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Chapter 11: Gendered Media
I. Media Saturation of Cultural Life
A. People today are media-saturated and media-engaged, with as many as 98.9% of all
households owning at least one TV.
1. Films, newspapers, magazines, advertising, radio, and social media fill our
lives with media.
2. Social media allow us to connect with others, shop, participate in online
communities, and even produce media.
II. Media Impacts
A. Although most people think that they are immune from media influences (called the
third person effect, which is the belief that others are more affected by the media than
we are), researchers have found that media shapes our identities, understandings, and
opinions.
B. Media influences how we perceive the roles of men, women, and relationships in at
least five important ways:
1. Set the Agenda
2. Regulate Images of Women and Men
a. Underrepresent Women and Minorities
i. Although women outnumber men in the population, they are
not equally visible in the media, particularly as substantive
characters.
i. Portrayals of women include depictions of females presented as
shopping, grooming, being emotional, being focused on men,
being sexual, and performing domestic activities.
ii. Whiteness is a standard and an ideal. Images of black women
are often based on very negative stereotypes. Asian women and
Latinas are often presented as exotic and sexualized.
iii. Women are frequently seen as sex objects.
I. Even animated films show women with small waists
and large breasts.
II. Even as girls are sexualized, the media reinforces the
notion that they alone are responsible for the
consequences of sex.
male authority is still seen in ads through male voice-overs and
male images like Mr. Clean.
viii. The objectification of women is often seen in ads.
Women’s sexuality is used to sell products, and many of the
products sold to women are about their physical appearance.
ix. Advertising presents the foci of women’s lives as physical
appearance and pleasing others.
x. Complimentary copy (articles that increase the appeal of a
e. Motivate Us to Consume
i. Some analysts argue that the primary function of media is to
encourage us to buy things and services.
ii. Overly perfect bodies in the media can cause us to think our
own bodies are inadequate, but offers us products that purport
to change our bodies and self-images.
iii. Media cause us to perceive normally functioning bodies as
unacceptable or defective.
I. Steroid abuse is one consequence for men.
II. Normal changes in men’s sexual vigor are shown as
something to cure with drugs.
III. Women’s body hair is represented as something to
remove with products like razors and shaving creams.
IV. Plastic surgery is more and more common and can have
long lasting effects on those who choose to undergo
operations.
III. Consequences of Gendered Media
A. Normalize Unrealistic Standards
1. When we are exposed to the unrealistic images of men and women in the
media, we tend to see ourselves as inadequate.
2. Media expose us to flawed representations of relationships as well.
a. This can cause us to assess our own relationships unfairly.
b. People can become dissatisfied with real, healthy relationships as a
result of these images.
3. Pathologizing the natural body can be dangerous.
a. The emphasis on thinness can lead to eating disorders.
b. Men are increasingly affected by unrealistic body expectations as well.
B. Normalize Violence Against Women
1. There is evidence that violence in the media contributes to increasing violence
in real life.
a. Research shows that when men watch sexually explicit films that
degrade women, they become more dominant toward women around
them.
b. Another study shows that men who watch music videos and pro
wrestling believe that forcing a partner to have sex is sometimes
acceptable.
c. When we see violence frequently in the media, we can come to see it
as a normal part of life.
2. Several theories of gender development show the relationship between media
violence and real-life violence.
a. Social learning theory would argue that when men and boys see
images of men being rewarded for engaging in violence against
women, they would be more likely to behave that way themselves.
b. Cognitive development theory would say that when women and girls
see women in the media inviting or allowing violence against them,
they might think such violence is acceptable.
c. Symbolic interactionism would say that social views of relationships
represented in the media can affect how we see our own relationships.
IV. Gender and Social Media
A. Our use of social media to communicate with others is closely related to gender
issues.
B. Gendered Use of Social Media
1. There are some gendered differences in how men and women use social
media.
2. Men and boys tend to be more instrumental in their use of these media, using
them to set up activities, for example. Men and boys also tend to use some
social media, such as games and virtual spaces, more often than women.
3. Girls and women see phone conversations and texting as ways to nurture
relationships.
