Gender

REPRESENTATION
GENDER
AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of media
concepts, contexts and critical debates.
AO2: Apply knowledge and understanding when analysing media
products and processes, to show how meanings and responses are
created.

AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of media concepts, contexts and
critical debates.
GGeennddeerr is perhaps the
basic category we use for
sorting human beings.
Essential elements of our
own identity, and the
identities we assume other
people to have, come from
concepts of gender - what
does it mean to be a boy or a
girl?

critical debates.
Many objects, not just humans, are represented by the
media as being particularly masculine or feminine -
particularly in advertising - and we grow up with an
awareness of what constitutes 'appropriate'
characteristics for each gender.

critical debates.
What do the media tell us are ‘typical’
masculine and feminine attributes?
List as many as you can think of:
Masculine Feminine
• tough
• hard
• sweaty
• active
• fragile
• soft
• fragrant
• passive
Notice how these tend to be opposites…

critical debates.
How might the following objects be 'gendered'
through advertising, given that both sexes will use
the product, i.e. how will the advertisers appeal to
their masculine/feminine audience? What codes
and images will they use?
• A car
• A watch
• Bottled beer
• Toilet paper
• Deodorant
• Music system (iPod
etc.)
• Trainers
• A games console

critical debates.
Traditional ideologies about
gender
"Gender ideology refers to attitudes regarding the
appropriate roles, rights, and responsibilities of women
and men in society."
- Amy Kroska (American Sociological Association)

critical debates.
Traditionally, men have held the power in our society. The
system where men have power and control in society is called
patriarchy.
It is understood as a society run by men for men.

critical debates.
The result of patriarchy is that traditionally
male qualities and attributes are generally
seen as superior to traditionally female
qualities and attributes.
The CEOs and heads of most big
businesses are male, including those in
the media. They naturally
(unconsciously?) promote their own
qualities as superior through the
ideological makeup of the texts they
produce.
They are also usually: straight, white
and over 40... (but we’ll get to that later!)

AO2: Apply knowledge and understanding when analysing media products and
processes, to show how meanings and responses are created.
How do action films link to patriarchal ideas about
gender? [Hint: what typical roles are assigned to men and women?]

Two of the most common traditional roles women were
represented in under patriarchy were the happy housewife
and the sex object/ glamorous ideal.
How might these stereotypes suit
patriarchal ideology?

critical debates.
From the 1960s onwards,
feminism challenged
patriarchy. Feminism sought to
gain equality for women and
argued that changing
representations in the media
was vital to do so.
Feminism resulted in anti-sexism
legislation and increased
respect and opportunities for
women. Suddenly gender roles
were less defined in real life and
this was reflected in media
representations.

critical debates.
These representations typified
the idea of women:
• having a serious career
• wearing trousers
• smoking, drinking or swearing
• playing sport (inc. football)
• being ‘unable’ to cook
Roles more traditionally
allocated to men.

How do action films reflect these changes in representation?

critical debates.
Men, too, have seen their represented
roles change.
• the house husband/ stay-at-home dad
• men baking/ cooking
• male grooming products
• ‘the new man’, in touch with his
emotions
These are more
traditionally
‘female’ roles,
leading some to
talk of ‘a crisis
of
masculinity’.

critical debates.
Some see two responses in modern masculine identity:
1. A ‘feminisation’ of the male
as he adopts traditionally
feminine roles and attributes, e.g.
the metrosexual
2. ‘Hypermasculinity’ – an
extreme macho identity aimed
at making men distinct from
women along traditional lines,
e.g. the lad

critical debates.
Recent studies have shown that
women are re-embracing the role of
the housewife, as a right rather than a
limitation.
This can be seen as a post-feminist
era, where women have achieved
equality and can choose their own
role. This often includes adopting
what were once perceived as sexist
roles, like sex objects.
Some see this as a positive assertion
of choice, others label it as retro-sexism
and a new era of female
oppression.
Post-feminist or
retro-sexist?

critical debates. AO2: Apply knowledge and understanding when analysing media
products and processes, to show how meanings and responses are created.
Let’s look at some modern texts and try to apply some of
these theoretical viewpoints.
Empowered or controlled?
Objectified?
Feminised men?
Hyper-masculine?
What qualities or attributes are
present?
Patriarchal, feminist, post-feminist
or retro-sexism?

