This document discusses gender representation in media. It begins by outlining the learning objectives of exploring how femininity and masculinity are represented in media through stereotypes in film, music and advertising. It then discusses student tasks analyzing representations of gender in magazines, television shows, and advertisements. Specifically, it notes that women are often represented narrowly through domestic or sexualized roles, while representations of men increasingly focus on physique, strength, and sexuality. The document aims to have students understand and critique common gender stereotypes in various media.

1. Gender Representations
December 2013

2. Gender REPRESENTATION

3. Learning Objectives
• To explore femininity and masculinity and
how it is represented in the media
• To understand the stereotypical
representations of gender in the media
• To explore the representation of gender in
film, music and advertising

4. Think, Pair and Share
Individually write down:
• What is representation?
Pair up and discuss
• What is a stereotype?
• Name an example of a stereotype from a
media form
• Share with the group your two answers.

5. Class discussion

6. What is Representation?
-Representation is the construction of ideas surrounding reality.
-The problem with representation is it is just that ,a re-presentation of
someone else's view of reality not reality itself. At times an audience may
misinterpret this.
-In some examples, representation can also be our desires of reality, but is
very far away from actually representing reality
-Some texts may contain obviously unrealistic representations of reality, but
over saturation of any common representation could effect and influence a
passive audience.
-It could also be argued the representations media texts contain are
commonly stereotypes.
-For example stereotypes of cultural identities, race, gender and class
Some texts include stereotypical representations of certain types of people
deliberately, why?

7. What is a stereotype?
A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of
person. A stereotype is a prejudice someone has and applied to a particular
person based on an assumption.
A stereotype is a pre-conceived notion of a certain group of people. To
stereotype is to judge someone's character on some sort of superficial
appearance.
-A stereotype of the woman would be – the carer
-A stereotype of a woman with blonde hair?
-A stereotype of males?
-A stereotype of Americans?
-A stereotype of the Irish?
-A stereotype of people who belong to the Jewish religion?
-A stereotype of people who belong to the Muslim religion?

8. Task
What is your opinion of any of the following? Discuss
in pairs and write down 3 points on each person
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David Beckham
Britney Spears
Nelson Mandela
Star Trek fans
Immigrants

9. • In most of these cases it is unlikely that you
know these people personally — what
impression that you have of them must come
from the media. They have given us
descriptions that have affected our views of
these people.

10. Representation of Women

11. Women and Femininity
• Women have a narrow set of representations in
the media
• Domestic situations: Housewives or Mothers
• Sex objects (sexualized and objectified) to
entertain and please the male audience

12. Task
In groups of three:
Pick 3 Magazine front covers that are completely
different genres of magazine
Analyse the representation of women:
Is it a normal representation or a stereotype?
How does it appeal to women?
What language is being used?
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13. Visual Codes
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Clothing and physical appearance
Gesture and body language
Facial Expressions
Settings
Use of colour
Any use of graphics
Denotation/Conotation
Intertextuality

14. Technical Codes
• Shots – range of shots and why they’re used –
wide shots? Close ups? High/low angle shots?
• Editing or manipulation of the images?
• Use of Lighting – what type and why?
• Mise en Scene – what’s in the shot.

15. Task - analyse
• iplayer (Drama and Soaps)
• 1 Cagney and Lacey (Taxi Cab murders)
• 2 Doctors (Series 15 .157)
How are the women represented?
Upload findings to your blog – with screen
grabs of examples to illustrate your points.

16. Women in Advertising
Watch the following clip (next slide)
• How are women generally represented in
Advertising?
• Why?
• Who is in control of most advertising ?

18. Task
• Find two adverts that represent women in two
different lights.
• These can be from different media forms.
• Reflect on the mise-en-scene, technical codes,
camera, lighting and location etc

19. Learning Objectives
• What have you learnt from todays class?

20. Differences in Gender
• Look at the following magazines (next slide)
• How are the genders represented?
• What technical codes are used (Camera/Miseen-Scene/Body Language etc)
• Who would be the audience for these
magazines and who might be an alternative
audience.

22. Male Representations today
Representations of men focus on
• Body Image and physique
• Physical strength
• Sexual attractiveness
• Power and independence

23. Representation of Men
• 1 Homefront Official Trailer #1 (2013)
• 2 The Wanted - We Own The Night
• 3 Dolce&Gabbana The One: "Street of
Dreams"
1 How are the main male characters represented
in the clips?
Extension: How are the main female characters
represented?
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24. How do men’s magazines attract
their audience?
• Create a mind map with how you think they
attract their audience
• Can you think of any specific examples?

25. Representation of Men

26. Representation of Men

27. Idea of the New Man
• What do you think is meant by the term – ‘New
Man’?
• A man who can be both masculine and feminine
• Links with sexualised images of men, the new
roles that men are taking, culture today...

28. Can you think of any
examples of the ‘New Man’?

29. Examples of Old and New
Representations
Old
New

30. Examples of Old and New
Representations
Old
New

31. Task
In groups of three:
Pick 3 Magazine front covers that are
completely different genres of magazine
Analyse the representation of men:
Is it a normal representation or a stereotype?
How does it appeal to men?
What language is being used?

32. In Conclusion
• Write down 3 thing about representation that
you have learned during this lesson.