Amanda Poletti
Caitlin Riviere
Sarah McQuarrie
Luke Putz
Trisha Miller
Gender and the Media
Media showers society with images of gender
stereotypes
everyday. These images are delivered to the public through a variety of
mediums. Whether through magazines or television; newspapers or
billboards, imagery
of perfection are entered into the minds of individuals worldwide.
Though the
medium may vary, each conveys a distinct message regarding gender and
gender
roles. An important method through which this communication takes place
is in
advertisements.
Advertisements are constructed with the intent
and purpose
of selling products. Interestingly, advertising involves inventing
images to
convey ideas about men and women. The purpose of these ideas is to
create and perpetuate
gender roles desired in a society that will contribute to the success
of the
capitalistic economy (
Ideologies such as how a woman should appear,
the occupation
women should hold and the submissiveness women should bestow upon male
figures
are instilled in both men and women at early ages by advertisers. In
doing so,
advertisements deeply ingrain the conservative mentalities of women’s
abilities
and positions in society. This causes opportunities for women to
decrease,
while keeping men in positions of power and authority. Such
views continue because of the media’s
ability to smear the lines of reality, making it difficult to
distinguish if
society is reflecting the media or vice versa (Andersen, 2003:67).
Advertisements
have
a profound affect on the culture of society (Hardin, 2002). Negative images produced by the media create
narrow roles to young girls and women, alike, must conform. Advertisements impacting society include
depictions of women’s narrow roles in society.
Examples of these roles include women being depicted as a
mother,
homemaker or object of beauty (Hardin, 2002). According to Goetzle
(1999) 55%
of his 566 female participants said they constantly see advertisements
that
make them feel as though they should diet and 64% of the respondents
think
there is too much sex in advertisements (Goetzle, 1999).
Since there are so many advertisements about
weight and women as sex objects, it is no wonder many girls and young
women
develop eating disorders among other things (Goetzle, 1999).
Dangerous problems arise with the objectification
of women. Research shows that young
women and girls, on average, feel worse after seeing advertisements
showing
thin models (Dittmar, 2004). By
portraying images of unattainable goals, such as women who are
extremely thin, women
adapt to thinking those images are real and desirable.
However, there is a growing concern for the
media’s obsession with thinness and how its’ affects on women, both
mentally
and physically, appear to be extremely harmful. The controversy of this
particular topic has resulted in many public debates, which try to
uncover how
advertisements are actually detrimental to women (Dittmar, 2004).
External characteristics of women, in most ads,
are made
the focal point for success in selling any product. These attributes,
though
not real, depict what is considered, by a majority of men, to be a
visually
perfect and desirable woman. Unfortunately these attributes are
unattainable
and are digitally enhanced for visual purposes. Consequently, by
emphasizing
the importance of a flawless female body image in advertisements, the
media dehumanizes
women. The dehumanization of women reduces them to mere sex objects,
available
to men to gaze upon.
The film “Still Killing Us Softly” suggests that
rape and
the objectification of women in the media are closely related
(Kilbourne, 1987). By depicting women as
thin, beautiful and
passive reinforces the idea that women are sex objects for the male
gaze. Also, many advertisements tend to
normalize
violence towards women by objectifying them through submissive
positions and
subtle body languages (Kilbourne, 1987).
This submissive image that advertisers use to portray women is
then
viewed by the male as a norm concept.
Another problematic issue in
advertising is the domination of the male presence.
A male presence can take the form of a
voice-over, actor or images of men. One
study pointed out that spokes characters in advertisements are often
portrayed
as male, such as the Energizer Bunny (Pierce, 1999).
In the same study, after viewing 39 random
advertisements, participants were asked to count the spokes characters
that were
female. In the end, only nine of the
spokes characters were female (Pierce, 1999).
Male dominance in the advertisement arena is present when
observing
voice-overs in commercials. Male voices
are used to sell not only boy toys; they are also used to sell many
girl toys
(Johnson and Young, 2003:470). Female
voice-overs are found in girl advertisements but can seldom be found in
boy
oriented ads (Johnson and Young, 2003:470).
