“All forms of media communicate images of the sexes, many of which perpetuate unrealistic, stereotypical, and limiting perceptions” (Wood, 31). In an article titled Gendered Media: The Influence of Media on Views of Gender, author Julia T. Wood discusses the drastic misrepresentation of gender roles in the media. She strongly argues that all media forms portray unrealistic and stereotypical views of both men and women. I can honestly say that I agree with her when she states that many forms of media depict males and females in one way or another, but her argument for the fact that women in particular are almost always underrepresented in media doesn’t seem to be completely true in my opinion. When we think about how the sexes are represented in different forms of media, what comes to mind? I think it’s safe to say that sex appeal, from both men and women, is a popular form of advertising for many companies. When we think about shows on television, what characters come to mind as being “stereotyped”? In movies, are there any characters that you can think of who might be just a bit too typical? In her article, Wood mentions that media often present “limited perceptions” of both males and females. In addition to this, she mentions three themes that she claims describe how media represents gender. “First, women are underrepresented, which falsely implies that men are the cultural standard and women are unimportant or invisible. Second, men and women are portrayed in stereotypical ways that reflect and sustain socially endorsed views of gender. Third, depictions of relationships between men and women emphasize traditional roles and normalize violence against women” (Wood, 31). According to her, these three themes describe how people view gender roles based on the media, but these themes may not hold true for everyone. How do you feel about these themes? Do you think that they’re accurate?
Three more themes are discussed in Liesbet van Zoonen’s article titled A ‘New’ Paradigm? in which she describes her views on gender depiction in the media. “Feminist research assumes a rather straightforward ‘sender-message-receiver’ sequence in which media are conceived as transmitting particular messages about gender (stereotypes, pornography, ideology) to the wider public. The social control function of the media is central to all three themes, although there are some differences as to how social control is achieved” (van Zoonen, 47). Here, she seems to be arguing that although the media, or “sender,” may have a certain idea, or “message,” that they want to convey, there’s always potential for the audience, or “receiver,” to take that message in an altered context. Do you think this is a strong argument? Does the message have the potential to become skewed once it leaves the sender before it reaches the receiver? I think it’s safe to say that messages often get misinterpreted, whether they’re spoken words, a text message on a cell phone, or even just a look given from one person to another. Misinterpretation is a common human characteristic, but how prevalent is it when dealing with messages from the media? More specifically, how often do you think it occurs when dealing with messages from the media regarding gender roles?
Julia Wood’s article discusses male and female gender roles in the media, but talks a little bit more about the roles of women as opposed to the roles of men. An article titled Hegemonic Masculinity on the Mound: Media Representations of Nolan Ryan and American Sports Culture written by Nick Trujillo, examines print and TV representations of baseball great Nolan Ryan to portray how hegemonic or dominant masculinity is emulated in mediated sport. “This article examines print and television representations of Nolan Ryan as an illustration of how images of male athletes are reproduced in American culture” (Trujillo, 290). In Trujillo’s article, he states, “Media critics and scholars of gender ideology have described at least five features of hegemonic masculinity in American culture: (1) physical force and control, (2) occupational achievement, (3) familial patriarchy, (4) frontiersmanship, and (5) heterosexuality” (Trujillo, 291). Here, he is stating that it has been noted in the past by media scholars that these are five of the most prevalent features of dominant masculinity in American culture. Physical presence, occupational success, male dominance over women and children in the family, frontier-like qualities, and heterosexuality are five qualities that a male must have to display hegemonic masculinity, according to American culture and during the time Nolan Ryan’s baseball career. Regardless of whether or not people agreed with this theory at the time, it’s the way that the media presented professional athletes like Ryan. Would you say this is still an accurate depiction of dominant males in the media? What about popular professional male athletes? Do you think anything has changed since the publication of this article regarding the representation of hegemonic masculinity in our society?
References:
Trujillo, Nick. "Hegemonic Masculinity on the Mound: Media Representations of Nolan Ryan and American Sports Culture." Cultural Studies in Mass Communication, 1991. Web. 6 Apr. 2012. https://courses.quinnipiac.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-639882-dt-content-rid-1266972_1/courses/MSS495A_12SP/Course%20Materials/Class%20Readings%20Feminist%2C%20Masculinist%20%26%20Queer%20Studies%20Trujillo%20-%20Hegemonic%20Masculinity/Trujillo%20-%20Hegemonic%20Masculinity.pdf.
