We live in a world where so much of our daily lives is influenced by the media - from the most mundane interests to the most profound questions of identity. One very important aspect of this, which you may have heard about, is the media's representation of gender.
According to Almy et al. (1984), media portrayals of gender are significant as they reinforce a dominant (hegemonic) ideology - representing men as superior and women as subordinate.
We will explore the different representations of gender in the media, focusing on the role of women but also touching on men and masculinity.
- In this explanation we will look at the representation of gender in the media, starting with a definition of gender representation in media.
- Then we will move on to look specifically at the representation of the female gender in the media.
- We will discuss the concepts of symbolic annihilation, the cult of femininity and the male gaze.
- Then, we will identify and explain patterns in the representation of gender in the media, including gender representation in television.
- Then we will look at media representations of men and masculinity, in context of the role of media in gender equality.
- Finally, we will discuss sociological perspectives on media representations of gender.
A definition of gender representation in media
In sociology, many scholars perceive that media representations not only associate the concepts of femininity and masculinity with popular stereotypes, but also present role models that men and women should look up to or get inspiration from.
What has become clear is that media has historically underrepresented and misrepresented women by giving them primarily negative, stereotypical roles.
In this context, we will explore the theories of symbolic annihilation, the cult of femininity, and the male gaze. Also, the following text presents relevant examples to evaluate if gender stereotyping persists in media representations.
Representations of the female gender in the media
How have women been misrepresented in modern media? What is the male gaze? Keep reading and find answers to these questions.
Symbolic annihilation of women in the media
Gaye Tuchman’s (1978) concept of symbolic annihilation refers to the under-representation of women in a limited set of social roles. At the same time, men are represented in a wide range of social and occupational roles. Tuchman argues that:
The achievements of women are neglected, often trivialised or simply not reported, and receive less importance compared to other aspects, e.g. their appearances.
Women are mainly represented through stereotypical gender roles - doing household chores and work, being wives and mothers, etc.
Detergent ads often feature women as mothers with young daughters washing clothes together. In contrast, men and young boys are featured in ads where they play together outdoors or work.
Fig. 1 - The representation of women in the media can be impactful no matter the medium, from high budget films to advertisements.
The cult of femininity in media representation
Ferguson (1980) studied women’s magazines and concluded that media representations were structured around the cult of femininity. The representations were based on traditional, stereotypical gender roles and values, e.g. caring, family oriented, related to marriage, and focused on outward appearance.
She points out that teenage magazines with a young female audience offer wide-ranging female representation. However, their focus remains on men, household activities, and dressing up to fit male beauty standards.
Newbold’s study (2002) on television sports presentation found that not only do women’s sporting accomplishments get little coverage, but they also tend to trivialise, sexualise, and underestimate female athletes and their skills and achievements.
The male gaze in the media
Laura Mulvey (1973) came up with the concept of the male gaze to articulate how the camera sexualises female characters and their bodies for the viewing pleasure of men. Wolf (1990) states that the images in media project women as sex objects to be used and exploited through the male gaze.
The male gaze comes into effect when:
A shot in a film or show focuses on women’s body parts - breasts, backsides, thighs, etc. - and continues to linger on these parts unnecessarily long.
In this process, it is assumed that the audience has a heterosexual male perspective, and women are presented as sexual objects, both for the characters in the film and the audience.
This reinforces the man as the dominant force and the woman as the passive subject of the male gaze.
As an outcome, women in media are hyper-sexualised and objectified rather than allowed to exist as whole individuals outside their sexuality. Mulvey argues that the male gaze has been prevalent since heterosexual men established the filming process.
Misrepresentations in classic media
Women have been misrepresented in modern media since its very inception. Henry Giroux notes the sexualisation of women in classic Disney films, in which young, delicate princesses are usually rescued and married off to strong, older princes. A few specific examples of Disney films reinforcing gender stereotypes are:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Snow White tends to the house where the seven male dwarfs live and eventually gets rescued by a prince.