Text 1: ‘Captain America’ trailer
Text 2: Snickers ‘Inner Diva’ advert
Text 3: ‘The Heat’ trailer
Text 4: ‘Diet Coke’ advert
Text 5: ‘Invictus’ advert
Text 6: ‘Iambs’ advert
Empowered or controlled?
Objectified?
Feminised men?
Hyper-masculine?
What qualities or attributes are
present?
Patriarchal, feminist, post-feminist
or retro-sexism?
Watch and make notes on
your text, ready to share
your ideas with the class.

What conclusions can we reach about the ways men and
women are represented in the media?
• Appearance
• Behaviour
• Relationships
• Role/ function
• Equilibrium/ disequilibrium
• Ideology
Constructionist approach – a reminder:
The thing itself / the opinion of the encoder / reading and response of
audience / context of society within which the representation takes place

critical debates.
• Beauty (within narrow
conventions)
• Size/physique (within
narrow conventions)
• Sexuality (as emphasised
by the above)
• Emotional (as opposed to
intellectual) dealings
• Relationships (as opposed
to independence/freedom)

critical debates.
• Women are often represented as being part of a context (family,
friends, colleagues) and working/thinking as part of a team.
• They tend to take the role of helper (think of Propp’s theory) or
object; passive rather than active.
• Often their passivity extends to victimhood.
• Men are still represented as TV drama characters up to 3 times
more frequently than women, and tend to be the predominant
focus of news stories.
• The representations of women that do make it onto screen tend
to be stereotypical, in terms of conforming to societal
expectations.
• Characters who do not fit into the mould tend to be seen as
dangerous and deviant. And they get their comeuppance,
particularly in the movies.

critical debates.
'Masculinity' is a concept that is made up of more rigid
stereotypes than femininity. Representations of men
across all media tend to focus on the following:
• Strength (physical and intellectual)
• Power
• Sexual attractiveness (which may be based on the
above)
• Physique
• Independence (of thought and action)

critical debates.
• Male characters are often
represented as isolated, as not
needing to rely on others (the lone
hero).
• If they are part of a family, it is often
part of the resolution of a narrative,
rather than as part of the initial
equilibrium.
• The male physique is becoming more
important a part of representations
of masculinity. 'Serious' Hollywood
actors in their forties (e.g. Brad Pitt;
George Clooney) are expected to
have a level of 'buffness' that was
not aspired to even by young heart-throbs
40 years ago.
The ‘alpha’ male

critical debates.
Research has shown that there are now seven main
stereotypes of men:
The big shot – defined by his professional status, he is the
epitome of success. He has the characteristics and
possessions that society deems desirable.
The action hero – strong but not always silent.
Often angry. He is violent and aggressive.
These stereotypes
suggest that a ‘real
man’ must be
powerful and
successful.

critical debates.
The strong silent type – focuses on being in charge and
containing emotion, reinforcing the idea that men should
always be ‘in control’ and to show emotion is weak.
The metrosexual – as already
discussed.
The jock – must avoid being ‘soft’.
He is aggressive, fighting other men
where necessary, and shows his
power and strength through physical
exertion. By doing so, he wins the
approval of men and the admiration
of women.

critical debates.
The joker – a popular character with
other men, this stereotype suggests
men should never be serious or
emotional. The jokes are usually made
at the expense of any available female
characters or male characters exhibiting
‘female’ characteristics.

critical debates.
The fool/ buffoon – e.g. the bungling father. Usually well-intentioned
and light hearted, the fool can range from slightly
inept to completely hopeless in work or (more usually)
parenting and domestic situations.
This might seem like a
negative representation
however...
• it stresses the
‘unsuitability’ of men for
a domestic role,
reinforcing patriarchal
ideologies
• they always come out on top in the end!

