Representation of gender

& Stereotypes
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 Media representations of gender
• Music video
As you watch think about the following:
• What does this music video suggest it means
to have a good time: as a man? As a woman?
• How are the male characters represented?
• How are the female characters represented?
• Do these representations draw on any cultural
norms about gender?
 Misogyny
Misogyny, as defined by the Blackwell Dictionary of
Sociology,:
“is a cultural attitude of hatred for females
simply because they are female. It is a central part
of sexist prejudice and ideology and, as such, is an
important basis for the oppression of females in
male-dominated societies. Misogyny is manifested
in many different ways from jokes to pornography
to violence to the self-contempt women may be
taught to feel toward their own bodies.”
Misogyny and Hip-Hop
 Lyrics
• Bizarre (originally from D12): “My little sister’s birthday /
She’ll remember me / For a gift I had ten of my boys take
her virginity.” Bizarre
• Eminem: “Snatch the bitch out her car through the window,
she screamin’ / I body slam her onto the cement, until the
concrete gave and created a sinkhole / Bury this stink ho in
it, then paid to have the street re-paved.”
• Eminem (again)“I got 99 problems and the bitch ain't one /
She's all 99 of them I need a machine gun / I take ‘em all
out I hope you hear this song / And go into a cardiac arrest,
have a heart attack / And just drop dead and I'mma throw
a fucking party after this”.
 Media representations of gender
• Consider the views put forward in these
videos.  Do you agree?
• Media Ed
• Feminist Frequency
Misogynistic? Female empowerment?
 Diana Martel - Director
• “I wanted to deal with the misogynist, funny lyrics in a
way where the girls were going to overpower the men.
Look at Emily Ratajkowski’s performance; it’s very,
very funny and subtly ridiculing. That’s what is fresh to
me. It also forces the men to feel playful and not at all
like predators. I directed the girls to look into the
camera, this is very intentional and they do it most of
the time; they are in the power position. I don’t think
the video is sexist. The lyrics are ridiculous, the guys
are silly as f**k. That said, I respect women who are
watching out for negative images in pop culture and
who find the nudity offensive, but I find [the video]
meta and playful.”
 Robin Thicke
• We tried to do everything that was taboo. Bestiality,
drug injections, and everything that is completely
derogatory towards women. Because all three of us
are happily married with children, we were like,
"We're the perfect guys to make fun of this."
• People say, "Hey, do you think this is degrading to
women?" I'm like, "Of course it is. What a pleasure it is
to degrade a woman. I've never gotten to do that
before. I've always respected women." So we just
wanted to turn it over on its head and make people go,
"Women and their bodies are beautiful. Men are
always gonna want to follow them around."
10 minute presentation
It is useful at this point to consider Stereotypes
in more detail...
 Stereotypes
Assumptions that are held about a social group.

They are often used in a negative or prejudicial

sense and are frequently used to justify
certain discriminatory behaviours.

Stereotyping is an important concept in terms

of representation.
 Stereotype production is based on…

• Simplification
• Exaggeration or distortion
• Generalisation
• Presentation of cultural attributes as being
'natural'.

Does it matter?
 Stereotypes

•If you look at TV shows, movies, adverts etc

from the past it is strange to see how
inappropriately some demographics (gender,
GLBT, ethnic minorities) were depicted or
represented.

•As a result stereotypes need to change…

 The Countertype

• A positive stereotype.

• Focuses on positive elements of a group traditionally

represented as bad.

• Still an oversimplification of the enormous diversity

featured with the group.
 Task
• Can you think of any character (TV or Film) who is
portrayed as a stereotype? Can you think of a
countertype?

• What is the significance of the representations? (If it

presents either a stereotype or countertype – ask why?
Consider masculinity/femininity. Is this a common
representation? Is it a positive or negative
representation?)

• Be prepared to share your examples with the class.

 Homework
Create a collage (can be done in Word or Powerpoint) of
celebrities or characters who you think are stereotypes and
countertypes.
Explain how they:
1. reinforce gender stereotypes
2. challenge gender stereotypes
Try to explain the effects of the countertypes.
Use key terms if you can, such as: stereotypes, countertypes,
feminism, misogyny.

Due in next week.

My email address: LSullivan@qe.dorset.sch.uk