This was presented at the National Conference at Jaipur on October 3, 2015.

1. Social Transformation and
Media: Realities and Challenges
GENDER & MEDIA:
Connections and Possibilities
Mira K Desai
Associate Professor & I/C HOD
University Department of Extension Education
SNDT Women’s University, Juhu Campus, Mumbai

2. 1,18,59,58,045 people

3. Social Transformation……..
• Isn’t it an inevitable process of time?
• Is it a ‘reality’ of today or future?
• Is it our creation of the world that we live in?
• What is getting TRANFROMED!! People or
Technology or both?
• Is there anything SOCIAL about it?
• Is it happening in reality?

4. Whose REALITIES…..?!

7. Indian Media Journey in Numbers
MEDIA THEN NOW
Newspapers
and Periodicals
3000 in 1947 including
300 dailies
93,985 registered
publications by Dec 2012
Television Two-hour/day
transmission on ONE
channel and 41 TV Sets
in 1962
850 channels with 24X7
telecast and from 127
million in 2008 to 253
million households in 2010
Films 280 films in 1947 and
had 150 theatres in
1921
1250 productions in 2010
having 13000 Cinema halls
Radio 1 AM radio channel in
1947
Multiple Stations: AM ,
FM, Community, Campus
Internet Inception in 1995, 4.55
million users in 2004
160 ISPs, 71 million
‘claimed’ users

8. We all Consume MEDIA……

9. MEDIA can be for…….
Individual
Group
Mass

10. Audio Media

11. Visual
Media

12. Visual Media

13. Audio- Visual
Media

14. Out Of
House Media

15. Out of House Media

16. New Media

17. Media Sector Avenues
Mass Media:
Print: Newspapers & Magazines
Radio
TV
Films
Other Media:
Publishing: Books
Mobile & Telecom
Internet
Outdoors & Events
Advertising
Acting
Journalism
Public relations
Graphics-Gaming
Beauty & Make Up
Art & Design
Computer Animation
Fitness
Food
Transport

18. Main Stream Media TODAY……..
• Creates ‘HAPPY HAPPY’ or ‘Sad Sad’ realities
• Skewed representations- one way realities
• Promotes PRESENT orientation
• Projects LIFESTYLES, Values consumerism, Rejects
idealism, Negates rationalism
• Alliances with other sectors of society making the
circle of influence deeper
UNREAL Realities

19. Trends in last
two decade
Ownership
Co-existence
of big and small
Distribution
Digitisation &
Last mile,
Globalisation
Consumption
Multiple access points,
Lack of loyalty
Fragmented attention

20. What is Gender?

21. Gender is constructed……
INSTITUTIONS
• Family
• Education
• Religion
• Caste
• State
• Media
• Market
CONTROLS
• Fertility
• Labour
• Mobility
• Property
• Resources
• Sexuality

22. WE define……PEOPLE-men/women?
AGE
CASTE
SEX
CLASS
RACE
EDUCATION

23. GENDER/Women - Media
• Women as shown in Media (subjects)
• Women who use Media (as audiences)
• Women who work in Media (professionals)
• Women’s media ( media created by
women)
• Women who work for those who work in
media (Support services- makeup, hair,
catering, stylists, etc.)

24. Women as Performers
In front of Camera - Behind Camera
With lots of clothes - Without clothes

25. Women as News Subjects

26. Women as
Presenters

27. WOMEN as MEDIA Audiences

28. Women as
Technicians

29. Women as Communicators
• Novelists
• Journalists
• Writers
• Directors
• Producers
• Financers
• Painters
• Sculpture artists
• Poets
• Singers
• Dancers
• Actresses
• Folk Artists
• Presenters
• Anchors
• Photographers

30. Women as Communicators

31. Women Communicators

32. PRIVATE ROLES attached to SEX
WOMEN
• Mother
• Wife
• Sister
• Friends
• Daughter
• Daughter-in-law
• Mother-in-law
• Sister-in-law
MEN
• Father
• Husband
• Brother
• Friends
• Son
• Son-in-law
• Father-in-law
• Brother-in-law

33. QUALITIES expected of SEXES
WOMEN
• Passive
• Submissive
• Domesticated
• Delicate
• Pretty
• Cute
• Caring
MEN
• Active
• Aggressive
• Daring
• Stud
• Strong
• Tough
• In-Charge

34. Behaviour expected from SEX
WOMEN
• Agree with what
others say
• Behave as
expected in a
given role
• Defined
boundaries of
movement
MEN
• Lead the way
• Take control of
situation
• Lead others and
given discounts to
women as stupid
• Free to do anything

35. Valuation attached to SEX
WOMEN
• What they do in
house is not of
much value
• If she is working
outside and
independent
she is ignoring
family
MEN
• IF they do any
work in house
they are obliging
women
• If he is working
from home,
helping wife, he is
good husband

36. On TELEVISION ……

37. IN
REAL
…LIFE

38. Why difference in these women!!!
• Media likes to show women as suffering,
sacrificing, submissive, silent, subdued,
passive individual driven by others.
• Media creates stereotypes of mother-
daughter-wife-sister which fits into
subordinate roles.
• Media promotes women as body- worker
without strength- person without own power.