Wood, Julia T. "Gendered Media: The Influence of Media on Views of Gender." University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Web. 6 Apr. 2012. <http://www.udel.edu/comm245/readings/GenderedMedia.pdf>.
Zoonen, Liesbet Van. Feminist Media Studies. London: Sage, 1994. Print
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Matt brings up some interesting points about gender. He points out from the Trujillo reading Hegemonic Masculinity on the Mound: Media Representations of Nolan Ryan and American Sports Culture, the five features that media critics use to describe the correlation between males and masculinity and how it is seen in the media. For my theory to practice assignment I used this exact quote from Trujillo to investigate the television reality series, The Bachelor, and how the producers portray men and women through this show. The Bachelor men meet Trujillo’s five-feature criteria especially “physical force and control”, “occupational achievement”, “familial patriarchy” and “heterosexuality”. The “Bachelors” need to be physically in shape and active, have a stable career, and be family oriented. The show needs the manliest men whether they are doctors, football players, or US Naval Officers; there can never be a sign of homosexuality within them. The women are then portrayed as desperate, emotional, and needy.
ReplyDeleteThe show’s original intention was to give men and women the opportunity to search for love by going on glamorous, romantic dates on television. However, the show has set unrealistic standards that one “must” be engaged at the end of the show. Along with that, the couples all seem to be Caucasian, upper-middle class, working, attractive, physically fit, etc. The show is a mirror image of what society wants us to conform to: men picking from a variety of women, who are all very attractive, predominantly white, who would do just about anything to compete for the love and attention of a successful, handsome, man. The same stereotypes are seen in The Bachelorette series as well. Is this miscommunication and misinterpretation by a viewer like myself? Or is this really the case? Does the media allow these shows to be on television to tell us what to think about without telling us what to think? If there are no homosexual editions of The Bachelor or even allowing contestants to be of more mixed races and religions, would we still see this show as how society wants us to be? The Bachelor essentially stereotypes genders and our society through reality television.
On the most recent season of The Bachelor a contestant used her sex appeal to lure Bachelor Ben into her trap to “win” the competition. She offered skinny-dipping as an activity and didn’t “forgo their individual rooms” as she wanted to pursue an evening in the “fantasy suite”. Courtney used her attractive looks and sexy qualities to lure Ben whereas the other women went for the more “nurturing, loving” approach to gaining Ben’s affection. According to Lesley Robinson of ‘”Dirrty” Discourse: The Politics of Gender Representation in Popular Music, Robinson states, “Within the confines of patriarchy then, women are essentially delineated to one of two roles in popular culture; that of nurturer or sex object” (Robinson 46). Given that statement, that is how women are usually seen within the media in general as well as within society. They are “cute” or they are “sexy”. They have maternal instincts or they are not cut out for the family lifestyle. They are independent or dependent, or want others to be dependent on them. The role of women has been divided due to what we see in the media and how the media has stereotyped women characteristics for us.
As far as “stereotypes” go within certain television shows, I immediately pinpoint any television show that takes place in a high school, for example, Glee. Glee allows audiences to get a peek into high school dramatics through portraying what it is like to be “gay”, “poor”, “black”, “fat”, “handicapped”, “Jewish”, etc. All elements of the show allow each “gleeks” story to be told allowing for a lack of discrimination on this show, unlike The Bachelor. Glee shows interracial couples as well as gay couples and interfaith couples. The show addresses both hardships and strengths to these minority groups while accepting each individual for their differences. Women are seen as independent and dependent, as are the men. Any emotion, personality trait, etc. is fair game for any person of any gender, race, or religion on this show. Glee allows all stereotypes to be seen and to be broken, unlike shows like The Bachelor.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Matt when he writes that media forms portray unrealistic and stereotypical views of both men and women. In “A New Paradigm”, author Liesbet Van Zoonen writes, “It seems indisputable that many aspects of women’s lives and experiences are not properly reflected by the media” (Zoonen 48). Many television shows like Desperate Housewives display stay at home moms, who gossip all-day and live off of their husband’s income. Reality shows can also show unrealistic portrayals of women. For example, The Bachelor shows women crying and fighting to be with one man. In today’s society, many women have careers and support their families, and television rarely shows that.
