Sociology
Outline and assess feminist views of media representations of gender [50]
Feminism is a theory that is united in opposing patriarchy, which means a system of male power and rule that implies the subordination of women; but the various strands within feminism offer different overviews on gender inequality in media representations. For example, liberal feminists tend to be more optimistic about the possibility of change in media representations of gender; whereas radical feminists see little change and would persist that stereotypes of women are ever-present; and Marxist feminists would always link media representations of gender with both capitalism and patriarchy. We shall also note that it is hard to fit individual feminist neatly into one spectrum.
Early research produced in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s found that portrayals of men and women were distinct and different, with women in a limited number of roles as housewives, mothers and sex objects and men taking the leading roles with a wider range of mostly strong, dominant characters. For example, the sitcom ‘Butterflies’ in the 1970s portrays a housewife character Ria, who is lack of confidence, feelings of failure, uselessness and sexual frustration. Another American TV series ‘Bonanza’, which also published in the 1970s, shows no female character in the whole programme. All these have indicated that the representations of women in the media is biased and limited; the media emphasizes women’s domestic, sexual, consumer and marital activities to the exclusion of all else, and once it portrays women outside this narrow stereotype, it is often in negative terms. For example, a study of gender representations in the American media from the 1950s to the 1970s found that women shown in paid employment on TV programmes often had unstable or unsatisfactory relationships with male partners. Tuchman (1978) coined the term ‘Symbolic Annihilation’, which refers to the absence, trivialization and condemnation of
Feminism is a theory that is united in opposing patriarchy, which means a system of male power and rule that implies the subordination of women; but the various strands within feminism offer different overviews on gender inequality in media representations. For example, liberal feminists tend to be more optimistic about the possibility of change in media representations of gender; whereas radical feminists see little change and would persist that stereotypes of women are ever-present; and Marxist feminists would always link media representations of gender with both capitalism and patriarchy. We shall also note that it is hard to fit individual feminist neatly into one spectrum.
Early research produced in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s found that portrayals of men and women were distinct and different, with women in a limited number of roles as housewives, mothers and sex objects and men taking the leading roles with a wider range of mostly strong, dominant characters. For example, the sitcom ‘Butterflies’ in the 1970s portrays a housewife character Ria, who is lack of confidence, feelings of failure, uselessness and sexual frustration. Another American TV series ‘Bonanza’, which also published in the 1970s, shows no female character in the whole programme. All these have indicated that the representations of women in the media is biased and limited; the media emphasizes women’s domestic, sexual, consumer and marital activities to the exclusion of all else, and once it portrays women outside this narrow stereotype, it is often in negative terms. For example, a study of gender representations in the American media from the 1950s to the 1970s found that women shown in paid employment on TV programmes often had unstable or unsatisfactory relationships with male partners. Tuchman (1978) coined the term ‘Symbolic Annihilation’, which refers to the absence, trivialization and condemnation of