critical debates.
Binary opposites in male
representation
If men cannot fulfil the stringent criteria
for ‘alpha’ maledom, they are relegated
to ‘beta’ male status. Foolish, childish
and prone to error, these men are
celebrated through adverts, TV shows
(e.g. Jackass) and films.
Women’s role in this is to either create
the beta male by belittling or
dominating him, or to disapprove of
him (often within a marriage or
relationship), acting as ‘the straight
man’ if not the prize.

critical debates.
Is there a middle ground between
alpha and beta men? Yes!
David Beckham is an alpha male, but
he is also a ‘metrosexual’ and is
objectified for female (and male)
audiences. (Bear this in mind when we
consider ‘the gaze’ later on.)
He is part of a family unit and his
narratives often revolve around this
aspect of his life.
How does this representation
affect his mainstream appeal?

critical debates.
Binary opposites in
female representation:
‘Good’ girls and
‘bad’ girls
Wife, mother.
Subservient,
Compliant. Docile.
Domesticated.
Virtuous. Sexy and
Attractive. Available
(to partner).
Single, independent.
Belligerent. Unruly.
Outspoken/
aggressive. Sluttish.
Immoral. Overtly
Sexual. Available (to
anyone).
Men’s role in
this is typically
to protect or
objectify.
Or both.

critical debates.
Is there a middle ground between ‘good’ girls and ‘bad’
girls? No!
Research shows that traditional
patriarchal discourse (and the media) is
saturated with this binary opposite: the
madonna/whore dichotomy.
Sue Lees conducted research into the
impact of these stereotypes on the
perceptions of police and judges
involved in rape trials. She found that
they contributed to the common attitude
that some women are “asking for it”.
How does Rhianna’s ‘bad girl’ persona/
representation affect her mainstream appeal?

GGEENNDDEERRTTRROOUUBBLLEE?? How do these pictures
challenge assumptions
on gender?

critical debates.
Judith Butler: theorist of power, gender,
sexuality and identity. She wrote ‘Gender
Trouble’.
Butler suggests that gender is not the result of nature but is
socially constructed e.g. male and female behaviour and
roles are not the result of biology but are constructed and
reinforced by society through media and culture.
Rather than being a fixed attribute in a person, she argues that
gender should be seen as a fluid variable which shifts and
changes in different contexts and at different times. However,
the media reinforces and exaggerates stereotypical ‘male’ and
‘female’ behaviour, which we adopt as ‘normal’. In this way,
gender becomes a performance, with the media providing the
script.

critical debates.
Judith Butler: ‘gender performance’ and Lady Gaga
Maleness and masculinity, in this
case, are being performed through
Lady Gaga’s actions and choices,
rather than being a trait that pre-exists
within the individual.

critical debates.
Judith Butler: ‘gender performance’ and Lady Gaga
“I love the rumour that I have a
penis. I'm fascinated by it. In
fact, it makes me love my fans
even more that this rumour is in
the world because 17,000 of
them come to an arena every
night and they don't care if I'm
a man, a woman, a
hermaphrodite, gay,
straight, transgendered, or
transsexual.”

critical debates.
Judith Butler and Queer Theory
Note: Queer Theory isn’t just about homosexuality. It also explores
cross-dressing, gender-ambiguity, gender-corrective surgery and
intersexual identity.
Queer Theory explores and challenges the way in which
heterosexuality is constructed as normal and homosexuality
as deviant.
The media has historically limited the representations of gay
men and women. Hollywood films, TV ads, and other
mainstream texts often construct images of ‘normal’ happy
heterosexual couples, but homosexual couples are often
represented in terms of sin, sickness or shame. Think about
how many gay soap characters are involved in extra-marital
affairs! This is, however, changing...

