UNIT 7

Gender and the Media

175
 LESSON 7.1
Media and the Concepts of Femininity and
Masculinity

Lesson Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, you should have:

1. identified reasons why gender is influenced by media;
2. critically examined the influence of media to the definitions of
femininity and masculinity;
3. communicated personal experiences about the influence of media
to gender roles.

Activate

What messages come into your mind when you see women and men in
daring attire portrayed in the visual media? Put your answers on the space
provided.
WOMEN MEN

Your answers show how your mind was conditioned by the media. Let’s
learn more of that in this lesson.

176
Introduction

Media is the most pervasive and one of the most powerful influences on
how we view men and women. Media insinuate this messages into our
consciousness at every turns. Media is the actual force exerted by a media
message resulting in either a change or reinforcement in audience or individual
beliefs.

Acquire

All forms of media communicate images of the sexes, many of

which perpetuate unrealistic stereotypical and limiting perceptions. The media
portrays diversity. Below are key points about diversity.

Media – communication outlets or tools  Diversity means

used to store and deliver information or
data
Concept – abstract ideas or general
notions that occur in the mind, in
speech or in thought.
Influence – the capacity to have an
effect on the character/ behavior of
someone.
Stereotypical – relating to a widely held
but fixed and oversimplified image or
idea of a particular type of person or
thing.
Perception – the ability to see, hear, or
become aware of something through
the senses.
and men.
understanding that each
individual is unique and
recognizing our individual
differences. It is respect for
any person regardless of
race, ethnicity, gender, age
and disability.
 It is recognizing people`s
rights to pursue their own
forms of cultural expression
and lifestyle, including
alternative ones.
 Defending diversity as a
cultural expression and the
existence of different
lifestyle and sexual
orientation among women

177
How does media represents gender?

1. Women are underrepresented – a primary way in which media distort

reality; falsely implies that men are the cultural standard and women
are unimportant or invisible. There are three times as many white men
as women (Bascow, 1992 p. 159) or children’s programing, in which
males outnumber females in newscasting, in which women make up
16% of newscasters and in which stories about men are included 10
times more often than that of women (“Study Reports Sex Bias”,1989).

- Media misrepresent actual proportions of men and women in the

population.

- This constant distortion tempts us to believe that there are really more
men than women in the population and that men are the cultural
standard.

- The lack of women in the media is paralleled by the scarcity of women

in charge of media. Only about 5% of television writers, executives, and
producers are women (Lichter, Litchter, and Rothman, 1986). Ironically,
while two thirds of journalism graduates are women, they make up less
than 2% of those in corporate management of newspapers and only
about 5% of newspaper publishers (“Women in Media”, 1988). Female
film directors are even more scarce. Few women are behind the scenes
of an industry, consistently portrays women negatively.

- Some media analysts (Mills, 1988) believe that if more women had
positions of authority at executive levels, media world offer more
positive portrayals of women.

- Social organization and culture have been dominated by men to the

exclusion of women. The exclusion has been accompanied by a pattern
of devaluation and lessening of women`s worth.

2. Women and men are portrayed in stereotypical ways (fixed image)

that reflect and sustain socially enclosed views of gender.

Stereotypical portrayals of men

- According to J.A. Doyle (1989. P. 111) whose research focuses on

masculinity, children’s television typically shows males as aggressive,
dominant and engaged in exciting activities from which they receive
rewards from others for their “masculine accomplishment.” Recent
studies reveal that the majority of men or prime time television are
independent, aggressive, and in charge (McCauley, Thangavelu, and
Rozin. 1988).
178
 - Television programing for all ages disproportionately depicts men as
serious, confident, competent, powerful and in high status position.

- Media, reinforce long-standing cultural ideals of masculinity.

- Men are presented as hard, tough, independent, sexually aggressive,

unafraid, violent, totally in control of all emotion, and – above all – in, no
way feminine.

- men are seldom shown doing household (J.D. Brown and K. Campbell,
1986).