Beauty and the Beast: Belle stays with a monster who kidnapped her to redeem him.
Mulan: The main female character single-handedly wins a war, only to return home and be romanced.
Fig. 2 - Even the earliest iterations of fairytales represent women in a biased way.
How can we identify and explain patterns in the representation of gender in the media?
There have been significant changes in the roles of women in media recently. Women occupy a broader range of roles compared to what they used to just a few decades ago.
Many scholars of media sociology are dedicated to exploring and explaining the patterns in the representation of gender in the media. This includes conducting various types of analyses, from semiotic analysis (the study of 'signs'), discourse analysis or even visual analysis.
David Gauntlett has observed an increase in the diversity of media representations of women since the 1970s and a simultaneous decrease in stereotypical representations, which indicates social change. In this context, consider the different forms of media below.
Representations of women in film
Many films in recent decades feature female characters as protagonists who are independent, strong, and resourceful, thus possibly destabilising hegemonic concepts of masculinity.
In the film Alien (1979), Ripley, the female lead, outlives her fellow male colleagues and finally kills the alien herself.
Other examples where women have featured in lead roles are movies like Kill Bill, Terminator 2, etc.
However, it could be argued that instead of overthrowing hegemonic concepts of masculinity, the above examples perpetuate the beauty myth because all these lead female characters are very thin and conventionally attractive.
Tebbel (2000) stresses the pressure women go through to conform to the beauty myth. She points out that by using advanced technologies and computerised systems, the bodies and faces of real women are morphed or sometimes replaced by artificial images, airbrushed, etc.
According to Killborn, the media represents women as mannequins – thin, tall, and perfectly proportioned with flawless skin. Orbach believes that media representations link slimness with good health, happiness, and a means to gain success or popularity.
Gender representation in television
Let's consider the example of one of the biggest television dramas in recent history, Game of Thrones, which premiered in 2011. On the surface, there are a number of strong female characters – Arya Stark, Sansa Stark, and Brienne Tarth, among others.
However, feminist commentators point out that all of women's positive media representations are eventually let down. This can be seen when:
Brienne falls apart emotionally because of her love for a man.
A powerful female character named Daenerys is shown to quite literally lose control.
Sansa is presented as someone who becomes tough because of her abusive relationship, and not as someone tough and courageous despite it.
Another feminist point of view is that most female characters are portrayed as strong and independent because they adopt male characteristics.
Representations of women in advertising
Initially, there were significant issues with the representation of women in this area. In 2015, when Protein World inaugurated its ‘Beach Body Ready’ advertising campaign, it received a lot of backlash for reinforcing traditional restrictive beauty standards. This led to several advertisements being questioned and a movement of women posting pictures of their ‘ordinary’ bodies on social media to combat body-shaming.
Since then, there have been more diverse portrayals of women in advertisements. For instance, Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ campaign features women of many different body types and ethnic backgrounds.
In 2017, The Advertising Standards Authority of the UK introduced new guidelines to combat gender stereotyping in advertisements. However, the problem persists because, in 2019, ads by Volkswagen and Philadelphia were banned for stereotypical depictions of men and women.
Representations of women in the news
A quantitative study was conducted in 2015 by the Global Media Monitoring Project to analyse gender inequalities in 1960 sources of news media, which included 431 announcers and reporters. It was found that:
28 percent of women were present as sources.
In 2010, the number of women sources decreased by 3 percent.
Women remained restricted to private, emotional, and subjective spheres, whereas men dominated the public, rational and objective domains.
Women were over-represented as voices of the general masses - home-makers, parents, students, children, and those who belong to specific occupational groups such as - health and social welfare workers, service industry workers, and those associated with ‘women’s work’.
Women are under-represented in ‘hard news’ content - current affairs, factual news, etc., and all the authentic, professional, and elite sources. Men dominate all these.