This is a strong example of how men dominate not only in the
market of
advertisements but also within society; these advertisement are subtly
implying
gendered lives to young children because it is using a dominant male
voice to
connect with the viewer (Johnson and Young, 2003: 470).
Another study viewed 32 taped commercials and
only ten had a character that was shown as either female or neutral
(Pierce,
1999). In Pierce’s article, she asks
“What if the Energizer Bunny were female?” (Pierce, 1999).
Pierce leaves advertisers with a very crucial
question because in creating the Energizer Bunny as a male character,
it communicates
the message to the public that men can sell more batteries (Pierce,
1999). Something as trivial as portraying
a bunny as
male can have a profound effect on the roles and occupations of women.
It
reinforces stereotypes regarding women, while introducing young
impressionable
girls to gendered roles.
Advertisers begin building gender
identity at very young ages. According
to Johnson and Young (2002) advertisements teach young children how to
be
consumers and uses gender identity to associate an item on television
to the
child(Johnson and Young, 2002). One
example of this is how advertisers link boys with action toys and girls
with
fads and dolls (Johnson and Young, 2002:470).
Johnson goes on to say that images in advertisements viewed by
children
have verbal messages that lead children to develop traditional gendered
roles
in society (Johnson and Young, 2002:470).
Johnson also says, “These images engage discourse that position
many
girls in constrained positions and boys in action-oriented positions”
(Johnson
and Young, 2002:466). For instance, in a study of eight prime-time
television
shows performed by Ford Foundation, girls were shown to be only
interested in
boys and clothes (Barricklow, 1992).
Some researchers believe even young toddler’s gender
stereotypical
behavior to have stemmed from the media (Hardin, 2002).
In the end, young girls and boys are affected
by advertisements of gendered roles.
Advertisers portray gender roles in
subtle and not-so-subtle ways. In one
example, advertising propagates the idea of vigor versus female frailty
and
beauty (Thompson and Zerbinos, 1995). In
commercials men are often shown in sports that require strength and
robustness,
like football. Women on the other hand,
are seen participating in sports that are more aesthetic, like
gymnastics,
dancing, or figure skating. According to
Thompson and Zerbinos (1995) research on the portrayal of women in the
media
has been in progress since the 1970’s.
Observations of commercials, television shows and cartoons
showed that
females, if represented at all, held lower status occupations or were
unemployed. Males were shown as more intellectual, thusly superior
(Thompson
and Zerbinos, 1995). All in all, gender
stereotypes are important to understand because they limit the future
opportunities women have in different roles (Johnson 2002:465).
Theories
have been formed, over the years, in attempt to offer explanations as
to why stereotypical
images of women were produced in the past and why these images continue
to be
produced today. The theory of Capitalism in the Media provides the
foundation
upon which other theories are developed. In other words, the existence
of
capitalism in the media is the main cause of gender stereotypical
images. Other
theories are results of problems that occur in society as a direct
result of
the capitalistic nature of the advertising industry. The Role Learning
Theory
helps to explain how women and men learn how to act and behave by
observing
others (Andersen, 2003: 65). The Role Learning Theory is the product of
the ads
impact on society. Role learning occurs because of the images produced
by
capitalistic organizations and corporations. In order to better
understand how
the two theories are related, it is vital to understand the theories
individually.
The
theory of Capitalism in the Media explains the use of stereotypical
images in
the media and how they affect the economy (Andersen, 2003: 67). The
goal of
media advertisement is to create or increase the profit being generated
by the
product represented in the ad (Andersen, 2003: 67). However, it is
important
for the product to embody the cultural norms of the society. In this
case,
capitalism is the cultural norm for the
The
traditional values of capitalism and the accumulation of wealth are
associated
with the products and are promoted in the advertising of the products (
The
Role Learning Theory explains that the values associated with products
seen by
women and men are learned. Women and men see images taking on
stereotypical
gendered roles and, from those images, learn how their own identity
should be
(Andersen, 2003: 65). Children
often become a major target audience of gendered
stereotypes in the media (Andersen, 2003: 66).
As
viewers of the media, children learn from images they are presented.
