Gender
Sociology: AQA A Level, topic 9.2.3
Femininity
Women have previously been stereotyped into four main categories by the media. However this is gradually shifting.
Femininity
- Traditional media representations of femininity:
- Housewife and mother.
- Domestic servant.
- Domestic consumer.
- Sex object.
Working women
- Feminists argue that when women are shown to be working outside of the home they experience problems.
- This suggests to audience that women can’t have it all and it pushes them back into submissive expressive roles.
The 'male gaze'
- The 'male gaze' refers to the way in which the camera ‘eyes up’ women in a sexual way to provide erotic pleasure for men.
- Women become objects for male desire and are often placed in programmes to be glamorous and to be saved by a man.
Symbolic annihilation
- Women also suffer from symbolic annihilation, Tuchman et al. used this term to describe the way female achievements are not reported, trivialised or condemned by the media.
- If women do appear in the news they are either celebrities or have been saved by a man in some way.
Changes
- However, things are changing, there are many examples of more positive images of women in today’s media.
- This reflects the cultural change in women's positions in society over last 25 years.
Masculinity
The ‘new man’ emerged in media representations in the 1980s. However, others suggest there has been an increase in retributive masculinity.
Masculinity
- Traditional media representations of masculinity:
- The joker.
- The jock.
- The strong silent type.
- The big shot.
- The action hero.
- The buffoon.
The ‘new man’
- The ‘new man’ emerged in media representations in the 1980s.
- Magazines such as GQ, Maxim and FHM, aimed at middle class males, showed men getting in touch with their feminine side.
- Sociologists refer to this as the ‘metro sexual’ male.
The ‘metro sexual’ male
- This man wears designer clothes, has skin care products etc. and it is argued that this reflects changes in social attitudes to masculinity.
Retributive masculinity
- However, others suggest there has been an increase in retributive masculinity.
- Newer magazines such as Zoo and Nuts appear to reject metro sexuality and reassert traditional masculinity by promoting ‘birds, booze and balls’.
Test yourself on Gender
Traditional media representations of femininity:
What term refers to the way in which the camera ‘eyes up’ women in a sexual way to provide erotic pleasure for men?
What term did Tuchman et al. use to describe the way female achievements are trivialised, condemned, or not reported by the media?
What do magazines such as Zoo and Nuts promote?