To conclude, women contributed 20 percent as experts, 25 percent as spokespeople, and were mostly (54 percent) called upon to voice a popular opinion or share their personal experience, e.g. eyewitnesses. Clearly, there are still disparities in gender representations regarding the news.
Media representations of men and masculinity
Sociologists such as Easthope (1986) believes that a wide range of traditional media, Hollywood films being a prime example, project a particular idea of masculinity based on physical strength, aggression, and violence. These attributes are considered biologically determined and thus natural for men to develop and embody.
The new masculinity in magazines
However, in the 1980s a new kind of magazine aimed at middle-class young men become popular, like GQ, Maxim, and FHM. The content of these magazines promoted the idea that it is okay for men to be emotionally expressive and unguarded, that men should be comfortable with their emotions or feminine sides, that they are supposed to treat women as equals, they should be conscious about their appearance, etc.
According to some commentators, these magazines redefined the notion of masculinity and gave the audience the new man. To postmodernists, this new kind of masculinity was an outcome of the growing economic independence and assertiveness of women.
The media conceptualised the metrosexual man - a kind of masculinity that was based on appearance and fashion, and promoted empathy, generosity, and being supportive of women.
Evaluation of the representation of masculinity in magazines
However, Gauntlett argues that there are still many magazines aimed at male audiences that continue to sexually objectify women and present images of traditionally masculine men. To Rutherford, these magazines represent retributive masculinity – a way to reaffirm masculine authority by glorifying what is conventionally male.
Whannel (2002) stresses that media representations of football star David Beckham are fluid - his football skills and competitive zeal portray him as a traditional man, while his looks/style and his emotional commitment to his family match the image of metrosexuality.
Whannel notes that media representations of Beckham represent both metrosexual and retributive versions of masculinity.
Sociological perspectives on media representations of gender
Let us take a look at the following.
Liberal feminism on media representations of gender
According to liberal feminists, media representations fail to identify the reality of women's social and economic circumstances. Though they do acknowledge that representations of women have improved in the last thirty years, the scope for equality still remains a tall order.
Some liberal feminists point out that women’s progress as media professionals has decreased in recent years, and men still dominate the media as both owners and producers of content through influential positions like media executives, editors, journalists, etc.
Marxist and socialist feminism on media representations of gender
In sociology, Marxist feminists argue that the reason for the stereotypical representations of men and women in the media are economic. These representations are the result of media organisations in capitalist societies attempting to generate profit.
Male-dominated media aims to target the largest audience possible, and this results in an emphasis on traditional roles of men and women portrayed in game shows, dramas, soap operas, etc.
The alternative portrayals of women as suggested by feminists - assertive or career-oriented, for example - do not fit into this type of media content and are therefore overlooked.
Post-modernism on media representations of gender
Gauntlett (2008) stresses the relationship between the mass media and identity, and equality. Arguing that the former challenges traditional characteristics of gender in contemporary society, Gauntlett believes that mass media is a force for social change.
The role of media in gender equality
The new emphasis within media on men’s emotions and struggles has questioned masculine ideals of toughness and emotional negligence. As an outcome, media representations now present alternative gendered roles and ideas that contribute to a greater diversity of choices and freedom for people in shaping their gender identities. This can, in several ways, contribute to the enhancement of gender equality.
Representation of Gender in the Media - Key Takeaways
- Media portrayals of gender are significant as they reinforce a dominant (hegemonic) ideology - representing men as superior and women as subordinate.
- Symbolic annihilation refers to the under-representation of women in a limited set of social roles, while men are represented in a wide range of social and occupational roles.
- Many films in recent decades feature female characters as protagonists who are independent, strong, and resourceful. However, a lot of them perpetuate the beauty myth. While there have been advances in female representation in television shows, advertising, and news media, there are still disparities and stereotypical portrayals.
- Historically, media has perpetuated traditional ideas of masculinity. Nowadays, however, there are more nuanced portrayals of men and masculinity.
- Postmodernists argue that mass media can be a force for social change in media representations.
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