critical debates.
‘Camp’: challenging notions of ‘masculinity’
The word ‘camp’ is linked to Queer Theory – it involves an
exaggerated performance of femininity, usually by men. It
involves an emphasis on style, image, breaking of taboos and
poking fun at authority and is often used in comedy, game and
chat shows. Historically, it is linked to homosexuality but…

critical debates.
Judith Butler and Queer Theory
Queer Theory challenges the traditionally
held assumptions that there is a binary divide
between being gay and heterosexual and
suggests sexual identity is more fluid. This
fits with Butler’s ideas of ‘gender trouble’.
Look the examples opposite:
• ironic and ‘over-the-top’ performances
• over-elaborate costumes and make-up
• use feminine and camp gestures
• not ‘macho’
• camp but not necessarily gay
Can you think of any others?

critical debates.
How does ‘Orange is the New Black’ fit with Butler’s ideas of
gender trouble and/or challenge traditional notions of femininity?

critical debates.
How Kellie Maloney and Laverne Cox fit with Butler’s ideas of
gender trouble and/or challenge traditional notions of gender? Is
this gender as performance or more than that?
Can we separate representation from
reality?

What conclusions can we reach about the ways men and
women are represented in the media?
Write an A-Z of
gender
representation.
• Appearance
• Behaviour
• Relationships
• Role/ function
• Equilibrium/ disequilibrium
• Ideology
• Audience readings and responses
• Queer Theory

critical debates.
Focus on advertising
Adverts are
aimed at a
gendered
audience,
telling us what
it means to be
a man or a
woman. They
use gender
stereotypes
intentionally
as a short-hand.

critical debates.

critical debates.
It's not based in actual behaviour. In ordinary life,
neither adult men nor adult women commonly strike
poses like those we see regularly in fashion magazines.

critical debates.
Yet for some reason it seems normal to display pictures of women
striking poses that would seem funny or strange when struck by men.
Erving Goffman's study called “Gender Advertisements” is useful here
because he focused on, among other things, poses common to
magazine advertisements. "Commercial photographs," Goffman points
out, "involve carefully performed poses presented in the style of being
'only natural'." (84)

Are these poses more natural for one gender over
another? Are they natural at all?

How natural do these poses seem now?

critical debates.
According to Kilbourne, women are
more often shown “dismembered”
(just parts of their bodies shown),
associated with products, shown as
smaller than a man, engaged in
various forms of ritualized
subordination, prostrate or
recumbent, bent or leaning back,
infantilized (with finger coyly in
their mouth, standing pigeon-toed,
wearing little girl clothes, sucking
on lollipops, etc.), looking dreamy
and introverted, overcome with
emotions, or symbolically silenced
with hand over the mouth.

critical debates.
Why does it strike us as odd,
bizarre or humorous when
roles are reversed?
What does this tell us about
the cultural construction of
gender – of the qualities are
associated with images of
masculinity and femininity
and the accepted boundaries
between them?

Gender Representations in Advertising
Goffman’s Theory (1972)
Goffman argues that there are codes which can
be used to identify gender. These codes of gender
can be seen in the portrayals of men and women in
advertising.
Superiority, Domination & Body Language: Men
are shown in dominant positions and appear to be
reflective of thought and intelligence. Women are
physically portrayed in sexual or reclining poses
with blank or inviting expressions.
Dismemberment: On females, parts of the body
such as legs, chest, etc., are used, rather than the
full body. This is often applied to sell products which
are not related to the body, such as mobile phones
(right)
The Voice-Over Authority: In moving image
advertisements, male voices are used as voice-overs
in commercials rather than females.