C. Functions of Social Media
1. Social Networking
a. One of the most popular uses of social media is social networking.
i. Women and girls tend to use social networking as a resource
for creating and maintaining relationships.
ii. Girls and women frequently use social networking for self
development, talking about their experiences and thoughts and
incorporating others’ reactions to those ideas into their
identities.
b. Social networks can have a major downside in cyberbullying.
i. Cyberbullying is communication via a social network that is
meant to hurt or humiliate another person.
ii. LGBTQ teens, girls who are less physically developed, or
perceived as less or more attractive than their peers, and boys
(especially nonwhite boys) who are perceived as more
feminine than their peers are most likely to be cyberbullied.
iii. Cyberbullying has major consequences for its victims, ranging
from trouble sleeping and anxiety to suicide.
iv. Cyberbullying is different than face to face bullying in that it
can be done anonymously, and that it has no boundaries,
following the victim at all times.
2. Learning and Sharing Information
a. The Internet offers an unparalleled sources of information about
gender issues.
b. Users can also find support and information related to specific issues.
3. Holding others accountable: Social media are frequently used to hold
organizations and powerful interests accountable for sexism and gendered
violence.
4. Activism: Social communities are frequently used for purposes of activism.
a. Organizations can use social media sites to get their messages out to
interested parties.
b. Social media also allow activists to organize fast responses to issues.
Journal Entries
1. Discuss gender images and expectations as reflected in three advertisements.
2. Analyze gender stereotypes in a film or television show.
3. Think of a television show or film that was not mentioned in Chapter 11 that
attempts to challenge traditional depictions of men or women. How does this example differ
from other media images you have seen? How do these alternative images challenge
prevailing norms of what women and men should be?
4. Print out lyrics from your top 5-8 favorite songs. What messages do the lyrics send about
sex and gender? Do you support those ideas? If there are messages you do not support,
why do you listen to those songs? How do you think some artists are able to resist pressure
to sing songs that position men and women in limiting ways? (This is an individual version
of suggested class activity 4.)
5. Think about how you use social media. What are your most common purposes for using
social media? Does your usage match the gendered patterns explained in Chapter 11? How
do you think social media affects your perceptions of gendered communication?
InfoTrac Activities
1. Choose the Advanced Search option using InfoTrac College Edition. Select titles and type
“From girls into women: scripts for sexuality and romance in Seventeen magazine, 1974-
1994” by Laura M. Carpenter. In what ways has mediated representations of femininity
changed? Are these changes positive? Detrimental?
2. Choose the Advanced Search option using InfoTrac College Edition. Select title and type
“Thin, sexy women and strong, muscular men: grade-school children’s responses to
objectified images of women and men” by Sarah K. Murnen, Linda Smolak, J. Andrew
Mills, and Lindsey Good. How do the authors link mediated images to understandings of
personal identity? How are these representations gendered? Do they challenge or reinforce
gendered norms?
Suggested Activities
1. Documentaries: Gender and Media: There are many different videos that can be shown to
examine sex and gender issues as presented by the media. We will include suggestions for
three different videos we have used in this section of the course. Bibliographic information
to assist you in locating these videos appears in the reference section of this resource book.
You may also want to consider showing a recent episode from one of the season’s hot new
standards of physical beauty. The three videos we have used to educate and provoke
discussion are:
a. Dreamworlds 2 examines rock music videos for the messages presented about the sexes.
This piece demonstrates the ways rock videos are made and marketed to play on the
b. Tough Guise (1999) is an excellent video for helping students recognize how masculinity,
2. Gendered Messages in Magazines: Another activity we frequently bring into the classroom
asks students to clip and examine advertisements from popular magazines. Assign students
the task of bringing in three print advertisements, or other forms of media, such as
3. Gendered Messages in Commercials: Record several commercials during an evening
television show. Recording during a show on MTV tends to work particularly well for this
4. Gendered Messages in Songs: Ask students to bring in a printed copy of lyrics to some of
their favorite songs. Ask them to examine the lyrics in small groups to determine what
5. What You’re Watching: This exercise requires advanced planning and can take several
days of class time. You may find it to be worth the time investment for several reasons: It
requires students to analyze critically television programs they watch and enjoy.
Additionally, students often are able to incorporate material from earlier chapters – verbal
1. List the central and subordinate characters on the program. Describe each character’s
appearance, noting the person’s sex, race, age, size, and level of attractiveness.
2. Consider the plots and subplots of the episodes you viewed. Are sex and/or gender
central to these plots and subplots?
3. Consider the gender roles played by each character. Do they conform to the patterns
discussed in Chapter 11? If so, how so? If not, how not?
4. Consider the relationships between characters. Do these reflect gendered themes?
(You may want to consult material covered in earlier chapters for this question.)
5. If advertisements are shown with the program, consider the questions as they relate to
the ads.
Toward the end of the unit, devote part of or a whole class period for students to meet in small
groups. Each small group should be composed of people who have watched the same program.