ReplyDeleteWhile discussing the article Hegemonic Masculinity on the Mound: Media Representations of Nolan Ryan and American Sports Culture, Matt writes, “Physical presence, occupational success, male dominance over women and children in the family, frontier-like qualities, and heterosexuality are five qualities that a male must have to display hegemonic masculinity, according to American culture and during the time Nolan Ryan’s baseball career.” I believe that this is still an accurate depiction of dominant males in the media, especially professional male athletes. Author Nick Trujillo writes, “More recently, American football’s hostile takeover of the more pastoral baseball as our ‘national pastime’ has reinforced a form of masculinity which emphasizes sanctioned aggression, (para) militarism, the technology of violence, and other patriarchal values” (Trujillo 292). In movies like Any Given Sunday, Varsity Blues, Jerry Maguire, and even the Little Giants depict physical presence, occupation success, male dominance over women and heterosexuality. Jerry Maguire is a perfect example of occupation success and male dominance over women. In the movie, Jerry is a successful sports agent, who makes a lot of money, although he lost most of his clients, Dorothy Boyd decides to quit her job and work for Jerry because she is so in love and believes in him. While Jerry is trying to put his career back on track, Dorothy stays at home with her adorable son waiting for him to come home, which essentially makes her look like a weak woman, because she put her life on hold for him.
Even sports movies for children show male dominance. For example, in Little Giants, the stronger, bigger, and tougher boys are put on the Pee- Wee Cowboys football team. During the game, the film shows physical football plays with tackles and cheap hits. Although Becky, also known as Icebox, was the best player at try- outs, her successful uncle Kevin cut her because she was a girl. Kevin, the coach of the Pee- Wee Cowboys, was a Heisman Trophy winner and basically a local celebrity around town. He has a pretty blonde wife and daughter, who is Icebox’s age that is a stereotypical girl who cheerleads for her dad’s football team. During the movie Icebox decides to quit football and become a cheerleader because she has a crush on the new cute quarterback. She thinks if she wears make- up and becomes a cheerleader, Junior (the quarterback) will like her. Not only do television shows and movies meet the five features of masculinity, sports magazines like Sports Illustrated show males as the dominant gender as well. For example, Sports Illustrated always has male athletes on the cover of their magazine, but once a year the magazine releases a Swimsuit Edition featuring beautiful models and athletes that are wearing skimpy bathing suits. Although I don’t believe every show, movie, or magazine is stereotypical, these are just some examples that back up both authors' suggestions.
I thought Matt brought up an interesting question regarding the “themes” of gender roles in the media. Matt cited an article by Julia Wood, which claimed that women are underrepresented in the media, and therefore deemed unimportant, and that the representations that do exist are stereotypical, and reinforce skewed gender norms. Personally, I disagree with Wood’s “themes,” because I think they are extremely generalized. For instance, take this week’s reading on Christina Aguilera’s music video for “Dirrty” – Leslie Robinson asserts that while we don’t know for sure what Ms. Aguilera’s intentions were, scholars can take away that the video “does illustrate a fundamental change in gender politics.” (Robinson, 1) By dressing provocatively, Christina Aguilera showed that women could create their own definitions of sexuality, and not be defined by societal or patriarchal expectations. This opened a door for other female artists, and as we’ve seen over the past decade, music videos have become extremely provocative. “Within the discourse of Sheppard’s theory, a reading of Christina Aguileria’s ‘Dirrty’ video appears simply to naturalize the sexual objectification of women and subordinate femaleness to the dominance of the male gaze.” (Robinson, 3) I think now more than ever, women are gaining equal, if not more representation in the media, but more importantly, they are the ones defining those representations, not men.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, Liesbet Van Zoonen writes “media effects are mediated by other variables such as age, gender, or education. More fundamentally, the casual relation between media exposure and sexist attitudes is unclear since it appears that even at a very early age children have considerable knowledge of ‘appropriate’ gender behavior.” (Van Zoonen, 34). Blaming the media for stereotypical representations of gender and sexuality isn’t unfounded, but audiences and scholars alike must remember that much more goes into an audience’s understanding and interpretation of media than just what they are shown. As we’ve discussed at length in class, we are not audiences that absorb whatever media message is given to us – we are capable of questioning and redefining media messages. I think that artists like Christina Aguilera know this, and are trying to redefine the messages themselves from the other side – they are trying to make people question the media purposely, so we do not become uninterested viewers, who really do simply soak up media messages without question.