Negative representation of women in females magazines
Negative representation of women in female magazines Aim My research proposal is aimed at finding the extent to which negative representations of women in women's magazines encourages a cult of femininity in their female audiences. As a reader of such magazines, I do not feel passively accepting of stereotypical representations of women. I read them for entertainment value and escapism. However according to Ferguson, these magazines do create a cult of femininity, leading to women into feeling inadequate for being unable to meet these ideals of femininity. I hope that my own research will uncover the extent to which women's magazines encourage a cult of femininity, or whether readers are more 'active' in their use of this type of media. (Word Count -110) Context and Concepts My first source for my sociological study comes from Ferguson (1983). Who found that young women's magazines prepared them for feminized adult roles and generated a 'cult of femininity.' This cult stressed the importance of getting and keeping a partner, being a good wife, what to wear, how to be a good cook and the importance of being slim and attractive. Practices promoted in articles and advertisements in women's magazines are seen as essential in achieving an idealised body image and hence a woman's validation. Ferguson concluded that these values are seen as essentially 'feminine', which drives
The effect of the media.
The effect of the media. Sociologists have studied the effect of the media since the early 50's, by looking at TV, radio and newspapers. They noticed that the media is very powerful and effects the general public greatly and can alter their opinions and thinking about certain beliefs and topics. From politics to celebrities media supplies us with headlines and stories which may or may not be biased and effect our way of thinking about that certain person/story. Sociologists have different views about the power and effect of the media, and how it can effect our actions. Some sociologists believe that there is a link between a film, which includes killing, and a boy that has watched that film then going out and murdering someone. However some sociologists disagree and believe there is no link between the power of the media and violence and actions of the minority of people. One of the main groups of sociologists is the Glasgow University Media Group, which has looked at the effect of the media in great depth, and have made studies to try and prove their theorys. There are 4 effects that sociologists have discovered- .Hypodermic syringe 2.Two-step approach 3.Uses and gratifications 4.Cultural effects The hypodermic syringe approach suggests that everything the media presents us with (whether that be TV, newspapers and radio) we take it in (being sponge like) and is very
The recent rise in support for religious sects comes mainly from an increased desire to reject mainstream values. Evaluate this claim.
The recent rise in support for religious sects comes mainly from an increased desire to reject mainstream values. Evaluate this claim. Some sociologists such as Stephen Moore believe that a sect is a type of religious organization which involves the idea that a sect is usually fairly small in membership and very exclusive in their acceptance of members. They place great stress on obedience and strict conformity to the rules of the sect. They believe that only they know the correct way to Heaven. Many religious sects believe that we are living in a corrupt world with corrupt morals and values. They are generally more critical of the rest of society and expect members to stand apart from it. Contact with non members is generally discouraged except in an attempt to convert them. They are also very critical of mainstream religious bodies who they regard as too worldly. They make an effort to distance themselves from them. Most sects move to the outskirts of society where they can create their own communities. This gives them the fear factor where outsiders become fearful of their ways. Sects usually aim to change the morals and values of society through any means possible. For example the Westboro Baptist Church which is a family called the Phelps who demonstrates and protests at the funerals of US soldiers who died in Iraq. They shout offensive slogans at their family and
Using Sociological evidence and concepts access the view that the mass media perpetuates stereotypes of gender
Using Sociological evidence and concepts access the view that the mass media perpetuates stereotypes of gender In this essay I will be writing about the way in which the mass media reinforces the idea of stereotypes of gender. The mass media has existed for many hundreds of years, and its role is to socialise us into different stereotypes such as Gender and Race. Gender is perhaps the basic category we use for sorting human beings. Essential ideas that we get about our own identity's come from someone else's perception of how a female/male should act/look. There are two very different ideas about how females and males should act. Males are looked upon as dominant and emotionless whereas woman are considered to be very emotional and are not dominant, they are the victims of the male dominance. Not only does the mass media integrate these ideas into society but other forms such as parents etc suggests that their children should conform to these roles. The number of woman feminists has seriously increased. This is from either liberal, socialist or even radical feminists. However the radical feminists have been the major group trying to change woman's fortunes. They believe that the media is patriarchal (perpetuates male power and privilege). They also believe that serious change has to be made in society and mainly the media on the roles of woman in society and believe it is
Examine the contribution of sociologists to understanding the ways in which the media portray disability and age.