- Men are rarely presented caring for others. (Doyle, 1989).

- Men typically represented as uninterested in and incompetent at home

making, cooking and child care. (B. Horovitz, 1989).

- It is usually the mother, not the father shown taking care of a child.
This perpetuates a negative stereotype of men as uncaring and
uninvolved in family life.

Stereotypical portrayals of women

- Media images of women also reflect cultural stereotypes that depart

markedly from reality.

- Women are depicted as passive, dependent on men and enmeshed in

relationships or housework (Davis, 1990).

- The requirements of youth and beauty in women even influence news

shows – female newscasters are expected to be younger, more
physically attractive and less outspoken than males (Craft, 1998;
Sanders and Rock, 1988).

- Media reiterate the cultural image of women as dependent, ornamental

object whose primary function are to look good, please men, and stay
quietly on the periphery of life.

- News programs that have male and female hosts routinely cast the
female as deferential to her male colleague (Craft, 1988; Sanders and
Rock, 1988).

- Commercials manifest power cues that echo the male

dominance/female subservience pattern. For instance, men are usually
shown positioned above women and women are more frequently
179
 pictured in varying degrees of undress (Masse and Rosenblum, 1988;
Nigro, Hill, Gelbein and Clark, 1988).

- Non – verbal cues represent women as vulnerable and more

submissive while men, stay in control.

- Rising male voice – overs – reinforce the cultural views that men are
authorities and women depend on men to tell them what to do - ex.
Dominance of men as news anchor (“Study Reports Sex Bias”, 1989).

- Women are caregivers and men are regularly the butt joker for their
ignorance about nutrition, childcare and housework (Horovitz, 1989).

Time Out 1
Apply

Cite two (2) advertisements where women and men play stereotypical
roles. What would be the implications of these advertisements to children
viewers?

1.

2.

Let’s continue…

3. Depictions of relationship between women and men emphasize

traditional roles and normalize violence against women.

Media have created two images of women

180
 Good women Bad women
- Pretty - Depend from traditional roles –
- Deferential portrayed positively
- Focused on home - Done ether by making their
- Family and caring for others career lives invisible
- Usually cast as victims, angels, - Or by softening and feminizing
martyrs, loyal wives and working women to make them
helpmates. more consistent with traditional
views of feminity.

The rule – a women maybe strong and successful if and only if she
also exemplifies traditional stereotypes of feminity – subservience,
passivity, beauty and an identity linked to one or more men.

- Newspapers and news programming reinforce women`s role in

the home and men`s role in the outside.

- Both, emphasize men`s independent activities (“Study Report

Sex Bias”,1989).

- Stories about men, focus on the work and/or their achievement

(luchke, 1989).

- Few stories about women, focus on their roles as wife, mother,

and homemaker (“Study Report Sex Bias”, 1989).

- Media image of women as sex object, devoted homemaking and

mother buttress the very role in which the majority of consuming
takes place.

- Lana Rokow (1992) analysis demonstrated that much

advertising is oppressive to women and is very difficult to resist,
even one is a communicated feminist.

Women and the media in the global context

 Only 35% of countries produce gender statistics on media.

 4% stories clearly challenge.
 Women only hold 27% of top management jobs in media organization.

181
Representation

 Media remains to be male-dominated and controlled turf.

 Issues in workplace include lack of equal opportunities in promotion and
training; the conflict between work, childcare and family obligations, sexual
‘harassment on the job; invisibility in newsrooms and media boardrooms.

Courses of Action

 Increase the participation and access of women to expression and

decision-making in and through the media and new technologies of
communication.
 Promote a balanced and non-stereotypical portrayal of women in media.