39. MEDIA- What does it do?
• MIRRORs the Society…..
• Creates MARKET by selling you ideas,
products, services…..
• MEDIATES experiences of its audiences….
• Provides MYTHs…..Circulates and
sustains them……
• CREATES definitions of NORMAL

40. Media and Gender
• Media creates definitions about:
Who are ‘these’ people?
What wo/men should wear?
When and where wo/men should move?
How should wo/men behave?
• Media stereotypes Gender realities.
• Media perpetuates Gender existences.
• Media conditions gendered experiences.

41. Media creates Definitions
• Man should be metro-sexual.
• Woman should be sexy.
• Woman should be size ZERO.
• Girls are cute/vulnerable/sweet.
• Man can/should control women.
• Man is the head of the household.
• Woman have to/must marry.
• Man is free to make multiple alliances.

42. Media stereotypes Realities
• Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law
always fight, What about Father –Son?
• Women can’t be friends to each other,
how many friendships do we have!!
• Husband has a ‘rights’ over the wife,
What about rights of the wife?
• Children are mother’s responsibility,
aren’t they joint pleasures/responsibility?

43. Media perpetuates Gender existences
• Women are dying to get male attention.
• Women need to look ‘beautiful’.
• Woman are body and man are brain.
• Woman can not survive without man.
• When woman say NO it is yes?
• Woman has no SAY in decisions of her life!
• Woman’s first priority is HOME.

44. Role of MEDIA
• Informal educator for the young
• Interface for individual with society
• Mirror-voices of the society
• Preserver of Culture
• Representation of ‘voiceless’
• Inclusion of excluded population
• Space for sustaining democracy
NOT merely a PRODUCT to make & sell

45. We must……

46. GMMP- Global Media Monitoring Project
• largestandlongestlongitudinalstudyonthegenderinthe
world’smedia.
• largestadvocacyinitiativeintheworldonchangingthe
representationofwomeninthemedia.
• participantsrangingfromgrassrootscommunity
organizationstouniversitystudentsandresearchersto
mediapractitioners
• www.whomakesthenews.organdwww.waccglobal.org

47. GMMP over the years
• FIVE so far: 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015
• 2010-10 November 2015- March 25
• Volunteer groups in 140 countries across the
world monitored national newspapers,
listened to radio newscasts and watched local
television
• A snapshot of the representation and
portrayal of women and men in news media
around the world-

48. WOMEN and Media….as
News
Providers/
Sources
Media
Professionals
News
Subjects
Portrayal in news

49. GMMP 2010
• Sample: 6,902 news items and 14,044 news subjects,
including people interviewed in the news.
• Themes: Politics/government dominate the biggest chunk
of coverage (27% of the total number of stories),
crime/violence comes second at 20%, and the economy
third at 18%.
• People: 24% of the people interviewed, heard, seen or read
about in mainstream broadcast and print news are female;
only 16% of all stories focus specifically on women.
• Change: GMMP 1995 recorded only 17% of the people in
the news were women which became 24% n 25% in 2015.
ONLY 8% rise in visibility of women in last 20 years.

50. GMMP: Global – Local….Gender??
Global India Mumbai
Women as News
subjects
24%
76% M
22%
78% M
20%
74% M
Women news reporters 37% 34% 14%
Women central stories 13% 12% 8%
Gender policy reference 10% 9% 6%
Highlighting G. equality 6% 5% 8%

51. LOOKING
SEEING
THINKING
UNDERSTANDINGWords have Meanings.
Meanings create world.
ENGAGING

52. Challenges
• Women/people as human being
• Individual with aspirations, needs, life
• People as equal partners of civilization
• Women for being ‘what she is’ rather
than ‘what she should be’
• Men as essential players in the process of
empowerment of women

53. Possibilities
• Media literacy and gender sensitization as
curricular change for general public as well
as media students and professionals
• Individual users can boycott media that
represent gender in inappropriate manner
• Support ‘alternate’ media spaces
• Media houses can take on gender sensitive
portrayal and education as their mandate
• Society to give women their ‘dues’

54. THANK YOU for your
TIME & ATTENTION
feel free to connect@
drmiradesai@gmail.com
sndtmedia@hotmail.com