Gender Representation in TV Drama

1. GENDER IN TV DRAMA SARAH MCALLISTER

2. GENDER
•The state of being male or female (typically used with
reference to social and cultural differences rather than
biological ones).

3. MEDIATION
•Mediation of media is constant and it is basically the
process of altering the media before it gets sent out to
the public.

4. STEREOTYPE
•A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or
idea of a particular type of person or thing.

5. ARCHETYPES/
ARCHETYPAL
•A very typical example of a certain person or thing.

6. HEGEMONIC NORMS
•The processes by which dominant culture maintains
its dominant position.

7. THE MALE GAZE – LAURA
MULVEYThe Male Gaze, developed by feminist, Laura Mulvey describes how the audience, or viewer, is
put into the perspective of a heterosexual male. Mulvey believes that women should enjoy the
attention of attracting the gaze, and put themselves in positions to be looked at. The concept of
‘the gaze’ is one that deals with how an audience views the people/person presented. Mulvey
states that in film women are typically the objects, rather than the possessors, of gaze because
the control of the camera (and thus the gaze) comes from factors such as the as the assumption
of heterosexual men as the default target audience for most film genres. The male gaze occurs
when the camera puts the audience into the perspective of a heterosexual man. It may, for
instance linger over the curves of a woman's body. The woman is usually displayed on two
different levels:
•As an erotic object for both the characters within the film
•The spectator who is watching the film
The man emerges as the dominant power within the created film fantasy. The woman is passive
to the active gaze from the man. This adds an element of 'patriarchal' order and it is often seen
in "illusionistic narrative film". Mulvey argues that, in mainstream cinema, the male gaze typically
takes precedence over the female gaze, reflecting an underlying power asymmetry.
Mulvey' also states that the female gaze is the same as the male gaze because women look at
themselves through the eyes of men. A feminist may see the male gaze as either a manifestation
of unequal power between gazer and gazed, or as a conscious or subconscious attempt to
develop that inequality. From this perspective, a woman who welcomes an objectifying gaze may
be simply seeking to benefit men, welcoming such objectification may be viewed as akin to
exhibitionism.

8. THE MALE GAZE – LAURA
MULVEY
The Male Gaze typically focuses on:
•Emphasising curves of the female body
•Referring to women as objects rather than people
•The display of women is how men think they should be perceived
•Female viewers, view the content through the eyes of a man
The Male Gaze has noted how female sexiness is brought into the equation
even when the media product is not sexy. There are some flaws and
disagreements with the theory however:
•Some of the women may enjoy the attention and like people to look at them
•There are videos and media products which use men in the same light, for
instance in Kelly Rowland’s Motivation the men have less clothes on than she
does and she treats them as though they are objects.

9. MARJORIE FERGUSON
Marjorie Ferguson (1980) identified four types of facial expression in the cover photos
of British women’s magazines:
•Chocolate Box: half or full-smile, lips together or slightly parted, teeth barely visible,
full or three-quarter face to camera. Projected mood: blandly pleasing, warm bath
warmth, where uniformity of features in their smooth perfection is devoid of
uniqueness or of individuality.
•Invitational: emphasis on the eyes, mouth shut or with only a hint of a smile, head to
one side or looking back to camera. Projected mood: suggestive of mischief or
mystery, the hint of contact potential rather than sexual promise, the cover
equivalent of advertising’s soft sell.
•Super-smiler: full face, wide open toothy smile, head thrust forward or chin thrown
back, hair often wind-blown. Projected mood: aggressive, ‘look-at-me’ demanding,
the hard sell, ‘big come-on’ approach.
•Romantic or Sexual: a fourth and more general classification devised to include male
and female ‘two-somes’; or the dreamy, heavy-lidded, unsmiling big-heads, or the
overtly sensual or sexual. Projected moods: possible ‘available’ and definitely
‘available’.

10. DAVID GAUNTLETT
Fluidity of identities and the decline of tradition
We have seen various ways in which popular ideas about the self in society
have changed, so that identity is today seen as more fluid and transformable
than ever before. Twenty or thirty years ago, analysis of popular media often
told researchers that mainstream culture was a backwards-looking force,
resistant to social change and trying to push people back into traditional
categories. Today, it seems more appropriate to emphasise that, within
limits, the mass media is a force for change. The traditional view of a woman
as a housewife or low-status worker has been kick-boxed out of the picture
by the feisty, successful 'girl power' icons. Meanwhile the masculine ideals of
absolute toughness, stubborn self-reliance and emotional silence have been
shaken by a new emphasis on men's emotions, need for advice, and the
problems of masculinity. Although gender categories have not been
shattered, these alternative ideas and images have at least created space for
a greater diversity of identities.