182
Assess

Name ___________________________________ Score ______________

Section _________________________________ Date _______________

TEST I. ESSAY
1. How do media portray women and men?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

2. How powerful is the media in shaping the mind of its viewers and listeners?
Cite an example to justify your answer.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

3. What will happen if there will be more women in media advertising?

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Name ___________________________________ Score ______________
183
Section _________________________________ Date _______________

4. If you were an advertiser and you were requested to come up with an

advertisement for an alcoholic beverage, how will you do it?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

184
 LESSON 7.2
Gender Issues in the Media

Lesson Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, you should have:

1. identified gender issues in the media;
2. recognized the reasons why gender issues in the media take place;
and
3. discussed gender issues affected by the media as they relate to
personal experiences.

Activate

What advertisement featured in the media makes you feel uncomfortable

or irritated? Why?
Put your answers on the space provided.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

Introduction
185
 Gender objectification in media is a subject of many investigations for the
past few years. Objectification is considered today, as conventional and people
accepted it as a part of advertisement. The pressure of advertising is growing.
To advertise, media involve many people, words, music and other related
content which is created according to the demands of an advertiser. Roles are
given to the people and they relate themselves to the product being advertised.
However, there are certain controversies and objections to mass media
advertising.

Acquire

According to the study named “Media Usage and Self Objectification in

Young Women” (2015), it is stated that portrayal of women in media is sexually
objectifying as it focuses mainly on their appearance rather than their abilities.
Display of an unrealistic image of women has raised self-objectification among
women and as a result, women are developing self-comparison tendency (Sage
insight).
Gender objectification is a demand which mass media is facing since the
th
19 century. Feminists condemn advertising as a prominent source of women
objectification (Researchgate.net Research article global media journal ISSN
1550-7521 women objectification advertising).

Exploitation of Women in Mass Media

The exploitation of women in mass media is the use or portrayal of women
in the mass media (such as television, film and advertising) to increase the appeal
of media or a product to the detriment of the interest of women. This includes the
presentation of women as sexual object and the setting of standards of
women beauty that women are expected to reflect.

Television advertising – a span of television

Feminists and other
advocates of women’s rights
have criticized such
exploitation and the most often
186
programming produced and paid for by an
organization.
Sexually explicit – often used as euphemism for
pornography, nudity clearly depictive.
Sexual objectification – act of treating a person
solely as an object of sexual desire.

Stereotyping – a fixed, over generalized belief

about a particular group or class of people.
criticized aspect of the use of women in mass media is Sexual Objectification
(https://en.m.wikipedia.org).

Sexual Objectification of Women in Advertising

The most common form of sexual objectification in advertising is the use of
women`s sexualized body images to sell a product. It is an action of degrading
someone to the status of a mere object (Simpson, https.//m.grin.com>document).

It ignores women`s personality and dignity by turning them into object. A

woman is sexually objectified when her sexual part or function are separated out
from her person, reduced to the status of mere instruments, or else regarded as
they were capable of representing her (qtd in Teng 77).

Women appearing in advertisement in men`s magazines are objectified.

Often represented as sexual objects, subordinated to men and even objects of
sexual violence.

Eighty-four percent of the videos have frequently occurring sexual

behaviors involving sexual objectification. Images which featured thin women are
used to catch men’s attention. Typical magazine images featuring thin female
models can generate self-objectification.

Sexual objectification experiences create the need to constantly maintain

and critic one`s physical appearances which negatively imparted their emotional
well-being leading to eating disorders, body shaming anxiety depression and
sexual dysfunction. If repeated, this eventually leads to long-term psychological
harm.

Sexual advertising, appears to have all of these ingredients by titillating

emotional areas of the brain and transgressing taboos (google.com.ph female
objectification).

According to mass media, the main reason to objectify people of a certain

gender advertising, is to entice and persuade the audience for action
www.globalmediainjournal.com>.pdf.

Advertisement often contribute to discrimination against women in the

workplace and normalizes attitudes which result in sexual harassment and even
violence against women. Television advertising promotes inequalities and violates
women`s right in our society.

187
 The representation of women using sexualized images have increased
significantly. Sexualized images may legitimize or exacerbate violence against
women and girls, sexual harassment and anti-women attitudes among men. The
image of such images in advertising is a real problem and damaging to women in
real world.