Younger
viewers are impressionable and still in the midst of developing
opinions. This
is made evident in an article by Fern Johnson. He stated:
In
ads directed to children that underlying ideology
for the discourse scripted into the ads presents verbal images of
gender that
conform to blatantly traditional recipes engage discourse that position
girls
(and women) in constrained positions and boys (and men)
inaction-oriented
positions (Johnson and Young, 2002: 466).
The
reason children and youth
are targeted is to instill the ideals of patriarchy as early as
possible.
Adolescents learn to accept their positions without the knowledge of
the gender
stereotypes being presented to them (Andersen, 2003: 66). This allows
for the
social construction of a young viewer to be manipulated by ads in the
media.
The simple usage of advertisements to communicate gender roles can act
as a
training ground for young
These
ideas about how women should act, look, are valued do not happen over
night. The
gender roles and dehumanization of women is a process that is
accomplished with
a great deal of time and repetition. When a viewer is surrounded,
daily, with depictions
of sexual norms that are unrealistic it becomes clear they will begin
to
associate their own personal identity with the advertisement, in some
manner.
The individual will either believe the ideology presented to be true,
or will
conform in order to avoid societal rejection. Corporations use these
methods for
the purpose maximizing profit and to insure the continuation of an
economic
structure that generates inequality in order to create wealth for those
in
power.
In order to reduce negative stereotypes of women
in the
media, the first step is to dismantle capitalism. Capitalism
needs to be dismantled because the
existence of ads is to aid consumerism and maximize profits for major
corporations. This relates greatly to
the theory of Capitalism and the Media.
Many of these corporations put a lot
of money into this
branding technique because it enables them to link the product with the
consumer (Klein, 2000). According to Fern Johnson and Karren Young,
“One main
type of image-based influence targets gender identity, and uses it to
link
products to their consumers” (Johnson and Young, 2002:463). However, in order to do
this, the media
creates narrow roles in which women and young girls feel compelled to
fit into;
hence, gender roles are created (Johnson and Young, 2002:463).
Not only does capitalism promote constrained
roles upon
women, it also supports hierarchy.
Elite, white men are primarily in charge of major corporations
and media
empires and they are the ones who make and produce negative stereotypes
of
women. These negative stereotypes
include everything from women being seen as sex objects to women being
depicted
as mothers and other low-status, low-paying jobs. By
classifying women into such narrow roles,
it creates oppression and objectification among all women. As the Role
Learning
Theory suggests, women and men learn their gender roles from what is
communicated to them through the media. The result is, instead of women
breaking the oppression; women surrender to, and conform to, the
oppression
because that is what they are taught. Communism is not a solution to
getting
rid of capitalism; however, incorporating a more socialistic economy
would
disperse power within the hands of the general population and allow
media to
put less emphasis on profit and branding.
Another solution for getting rid of
women’s negative stereotypes in the media would be to reconstruct the
media. Since media supports capitalism
or a hierarchy of power, putting more women in this field would help
reduce the
gender bias within the very structure of media (Thompson and Zerbinos,
1995). Also, avidly representing women
from all races, classes and ages would help the overall depiction of
women in
the media because it would broaden traditional gender roles.
Along with recreating the structure
of the media, comes the belief of censorship.
Creating media advocacy groups would help people band together
and
demand change within the media (Pediatrics.aappublications.org
, 1999).
Advocacy groups could do things such as demanding that women be
depicted
in non-traditional female roles. Ads with women being portrayed as
doctors,
farmers, lawyers or trash men would be introduced to society. Censorship could also be used within the
family unit (Pediatrics.aappublications.org
, 1999).
Parents/guardians could monitor what their
children are
watching to ensure that their children are watching things that promote
gender
equality and not objectification and oppression of women.
Parents/guardians could put locks on certain
channels that are known for frequently playing negative ads towards
women. Parents
could monitor what their children are watching by simply staying in the
room. They could turn the channel when a
Victoria Secret commercial comes on or when commercials for cleaning
products
appear because in these particular advertisements women are being seen
as
either sex objects or mothers.
Equally important is the issue of education.
Parents and
teachers could teach gender sensitivity in the class room (Johnson and
Young,
2002). This would educate children to
recognize how advertisements create narrow gender roles and that this
process
does actually exist (Johnson and Young, 2002).