Kim Dale Examine the contribution of sociologists to understanding the ways in which the media portray disability and age. Sociologists are interested in discovering how the disability and age are represented in the media because they want to find if these representations truly reflect life of the disabled and aged or if they merely create views for the public to absorb and use to effect. I will deal with the issue of disability within the media first. Research conducted by sociologists such as Cumberbatch and Negrine found that disabled people were predominately portrayed as figures that we should pity, and the media do present stereotypical and stigmatised views of the disabled. Longmore (1987) found that the disabled were seen as dependant, maladjusted or even evil, this can be seen in such cases as 'Chris' in "Emmerdale." They are also portrayed as being courageous and heroic for coping with their 'misfortune'. On the video 'Disability Portrayal' they expressed that, "Documentaries deal with the disabled as medical cases, sick and pathetic and have to be looked after. Not seen as equal T.V. reflects social reality. The biggest disability is bad practice attitudes and environment and not the physical conditions." This statement is suggesting that it is not the disabled peoples physical attributes that are the problem but rather the attitudes that are created towards
Analysing my media diet
Omar Jundi Media Studies Coursework Introduction In this assignment I will be analysing my media diet and discussing the media products I consume. I am doing this because I want to analyse the amount of media products I consume in one day, the range of media products I use and how the media affects me. My favourite media appliance is the radio; because I like music and radio is good as a secondary medium i.e. it can be on in the background while I do my homework, while it is difficult to do your homework at the same time as watching television, because it grabs too much of your attention, which makes it a primary medium. Other media appliances I own include a PC, a games console and a modem. Stage 1 Product Title Reason TV Programme The Simpsons Comedy 2 Film Crouching Tiger: Hidden Dragon Good Special Effects 3 Radio Show Chris Moyles Show Quick humour 4 Music CD Discovery: Daft Punk Best album I've heard 5 TV Programme Family Guy Good Comedy 6 Film Gladiator Fight Sequences 7 TV Programme Trigger Happy TV Great Pranks 8 TV Programme Big Brother Reality TV 9 Radio Show Mark & Lard Show Their Comedy 0 Music CD Reveal: REM Good album Stage 2 My favourite media product is The Simpsons, an American cartoon comedy on television. It was first shown in 1989, and has been on non-stop ever since. I like it because it
Adolescence, Alcohol and Driving.
Adolescence, Alcohol and Driving The media's view of adolescence, alcohol and driving is extremely clear. Almost every article, report or documentary on these things (especially when they are combined) portrays irresponsibility, danger and/or violence and aggression. To put it more clearly the media's view on the situation that occurs or can occur when adolescents are left to make their own decisions or choices is that any given adolescent will choose to drink alcohol and most likely choose to drive while under the influence. Here are a few examples (extracted from articles, publications and the web) of how the media views adolescents, alcohol and driving: * Use of alcohol and other drugs is associated with the leading causes of death and injury (eg. vehicle crashes) among teenagers and young adults. (Centers for Disease Control {CDC}, "Alcohol and Other Drug Use Among High School Students--United States, 1990," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report {MMWR}, 11/91, p. 776). * The total cost of alcohol use by youth--including traffic crashes, violent crime, burns, drowning, suicide attempts, fetal alcohol syndrome, alcohol poisoning and treatment--is more than $58 billion per year. (DT Levy, K Stewart, et al "Costs of Underage Drinking" {report prepared for the US Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Delinquency Prevention), Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation,
Assess the pluralists view on media ownership
Assess the pluralists view on media ownership The majority of the pluralists would argue that the public have the power to resist the media and have the ability to use the media and have an input (air their views) rather than be controlled by the media. They also believe that we can affect the media because we live in a "democracy" thus enabling us to choose whether we decide to read a paper or watch the BBC news and therefore have a minority influence. To some extent pluralists believe that the media responds to public demand rather than the public responding to media demands [by this I mean if the public want to know about a certain story then the media is likely to provide a story, however it can be argued that the media decides the stories and the public responds by reviewing the media therefore they are supporting the media financially]and it can be argued that the media can be used to satisfy human needs such as entertainment (the Sun), information (BBC news) etc. With that in mind it could be argued that the media does not use the interests of the capitalists [right wing] as other theories such as Marxists would argue. With pluralists believing in a democracy they believe that anyone can change what they want and if linked to the media, the public can air their views whenever they want to. However through another theory Marxism it can be argued that even if someone
What goes on in stereotyping?
What goes on in stereotyping? Since much of what has been found out via stereotyping research appears to be inconsistent with what many of us always thought we knew about racism, it surely behooves us at this point to take a closer look at the processes of stereotyping generally. What really does go on in stereotyping? Are stereotypes really as writers such as Simpson & Yinger (1965) suppose, rigid and exaggerated inventions that preclude recognition of individual variation? Or are they more benign and even useful? At least as long ago as Schutz (1932) the benign functions of stereotypes have been stressed. Schutz pointed out that people seek to typify each other in social interactions in order to simplify their role-taking efforts. If you can categorize people, you have to make less effort in order to interact constructively with them. You do not have to "feel your way" so much. Among more recent writers, Berry (1970) is one of many who concede that stereotypes can indeed have a useful role. He found that stereotypes are an aid in accurately knowing what the key (i.e. different) traits of various groups are. He found, in short, that they are useful truths. They fulfil the function of enabling us to deal with difficult and ambiguous data. Oversimplifications can, in other words, have their place. This can also be seen in the work of Eisenberg (1968).
Discuss the representation of females in the media, and what if anything, should be done about this?
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