Homework: Find an advert (moving image or print-based)
that features one of Goffman’s codes in its representation of
gender.
Superiority, Domination & Body Language: Men are shown in dominant
positions and appear to be reflective of thought and intelligence. Women are
physically portrayed in sexual or reclining poses with blank or inviting
expressions.
Dismemberment: On females, parts of the body such as legs, chest, etc.,
are used, rather than the full body. This is often applied to sell products which
are not related to the body.
The Voice-Over Authority: In moving image advertisements, male voices
are used as voice-overs in commercials rather than females.
Write a short analysis (500 words max) on your chosen advert,
exploring how it reinforces or challenges typical gender roles. Use
Goffman’s codes and apply a theoretical viewpoint if you can.

critical debates.
Laura Mulvey, objectification
and ‘the gaze’.
The concept of ‘gaze’ is one that deals with how an audience
views the people presented.
When considering gender representation, the main concerns
are:
• how men look at women
• how women look at themselves
• how women look at other women

Thinking about what we’ve just found out, what are the
connotations of ‘the gaze’ of these women?

critical debates.
Laura Mulvey is a British feminist film theorist. In
her 1973 essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative
Cinema she argued that classic Hollywood cinema
puts the spectator in a masculine position, with the
figure of the woman on screen as the object of
desire.
Because the viewer is gendered as male (even if
she’s a woman!) the woman on the screen is
‘controlled’ and made an ‘object’ of male desire.
Let’s explore this a little further… *(constructed by the gaze)

critical debates.
Why is the audience ‘male’?
"In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split
between active/male and passive/female"
1. Historic power roles: directors tend to be male, thus presenting a
‘male’ representation of their subject. Therefore, even if you’re a
woman, you’re seeing the world of the film through a man’s eyes.
2. Viewers are encouraged to identify with the protagonist of the film
who, more often than not, is a man. Therefore, even if you’re a woman,
you’re identifying with a man’s view of the cinematic world.
In both these examples, the ‘male’ is active (the one doing the looking)
and the ‘female’ is passive (the one being looked at). Male characters
may also be looked at, but it is still a male viewpoint.

critical debates.
Mulvey’s Argument
In “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” Laura
Mulvey argues for the concept of a “male gaze”. The
audience is required to see the action and characters
of a text through the perspective of a heterosexual
man; the camera lingers on the curves of the female
body, and events which occur to women are
presented largely in the context of a man's reaction to
these events. Mulvey argues that the male gaze
relegates women to the status of objects. The female
viewer experiences the text secondarily, by
identification with the male.

critical debates.
“The determining male gaze
projects its fantasy on to the
female figure which is styled
accordingly. In their traditional
exhibitionist role women are
simultaneously looked at and
displayed, with their appearance
coded for strong visual and erotic
impact so that they can be said to
connote to-be-looked-at-ness.
-- Laura Mulvey
The camera
lingers on the
female body;
events which
occur to women
are presented in
the context of
men’s reactions
to them; the
viewer identifies
with the male.

critical debates.
In other words...
• Women are objectified for male viewing
pleasure
• In films, they have little to do with the
progression of the plot but actually slow it
down as the viewer pauses to look at them
• Events which occur to women on screen are
presented largely in the context of a man’s
reaction to these events

critical debates.
“I love the way she fills her clothes. She looks just like them
girls in Vogue.” – Scouting for Girls, ‘She’s so Lovely’.
Watch the video then get ready for some questions...

critical debates.
What colour top was she wearing? Was he wearing?
Which bowling lane was used?
What colour belt did she wear? Did he wear?
What colour shoes did she have? Did he have?
What colour eyes did she have? Did he have?
Could you answer all the questions?
Possible reason why not: you were too busy looking at
the woman!

critical debates.
Look at the images you have been given.
1) How is the gaze of the audience gendered?
2) How is the audience positioned in relation
to the female figure in the image?
3) What representation of the women in the
images is present?

critical debates.
HORROR movie posters in the 1950s regularly focus on
a scene of attack, with a woman in peril. The posters
put the viewers in the position where they are asked to
take action and to imagine themselves doing
something to save the woman. The main scene in each
poster spills over the edge of the poster, making it
seem as if we, the audience, are there in the frame –
we are incited to act. For example, in the creature
from black lagoon poster, the rescuers are far away –
“we” are closer. Conversely, women always are always
victims and powerless. If they have any power, this is
demonized.
Has anything changed?