Protecting children from gender role models in these kinds of
ads would
help to break the role constraints put on many young girls. It would
encourage
young ladies to desire role models that are known for their mind
instead of
body; intellect rather than sex appeal.
Censorship can only exist with the
presence of education (Pediatrics.aappublications.org
, 1999).
Countries such as Australia and Canada have media education
classes that
help young people, especially young women, decipher what they are
seeing on
television and in ads and how those messages affect them. Their ability to recognize such things as role
constraints enables them to understand what they are watching and how
it can be
integrated into their own lives. Having
media education classes would decrease the impact of negative
stereotypes of
women in the media.
Though gender stereotypes are
reinforced by the media through many different mediums, advertisements
are a
large contributor to this social problem. Whether in pictures or in
commercial
ads, representation of women is shown in very similar ways. The manner
in which
women are presented to society affects women and men. However, these
affects
are manifested in very different ways.
Women have a
tendency to evaluate their own worth based on how similar or different
they
appear from women displayed in ads. Because these images are fictional,
women
will always come up short. However, because these images are perceived
to be
the norm, women will spend a lifetime trying to attain a flawless
physical
form. In order to gain acceptance by the opposite sex and be deemed
desirable,
women will purchase goods that allude to providing a better lifestyle
or
appearance. Women are also taught to accept lower status occupations.
They are
made to believe that their happiness rests in the hands of a man.
Men are similarly taught to view women as less
powerful,
significant and intellectual. Women, through the process of
dehumanization,
become objects that only exist to please and obey men. As a
consequence,
incidents of rape are common among women and are committed primarily by
men.
Submissive qualities in a woman become valuable to men and women’s
place in
society is made clear.
Fortunately, there are solutions to this social
problem.
Though some solutions are more radical than others, each solution is
possible
and attainable if the cooperation of the nation were behind it. Ideas
such as
complex as dismantling capitalism in order to adapt a more socialist
economy to
simply educating the younger generations to reject such ideology, pose
as
possible options to reduce gender stereotypes and inequalities.
In sum, the capitalism existing in the media
causes
unhealthy images of women to be projected into society’s beliefs.
Though the
existence of capitalism is to generate profit, in order to do so, the
corporations must appeal to the public’s interest to solicit the
product.
Images of perfection and desire are created to convince people that
their lives
could be better. In doing so, it belittles women for a couple of
reasons.
One reason is to insure the future of capitalism
will be
perpetuated. This is based on the theory of Capitalism and the Media.
In
creating gender roles, women are bound to caretaking, service oriented
occupations, and sexual objectification. Opportunities of success are
limited
to those who deviate from the created cultural norm. This allows men to
advance
and experience wealth much more easily than women.
Secondly, making women seem imperfect causing a
need to
purchase a products that will enhance their physical appearance or
acceptance
by the opposite sex. This idea is supported by the Role-Learning
Theory. Their
exterior image is made to be the focal point of women, and is only
attractive
if it meets the male standard, or male gaze. Images in advertisements
encourage
women to yearn for unattainable personal characteristics. Women and men both, according to this theory,
learn their own gender identity as a result of repeated exposure to
these
ideals. Dismantling capitalism, placing women in powerful positions in
the
media, censorship, parent/guardian supervision and education are all
ways that
this social problem could be eliminated from society.
References
Andersen,
Margaret. (2003) Thinking about Women:
Sociological Perspectives on Sex
and Gender.
Dittmar,
Helgar and Halliwell, Emma. (2004) Does Size Matter? The Impact of
Model’s
Body Size on Women’s Body-Focused Anxiety and
Advertising
Effectiveness Journal of Social and
Clinical Psychology, 23(1), 104-122.
Goetzl,
David. (1999) Teen Girls Ban Ad Images of Women Advertising
Age, 70(38), 32.
Http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/103/1/129.
(1999) Children,
Adolescents and
the Media: Issues and Solutions.
Johnson,
Fern L and Young, Karen. 2002 “Gendered
Voices in Children’s Television
Advertising.” Critical
Studies in Media Communication. 19(4): 461-480.
Kilbourne,
Jean. (1987). Still Killing Us Softly.
Klein,
Naomi. 2000. “No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bolles.”