2. RReepprreesseennttaattiioonn ooff GGeennddeerr:: KEY WORDS:
Dominant:
Considered the
leader/more powerful
character.
Subordinate:
Considered the
lesser/minor character.
MMeenn WWoommeenn
• Impulsive
•
•
•
•
•
• Emotional
•
•
•
•
•
3. RReepprreesseennttaattiioonn ooff GGeennddeerr:: KEY WORDS:
Claude Levi-
Strauss: He created
the idea of BINARY
OPPOSITES, in which he
believed that everything
we see and read also has
an opposite.
Good v. Bad
Young v. Old
Big v. Small
MMeenn WWoommeenn
• Impulsive
• Rational
• Ruthless
• Independent
• Aggressive
• Arrogant
• Emotional
• Prudent
• Gentle
• Submissive
• Sensitive
• Maternal
4. GGeennddeerr VV.. SSeexx
Gender is not natural, it is learned and
PERFORMED
Playful renegotiation of gender = gender
trouble (a subversive act)
Madonna seen as icon of gender trouble (or
Lady Gaga more currently?)
Gauntlett – Media, Gender, Identity
Kendall and McDougall ‘Just Gaming’
5. RReepprreesseennttaattiioonn ooff GGeennddeerr:: WWoommeenn
• In history women were always portrayed as ‘invisible’ and
therefore there was a non-representation of women’s
views.
• It is believed that when women are ‘visible’ in media
content the manner of their presentation reflects the biases
and assumptions of those who define the public – and
therefore the media – agenda.
6. RReepprreesseennttaattiioonn ooff GGeennddeerr:: WWoommeenn
11995500ss ––
• Motherly
• Pure
• Weak
• Domesticated
-False representation coming from a
patriarchal view.
Hegemonic idolised view of what women
should be like. Cultivation Theory
Women watch and believe this is how they
SHOULD behave.
KEY WORDS:
Patriarchal: A male
dominance. Male
ideologies are a
precedent in society.
Matriarchal: A
Female dominance.
Female ideologies are a
precedent in society.
Hegemony: A
leadership or
dominance, especially by
one state or social group
over others.
Gramsci: used the
term hegemony to show
how the dominant class
can project its own
ideologies so that those
who are subordinated
accept it as 'common
sense' and 'natural'.
7. RReepprreesseennttaattiioonn ooff GGeennddeerr:: WWoommeenn
The media cultivates the images fitting the established structure of
social relations – ‘‘TThhee HHaappppyy HHoouusseewwiiffee HHeerrooiinnee’’..
8. RReepprreesseennttaattiioonn ooff GGeennddeerr:: WWoommeenn
HHiissttoorryy::
• Female characters were fewer in numbers and were
subordinate characters in the plot.
• Females were more concerned with marriage and
parenthood.
• Employed women were shown in traditional female
occupations – Nurse, Teacher.
• They were more passive.
• Smart women tended to be deemed as ‘ugly’.
9. FFeemmiinniissmm:: KEY WORDS:
A movement in which women questioned their position within
patriarchal society & the ‘private sphere’ of home/children and
domestic bliss. It served to uncover, challenge and eliminate
oppression and dominant gender imagery.
• Fighting gender inequality
• Fighting objectification
• Fighting a phallocentric ‘common sense’
• Creating alternative ways of seeing the world
(through a ‘female gaze’)
• Demonised and misunderstood (often by women …
‘I’m not a feminist but …’
• Not the same as lesbianism (although lesbians can
be feminists)
Feminism: a
collection of movements
and ideologies aimed at
defining, establishing,
and defending equal
political, economic,
cultural, and social rights
for women.
Phallocentric: A
term used for putting a
male point of view
central.
10. RReepprreesseennttaattiioonn ooff GGeennddeerr:: WWoommeenn
SSEEXX SSEELLLLSS!!
It wasn’t long until the Media realized that sex sells, and so
women began to transform from the ‘pure’ housewife into the
sex symbol.
Again leading to the
cultivation theory –
women in society
began feeling this
was a necessary
way to behave.
11. LLaauurraa MMuullvveeyy:: MMaallee GGaazzee TThheeoorryy
• Definition of Voyeurism: Erotic pleasures gained from
looking at a sexual object (who is unaware of being
watched)
• Presence of women solely for the purpose of display
(rather than narrative function)
• Female on display is passive and objectified for a male
gaze regardless of viewers gender
• Voyeuristic treatment of female body in ‘male’ videos –
use of dancers as adornments to the male ego
• The inclusion of women for display is a staple element in
music video’s – across all genres
• Women connote to-be-looked-at-ness and are the
12. LLaauurraa MMuullvveeyy:: MMaallee GGaazzee TThheeoorryy
• Women become objects of men
desires – some women feel the
need to use their sexuality to
assert power over others.
• Is this due to their lack of access
to other power in a patriarchal
society?
13. PPoosstt--FFeemmiinniissmm -- 11998800ss::
• A re-appraisal of Feminist values
• Does not strive for ‘equality’ as this assumes men are
‘the best’ - they wish to surpass male achievements
• Objected to theories which position them as objects
of the ‘male gaze’
• Identifies a ‘female gaze’ - women actively desiring
men
• Women began to assert their right to dress and be
sexually attractive
14. PPoosstt--FFeemmiinniissmm::
• Offer messages of
sexual empowerment
- assertive,
provocative and in
control of ‘the gaze’
• Confident, sassy, sexy
icons challenging
traditional
assumptions about
passive female
sexuality
15. HHoommeewwoorrkk::
• Find two adverts portraying women on Youtube.
(One from the 1950s and one from present day)
• Using the PETE structure and your key words, write
an analysis of the two adverts thinking about how
the women are being represented. Also think
about how different audiences might interpret the
representation.
• Think about the media structure of the advert as
well – Mise en Scene, camera shots, signifiers etc.
