same article, one woman is described as “a teenage pregnancy statistic at 17,” and this implies disapproval. The term “statistic” connotes anonymity, and this depersonalises and downgrades the individual, conveying moral judgement on the part of the author. The statement “many grandmothers are too busy with full-time jobs to offer the back-up once expected of them,” could also be seen as undermining the role of women. The connotations of “grandmother,” and the adjective “busy,” differ vastly, and the juxtaposition of these terms provides a jarring contrast, which could be viewed as a negative slant on working women. The adjective “expected” also denotes an outdated representation of the social roles of women.
From close examination of my data, the only similar example of this feature applied to a man was the News of the World’s reference to “former choirboy Noel,” with the term “choirboy” having connotations of innocence and vulnerability, in order to provoke audience empathy towards him, especially when this description in the context of the articles, which explains an argument between the group. Emotive language is extensively applied to women for a variety of purposes, throughout the media, and its use significantly influences the representation of women.
Description of women in terms of appearance
A popular language feature, which is often applied to the representation of women, is description in terms of appearance. This is the most common feature found in my data, and is used widely throughout a variety of media. Men, however, are usually described in terms of achievement, and/or career, such as “Full Monty star,” in The Mirror, and “snooker ace,” in the Sunday People. This non-parallel treatment was investigated by Miller and Swift in 1981, and despite changing attitudes towards gender roles; its use is still prevalent today.
Examples of descriptions in terms of appearance that can be found in my data include The Mirror’s reference to Sarah Parish, who “looks in fantastic shape, dressed in tight, black trousers and a tailored white shirt which show off her svelte figure.” While the article is ostensibly about Sarah’s break-up with Hugo Speer, as well as her acting career, a large proportion of it is unnecessary physical description, and this shows that, in the media, women are still objectified and defined in terms of appearance. The inference of this is that women are less dynamic and career-orientated than men, and that they have a more decorative role in society. Similar descriptions can be found of Victoria Beckham in The Guardian’s article; “She’s wearing a tight white top with a little matching cardie, pink jeans, open-toed shoes and a lot of make-up,” and also The News of the World’s references to Jodie Marsh’s “pink mini-skirt and tight gold corset,” and “beautiful boobs.” These descriptions achieve a similar purpose, as the author’s description of her physical appearance detracts the audience’s attention from the careers (pop star and actress respectively) and personalities of the women in question. By describing them primarily in terms of appearance, the women’s other achievements are downgraded and largely ignored, and this lends credibility to the ‘beauty myth,’ of modern society; that women are required to attain a certain beauty ideal in order to gain attention and interest. The clipping of “cardigan” to “cardie,” gives a colloquial lexis, and could be seen as indicative of women not being given serious consideration within the media; rather, they are mainly represented in articles dealing with gossip and fashion. In this way, the description of female appearances could be viewed as simple descriptions for readers interested in such fashion details, although the representation of women in these roles is a reinforcement of popular stereotypes, and objectification in itself.
Other examples are; “luscious Rachel Sterling,” “bleach-blonde Meg Ryan,” “blonde Gwen,” and “sexy babe,” which all objectify the women represented by these descriptions. In the contexts where women’s careers are given, these are almost always in conjunction with descriptions of physical description, which are unnecessary to the main theme of the article. A key example of this the News of The World’s article concerning Cheryl Barrymore, in which Cheryl’s friend is first described as “blonde Tracey,” and then later, “Beautician Tracey.” The first description the reader is given is completely superfluous considering the article’s subject, and the order in which these descriptions are given is indicative of the priority and importance that the media place upon physical appearance when representing women. In this context, even the denotation of Tracey’s career has negative connotations, and emphasises stereotypes. A similar example is the Metro’s article about film stars, in which the women represented are first labelled “the most beautiful women,” and then later, “A-list actresses,” with the female suffix “ess,” further implying diminution.
[Exceptions: indicative of changing times, although most careers mentioned have connotations of beauty]
An exception to this is the Sunday People’s reference to “blond hunk Fjolnir Thorgeirsson,” who is later described as a “snooker ace.” However, the context of the article explains this application of this language feature, which is usually employed to describe females. The article portrays him in terms of his sexual relationship with Mel B, and so he is objectified by his sexuality and appearance, which conform to a stereotypical ideal of male beauty. This is employed by the author to highlight his attractiveness, which contrasts with the description of “money-grabbing,” Mel B, who “betrayed him,” and this conflict maintains audience interest. Similarly, Johnny Knoxville is described as “gorgeous,” and as wearing “an ice-blue suit and pink tie,” although this may be explained by his current status as a popular, fashionable media figure, who has captured public interest. However, this objectification of the men in these articles highlights that the state of media representation of both genders is changing, and may be becoming more equal, with descriptions such as “arm-candy,” or “himbo,” a colloquial male equivalent of “bimbo,” being applied to men in magazines and newspapers.
A similar feature to description of physical appearance that is also often applied to women is that of including each woman’s age as part of the description. Examples include “Mel, 27,” and “Cheryl, 52.” Men, however, are rarely described in terms of age, unless it is conveyed with positive connotations of youth or success. This may be because women are stereotypically seen to attain to defy the aging process, and are expected to conform to a ‘beauty ideal’ of looking youthful. Denoting their age shows media judgement of whether they are ‘living up’ to this ideal or not. This feature is usually only applied to men in a similar context, such as Pierce Brosnan, who is often praised by the media as “looking good for his age.”
Description in terms of relationship to men
Another popular feature often utilised in media representation is description of women in terms of their relationship to men, implying the role of women within society is subordinate to men. This is another aspect of the non-parallel treatment investigated by Miller and Swift in 1981, as this feature is often applied to women, but rarely to men.
For example, Jennifer Aniston, a successful actress, is described as “Brad’s missus,” and Cheryl Barrymore is referred to as “Barrymore’s wife.” Correspondingly, Jodie Marsh, of the News of the World’s article, is described as the “daughter of a millionaire scaffolding contractor,” and by descrobing her in terms of this relationship, she is elevated to the “millionaire” status of her father. This implies that she is otherwise inferior, with diminished status compared to her male referent. Similar examples include descriptions of “Drew Barrymore, who was with boyfriend Fabrizio Moretti from The Strokes,” and “Danni [Minogue], whose exes include former Bros bassist Craig Logan and Formula One star Jacques Villeneuve.” Although these women are successful individuals with celebrity status, they are still defined in terms of their relationship to men, further emphaszing an outdated view of the roles of women within society. Non-parallel treatment is clearly evidenced here, since the women are described only in terms of their relationship to men, whereas the males are described in terms of career and acheivements, and this illustartes that this language feature is a significant factor in the media representation of women.
English Language Coursework Investigation
Appendix
List of data, grouped by publication:
The Sun:
▪ My wild sex with Britney
The Mirror:
- 3 am (gossip column)
- Sarah on break-up with Full Monty star
- We’re all living a lie
News of the World:
- TV wife’s an Essex maniac
- Cheryl: I tried to kill myself
- Hear’Say the truth
The Sunday People:
- Mel’s a horny devil
The Metro:
- Drab is the style for film stars
The Guardian:
- Material woman
- Mother care
- Victoria’s values
- Madonna
- Snort story
Daily Mail:
- BBC faces obscenity row over ‘shocking’ new lesbian drama
The Independent:
- Lesbianism becomes fashionable
- Britney Spears: This baby doll means business
- Jemima Lewis: Sing the praises of Tatu, the teenage lesbians
- The woman who wanted to cry
English Language Coursework Investigation
Bibliography