Why is sex being used so often in advertising?

Sexual advertisement can effectively attract people’s attention even though
these sexual images have little relevance to their product.

According to Kerin A. Roger, William J. Lurdstrom and Donald

Seiglimpaglia, “the idea of women as sex object arises from the use of a woman
as an attention getting stratagem when her presence ads title but decoration to
the product being advertised.”

Women as Victims and Sex objects/Men as aggressors.

Men is representation of women as subject to men`s sexual desire.
Qualities women are encouraged to Qualities men are urged to exemplify
develop
- Beauty - Aggressiveness
- Sexiness - Dominance
- Passivity - Sexuality
- Powerlessness - Strength – identical to those linked
to abuse of women

Women are portrayed alternatively either as decorative objects, who must

attract a man to be valuable, or a victim of men`s sexual impulses.
Advertising in magazines also communicates the message that women are
sexual objects. Men are seldom pictured nude or even partially unclothed. The
most examples of portrayals of women as sex objects and men as sexual
aggressors occur in music videos as shown in MTV and many other stations.

Frequently, men are seen coercing women into sexual activities and/or
physically abusing them. Violence against women is also condoned in many
recent films.

(Corvan, Lee. Levy, and Synder. 1998; Corvan and O`Brien. 1990) – found
that male dominance and sexual exploitation of women are themes in virtually all
R – and X – rated film. Almost anyone may now rent for have viewing. These
188
media images carry to extremes long – standing cultural views of masculinity as
aggressive and femininity as passive. They also make violence seem sexy (D.
Russell.1993). These images sustain and reinforce socially constructed views of
the genders – views that have restricted both men and women, appear to
legitimize destructive behaviors ranging from anorexia to battering.

Objectifying a woman reduces her worth down to her physical appearance.

It reflects the views that women`s bodies are objects of sexual pleasure without
regard for the living, feeling, thinking people inhabiting them. Objects use, instead
of as human beings. Concentrated mere on women to the extent that they
experiencing negative effects such as performance, confidence and level of
position in the workplace. Men experience it through media display but not
experience negative effects (http:/en.m.wikipedia.org).

Objectification of women open the doors for other issues, including but not
limited to not taking women`s work and accomplishment seriously, increase in
cases of sexual violence, concerns about women’s appearance and women’s low
self – esteem.

Time Out 1
Apply

How are women portrayed in the media?

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Why do you think they are portrayed that way?

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Courses of Action

Irrelevant sexualization, no matter what the product, sex is used to sell.

Alcohol, soft drinks, and personal care products, often market women`s bodies
together with the product. Women should not be used for product selling in
advertisement, sex stereotyping role, and nudity, as these are irrelevant and
abusive.

When sex is relevant to the product advertised it should be treated with

sensitivity and should gain respect to both individuals – women and men.
189
 Include media and parental education, resistance of sexualized ads and
more women in the advertising field.

Advisers/Marketers should not exploit image of women to gain their

commercial interest. Rather, they should play their role to alter stereotypical
communication of society about roles of women without limiting perceptions about
their intelligence and capabilities.

Male Gaze

In feminist theory – the male gaze is the act of depicting women and the
world, in visual arts and in literature from a masculine, heterosexual perspective
that presents and represents women as sexual objects for the pleasure of the
male viewers.

Laura Mulvey, a film critic, coined the term male gaze which is
conceptually contrasted with and opposed by the female gaze. Male gaze is a
way of seeing women and the world. The
Scopophilia and scoptophilia psychology of the male gaze is comparable to the
– identify both the aesthetic
pleasure and the sexual psychology of scopophilia, the pleasures of
pleasure desired from looking looking.
at someone or something.

In the fields of media studies and feminist film theory, Male Gaze is
conceptually related to the behaviors of voyeurism (looking as sexual pleasure),
scopophilia (pleasure from looking), and narcissism (pleasure from contemplating
one`s self). This established the roles of dominant male and dominated female by
representing the female as a passive object for the male gaze of the active viewer
– a functional basis of patriarchy.