These adverts are aimed at a female audience. How is their gaze
gendered?

critical debates.
So what about the female gaze?
Mulvey believes that women take on the male
gaze because they view media from the
perspective of men – they then view other
women the way men would and objectify
them in the same way.
She thinks that the female gaze is negated, or
‘drowned out’ by the dominant male gaze.

This photograph
exemplifies Mulvey’s
ideas about the
classic treatment of
the ‘female gaze’
• We can’t see what the woman is looking at (so it’s not the focus
of the photograph)
• She and the object of her gaze are framed by the man and by
what he is looking at – the painting of a nude woman
• We follow the gaze of the man and look at what he’s looking at,
identifying with him; we see what he sees
• Both women are ‘passive’; the man is ‘active’
• The female gaze is ‘negated’ and she is thus ‘controlled’
• The dominant gaze is masculine

critical debates.
So, is the female gaze
‘drowned out’?
How is the gaze gendered in this
image of David Beckham?
Team A:
Team B:
Argue that
Argue that
the gaze is
the gaze is
gendered as
gendered as
female
male

critical debates.
The ‘female gaze’ and representation
So, what does this have to do with representation?
How does it affect our way of understanding women
and men in moving media texts?
If men looking at women is the ‘norm’ then what
happens when a woman looks at a man?
Let’s look at some examples…

Spartacus (1960) and Gladiator (2000)
You will watch two clips from each film, focusing on the connotations of
‘the female gaze’ within the film.
Clip 1 from each film shows a woman gazing at a man. What sort of
character is this woman? How does she relate to the men around her?
What are the connotations of the way she looks at the man? Is she a
positive or negative figure? Is she stereotypically masculine or
feminine? Is she active or passive?
Clip 2 from each film shows a man being gazed at by other men. How
does he react? How does it affect his ‘masculine’ status? Is he in an
active or passive role?
How does all this affect our view of women looking at men or men
looking at women? Is the year the films were made significant at all?
Fill in the table on your sheet with your ideas.

critical debates.
Why is the gaze important when considering representation?
Do you agree? Watch the clip about Charlie’s
Angels and make notes on female
empowerment and sexuality. Are
they mutually exclusive? Does
Schroeder’s belief apply?

critical debates.
A more current example: does Katy Perry
prove Schroeder wrong?
Katy Perry, ‘Roar‘,
directed by Grady Hall and
Mark Kudsi.
How is the gaze
constructed in this video?
Is Katy Perry objectified?
Are we (‘the gazer’) more
powerful than she is?
Also consider: what other representations of Perry are there
in this video? Is she masculine or feminine – or both? Is she
powerful? Dominant? Submissive? How does the video use
gender codes? Mind map some ideas on your tables.

critical debates.
Let’s try analysing some case studies, bringing
together everything we’ve learned:
• Constructionist approach
• Queer Theory
• Goffman’s gendered codes of advertising
• Mulvey’s concept of the gaze
Warning! You’ll then use these (and/or the other texts we’ve
analysed) to answer a practice exam question.

critical debates.
TV advert ‘Tattoo’
Superiority, Domination & Body Language:
Men are shown in dominant positions and
appear to be reflective of thought and
intelligence. Women are physically portrayed
in sexual or reclining poses with blank or
inviting expressions.
Dismemberment: On females, parts of the
body such as legs, chest, etc., are used,
rather than the full body. This is often applied
to sell products which are not related to the
body.
advertisements, male voices are used as
voice-overs in commercials rather than
females.
The thing itself / the opinion of the encoder /
reading and response of audience / context of
society within which the representation takes
How is the gaze gendered?
?? place

critical debates.
TV advert ‘Spicebomb’
body.
females.
?? place

critical debates.
TV advert ‘Cherie’
body.
females.
?? place

critical debates.
TV advert ‘Fame’
body.
females.
?? place

critical debates.
women / men

Gender

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