REPRESENTATION OF GENDER

Gender Stereotypes

Before any discussion of the representation of gender in magazine

can begin, it is important to be clear on the difference between sex,

gender and sexuality.

• Sex refers to a person’s biological sex, whether they are male or

female

• Gender refers to the roles or behaviours a person is socialised

into according to their sex, whether they are masculine or feminine

• Sexuality refers to a person’s sexual preference, whether they

are heterosexual (straight), homosexual (gay) or bisexual.

British Gender Stereotypes likes and dislikes:

Men like:	Women like:
Technology (cars, gadgets and computers)	Fashion (shopping, clothes and make-up)
Casual sex with many partners	Committed relationships with one partner
Comedy and practical jokes	Celebrity gossip (which can be ‘bitchy’ or mean to women)
Drinking to get drunk (beers and spirits)	Drinking to be sociable (wines and liqueurs)
Computer games like Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty on consoles like Play Station 3 or	Computer games like Brain Training on Nintendo DS or Wii Fit
Action / adventure films	‘Chick flicks’ and romantic comedies

Appearance and behaviour stereotypes:

Men are / should be:	Women are / should be:
Masculine	Feminine
Tall	Short
Big (muscular and broad)	Small (thin and petite)
Dominant	Submissive
Strong	Weak
Aggressive	Passive
Breadwinner (goes to work)	Domestic (stays at home)
Competitive (works against others / cares about self)	Communal (works with others / cares about others)
Intelligent (thinks about things)	Intuitive (feels things / spiritual)
Rational (solves problems by thinking of solutions)	Emotional (solves problems by comforting others)
Active (does things)	Communicative (talks about

Various male and female stereotypes

Male Stereotypes

·       Traditional masculine man – often shown as being muscly, strong, brave, heterosexual, working in manual jobs such as building, plumbing etc.  They are often aggressive, tall, and dominant over women, works to provide for family, does no cleaning, cooking or childcare.

·       New' Man – Often shown as being less masculine but still heterosexual, very peaceful, looks after the family, stays at home to look after family, does cleaning and cooking etc, shown as equal to women. Think David Beckham....This is from a site called Best Daily:

Does your man prefer bubbles to beer? He's not alone.

A new survey reveals the rise of the Metrosexual that shows most blokes now swap the pub for a pedicure and shun traditional 'man's man,' interests.Face masks, manicures, bubble baths and baking list high on male pampering pursuits and now Lambrini has launched a new drink Ladbrini to meet their changing tastes.Best list our top Metrosexual men.David BeckhamRylan ClarkSimon Cowell David Walliams.

·      Gay Man – Often shown as being very feminine, weak, working in jobs such as fashion or hairdressing, bitchy, etc

Female stereotypes

·       Traditional feminine woman – often shown as being girly, likes pink, wears dresses, does feminine jobs such as working in fashion, hairdressing or stays at home to look after the children, needs a man to cope, weak, scared of things, needs rescuing, pure and innocent.

·      Sexy woman – very flirty, dresses in a revealing way, more powerful than traditional women, uses men to get what she wants, no loyalty to other women, bitchy.

·      Lesbian Woman – Often shown as dressing in a masculine fashion, doing masculine roles, hating men, looking masculine.

Economical Issues with Gender

• Economically, women still have trouble finding jobs because of their gender.
• Often times men will make more money than women in the workforce.
• It is rare to find females with higher wages in the same occupation.
• In the 2008 Presidential Elections, it was the first time ever a woman has made it to the primary elections.

Objectification

Objectification is a notion central to feminist theory. It can be roughly defined as the seeing and/or treating a person, usually a woman, as an object.

Sexual objectification refers to the practice of regarding or treating another person merely as an instrument (object) towards one's sexual pleasure, and a sex object is a person who is regarded simply as an object of sexual gratification. Objectification more broadly is an attitude that regards a person as a commodity or as an object for use, with little or no regard for a person's personality. 

Objectification is most commonly examined at a societal level, but can also arise at an individual level.

The concept of sexual objectification and, in particular, the objectification of women, is an important idea in feminist theory and psychological theories derived from feminism.Many feminists regard sexual objectification as objectionable and as playing an important role in gender inequality. Some social commentators, however, argue that some modern women objectify themselves as an expression of their empowerment over men, while others argue that increased sexual freedom for women, gay, and bisexual men has led to an increase of the objectification of     men. The idea of sexual objectification has also been an important area of discussion and debate in the area of sexual ethics and the philosophy of sex.

http://www.object.org.uk/

http://www.about-face.org/


http://www.STOPOBJECTIFICATION.com/

What does it feel like to be airbrushed?

Social issues with Gender

• Not being socially accepted if a man or woman does not follow their gender roles.
• If a man or woman does not feel socially accepted, confidence will decrease and can lead to problems such as eating disorders, depression, or  even suicide.

REPRESENTATION OF AGE 3

AGE ON TV

The representation of people of different ages has changed massively over the years.  Up until the 1950’s, there were really only two age groups shown in films and television (adult and child).  This was because that most children left school at a young age and went straight to work and became adults.  

In the 1950’s more young people started staying in education and began leading very different lives from both children and adults and so developed the idea of the “teenager”.

Having said that, there are still some stereotypes associated with different ages:

Children – often shown as being young, innocent, naive, pure, sweet, helpless, powerless.

Teenagers – Often shown as being aggressive, moody, lazy, criminals, hate school.

       20’s-30’s – Often shown as the ideal age for love, parties, fun, making money, being           glamourous and attractive.  In films the heroes are often this age group.