The male gaze – is a manifestation of unequal social powers between the

gazing man and the gazed upon woman and also is a conscious or subconscious
social effort to develop gender inequality in service to a patriarchal sexual order.

A woman who welcomes the sexual objectification of the male gaze might
be perceived as conforming to social norms, established for the benefit of men,
thereby reinforcing the objectifying power of the male gaze upon a woman, or she
might be perceived as an exhibitionist woman taking social advantage of the
sexual objectification inherent to the male gaze, to manipulate the sexist norms of
the patriarchy to her personal benefit.

190
 Christine Hoff Sommers and Naomi Wolf write that women`s sexual
liberation led women to a role reversal, whereby they viewed men as sex objects
in a manner similar to what they criticize about men`s treatment of women.

Psychologist Harold Lyon suggest that men`s liberation is a necessary step

toward women`s liberation.

Instances where men may be viewed as sex objects by women include

 Music Videos
 Films
 Television
 Clothed female/nude male (CFNM) events

Women also purchase and consume pornography leading to negative body

image among men. Psychological effects of objectification on men are similar to
those of women.

Thirty-seven percent of advertisements featuring men’s body parts to

showcase a product found in male sexual objectification, similar to the issues of
sexual objectification in women. Men lead to body shaming, eating disorders and
a drive for perfection. The continued exposure of these (ideal) men subject
society to expect all men to fit this role.

Male actors featured in TV shows and movies are oftentimes in excellent

shape and have the “ideal” bodies often fill the leading roles.

Idealized Version of a Woman Ideal Version of a Man

 Thin
 Contrast-often are subject to
body evaluation in the form of
sexual, sometimes offensive
verbal remarks
 Women experience from both
sexes
 Strong toned man
 Body evaluation-used to
criticized woman (example
often directed at men’s non-
verbal cues)
 Men tend to experience from
other men

Assess

Name ___________________________________ Score ______________

Section _________________________________ Date _______________

TEST I. Enumeration
191
 1. Give 3 gender issues in the media
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

2. List 3 effects of these gender issues to the society.

___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

TEST II. Essay

1. Of all the gender issues mentioned, what bothered you most? Why?
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

Name ___________________________________ Score ______________

Section _________________________________ Date _______________

2. What will you do in order to promote a balanced and non-stereotyped

portrayal of women and men in the media?
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
192
 ___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

References

Bascow, 1992. p. 159 Women are underrepresented, retrieved from

https://www1.udel.edu>gen...pdf

Doyle, J.A. 1989. p. 111 Portrayal in Stereotypical ways of women and men.
Retrieved from https://www1.udel.edu>gen...pdf

193
Sanders, M. & Rock, M. (1988) the women of television news, Urbana II:
University of Illinois Press. Retrived from https://www1.udel.edu>gen...pdf

Silverstvin, B. Perdue, L. Peterson B. & Kelly, S. (1986) Sex Roles 14,519-532

Retrieved from https://www1.udel.edu>gen...pdf

Study reports, Sex bias in news organizations (1989.April 11) New York Times.
p. C22. Retrieved from https://www1.udel.edu>gen...pdf

Websites

https://representationsofwomenmedia.weebly.com Examples in Advertising

Representations of women and girls in the media.

https://www.researchgate.net>3345 pdf Women objectification and advertising:

An Analysis of Sexually Retrieved July 18, 2019

www.globalmediajournal.com> pdf Woman objectification and advertising: An

Analysis of …Global Media Journal (Retrieved) Oct. 29, 2018

https://Sexualization of women in advertisement.wordpr.Sexualization of women

in advertisement: An Analysis of food and alcohol ads.

https://m.grin.com>document Sexual objectification of women in Advertising-

GRIN

https://www.dw.com>sex sells… Sex sells: The objectification of women in

Advertising/Arts/Dw/01.02.2019

194