·         Middle Aged – often shown as being past it, unattractive, not aware of popular culture, uncool, boring lives, dominant over others, no real connection to their kids, grumpy.  In films the villains are often from this age group.

·         Elderly – often shown as being unattractive, slow, weak, ill, confused, pathetic, powerless, not important, dependent on others.

If you get “age” as an issue in the exam, you should be thinking about the following things when watching the clip:

     Can I identify what approximate age the characters are?

    Are people from different age groups shown as having different interests, personalities,      attitudes, behaviours?  If so, how?

      Is their age represented as being important in their life?

Are people from particular age groups portrayed as being better, more powerful, than others?

      Are people from particular age groups portrayed as being abnormal /weaker/ more pathetic than others? 

How do other characters in the clip treat the characters from different age groups?

   What is the message the clip is trying to portray about age?

Clips with examples of age

Monarch Of The Glen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLQwQk_PQtE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VyjH9HUCt4

Eastenders  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7ohiEFW2e0

Blackpool http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L85qL5ph0J0

Skins http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho69_sCkwyI

REPRESENTATION OF AGE 2

AGE ON TV

The representation of people of different ages has changed massively over the years.  Up until the 1950’s, there were really only two age groups shown in films and television (adult and child).  This was because that most children left school at a young age and went straight to work and became adults.  

In the 1950’s more young people started staying in education and began leading very different lives from both children and adults and so developed the idea of the “teenager”.

Having said that, there are still some stereotypes associated with different ages:

·      Children – often shown as being young, innocent, naive, pure, sweet, helpless, powerless.

Childhood
British children are often depicted in the British media in positive ways. Content
analyses of media products suggest that eight stereotypes of children are
frequently used by the media.

• As victims of horrendous crimes – some critics of the media have suggested that White children who are victims of crime get more media attention than adults or children from ethnic minority backgrounds.
• As cute – this is a common stereotype found in television commercials for baby products or toilet rolls.
• As little devils – another common stereotype especially found in drama and comedy, e.g. Bart Simpson.
• As brilliant – perhaps as child prodigies or as heroes for saving the life of an adult.
• As brave little angels – suffering from a long-term terminal disease or disability.
• As accessories – stories about celebrities such as Madonna, Angelina Jolie or the Beckhams may focus on how their children humanise them.
• As modern – the media may focus on how children ‘these days’ know so much more ‘at their age’ than previous generations of children.
• As active consumers – television commercials portray children as having a consumer appetite for toys and games. Some family sociologists note that this has led to the emergence of a new family pressure, ‘pester power’, the power of children to train or manipulate their parents to spend money on consumer goods that will increase the children’s status in the eyes of their peers.

·      Teenagers – Often shown as being aggressive, moody, lazy, criminals, hate school.

      It is significant when discussing the films to emphasise that they are representing working class youth, rather than youth generally. Middle class youths are absent from these type of representations.

There is a whole media industry aimed at socially constructing youth in terms of lifestyle and identity. Magazines are produced specifically for young people. Record companies, Internet music download sites, mobile telephone companies and radio stations all specifically target and attempt to shape the musical tastes of young people. Networking sites on the Internet, such as Facebook, Bebo and MySpace, allow youth to project their identities around the world.

Youth are often portrayed by news media as a social problem, as immoral or anti-authority and consequently constructed as folk devils as part of a moral panic. The majority of moral panics since the 1950s have been manufactured around concerns about young people’s behaviour, such as their membership of specific ‘deviant’ sub-cultures (e.g., teddy boys, hoodies) or because their behaviour (e.g., drug taking or binge drinking) has attracted the disapproval of those in authority.

·      20’s-30’s – Often shown as the ideal age for love, parties, fun, making money, being glamorous and attractive.  In films the heroes are often this age group.

·      Middle Aged – often shown as being past it, unattractive, not aware of popular culture, uncool, boring lives, dominant over others, no real connection to their kids, grumpy.  In films the villains are often from this age group.

·      Elderly – often shown as being unattractive, slow, weak, ill, confused, pathetic, powerless, not important, dependent on others.

Sociological studies show that when the elderly do appear in the media, they tend to be portrayed in the following one-dimensional ways.

• As grumpy – conservative, stubborn and resistant to social change.
• As mentally challenged – suffering from declining mental functions.
• As dependent – helpless and dependent on other younger members of the family or society.
• As a burden – as an economic burden on society (in terms of the costs of pensions and health care to the younger generation) and/or as a physical and social burden on younger members of their families (who have to worry about or care for them).
• As enjoying a second childhood – as reliving their adolescence and engaging in activities that they have always longed to do before they die.

When considering age in a clip, you should be thinking about the following things:

• ·       Can I identify what approximate age the characters are?
• ·      Are people from different age groups shown as having different interests, personalities,      attitudes, behaviours?  If so, how?
• ·      Is their age represented as being important in their life?
• ·      Are people from particular age groups portrayed as being better, more powerful, than others?
• ·      Are people from particular age groups portrayed as being abnormal /weaker/ more pathetic than others? 
• ·      How do other characters in the clip treat the characters from different age groups?
• ·      What is the message the clip is trying to portray about age?

          Task: Watch the following clips and write a paragraph about how people of different ages are     represented 

      Clips with examples of age

   

      Monarch Of The Glen   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VyjH9HUCt4   

     Eastenders  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7ohiEFW2e0

     Blackpool http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L85qL5ph0J0

   

     Skins http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho69_sCkwyI