David Gauntlet Handout: Representations Of Gender In The Past

This handout provided an overview of representations of gender in the media in the past and gave me a variety of information that could later be used in my independent study.

Women and men on tv

• In the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's, only 20 to 35 per cent of characters were female.
• By the mid 80's there were more women in protogonist roles, but there were still twice as many men.
• Miles (1975) found that there were early equal proportions of men and women in situation comedies, although the gender roles and humour could still be sexist. In action-adventure shows only 15 per cent of the leading roles were female.
• 1987 study found found female characters to be most common in comedy programmes (43 per cent). Davis 1990 found in action adventure shows the amount doubled to 29 per cent.
• McNeil (1975) concluded that women's movement was largely ignored by television, with married housewives being the main female role.
• 1970's studies found that men had the dominant characters and the decision makers on TV.
• Gunter (1995) found that men were also seen as active and victorious and Women were also seen as weak and victimised or merely "Token Females".

Gaye Tuchman- 'The symbolic Annihiliation of women by the mass media' (1978):

Televison procalims that women don't count for much. They are underepresented in television's fictional life- they are symbolically Annihiliated. Howver this is only the case within an American society.

Dyer- 'Boxed in - women and television' (1987):

Game shows didn't bother to change their "Degrading and trivialising" views of women, News programmes are accused of "Tokenism" or "Window Dressing", by including some women in key positions whilst retaining a male dominated culture.

Women and men in movies

• Roles of men and women were similiar in both television and movies.

Sharon Smith- 'Women and film' (early 1970's):

The role of women in a film almost always resolves around her physical attraction and the mating games she plays with the male characters. On the other hand males are not purely shown in relation to the female characters, but in several different roles.

E. Ann Kaplan:

In hollywood films, women are ultimately refused a voice and their desire is subjected to male desire.

Kathi Maio:

Hollywood's ideas about gender were "often reprehensible". She stated that "Women are not only given less screen time, being portrayed as "Powerless" and "Ineffectual".

How are women represented in mens lifestye mags?

1. Women are now shown to be more willing to dress more provocatively and it is portrayed as an acceptable representation of women. Women don't question this representation and just seem to accept it as they feel that it is normal.
2. All issues of Mens Magazine will talk about sex, Contain pornographic images of women and show these woemn in a sexual way.
3. The idea of the way they are represented can be seen from the front cover as they are dressed in skimpy outfits and their facial expressions and body language tend to tease the readers.
4. Women are only used on the covers if they are perfect, if this is not the case they won't be used. Men only like to see attractive women featured on the magazine and if this is not what it is the magazine won't be bought. So the editors of the magazine spend a lot of time on perfecting the images by air brushing, lighitng etc.
5.The term modern "Lads" is constructed and nurtured, this refers to men aged 15-25 years.This term shows men in today's society as modern and fashionable young men who are not afraid to admit their fascination and enjoyence of porn.

Migrain Analysis Of My Related Text

As my arguement is to find out to whether females in the media are Stereotypicaally represented and whether or not the media has tried to break this stereotype, i have decided to do a migrain analysis of the trailer of the film Legally blonde. In legally blonde the protogonist is seen by her fellow students as the typical stereotype of being a blonde women, but in this film Ella breaks the stereotype and graduates from law school. The analysis of the trailer is going to show to what extent the media reinforces the stereotype of being blonde and a women.


M: - The open scene shows Elle and Warner on a date, the first impression of Elle is stereotypical bimbo, as she is shown with no respect to others as she screams loudly when warner breaks up with her.
- The next scene shows elle sitting, crying on her bed and eating chocolates. This is a typical image of a girl, and she is portrayed as emotional and not independent. Her bedrom is shown to be girly because of the colour, accessories and the picture of her boyfriend in her room.
- 'going to harvard is the only way im going to get the love of my life back' this quote reinforces that girls are more dependent on men and would do anything to get that support in their life.
- 'shes come in Ricky Martins music video...welcome to Harvard'. This reinforces the fact that women in the media are their for the male gaze. They are portrayed as sex symbols and give the audience the idea that they can use their body to get them places.
I: Legally blonde is Metro Goldwyn Mayer production. This institution is an American media company ivolved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programmes. It was founded April 6th 1924 by Marcus Leow, who is the head of the organisation.
G: The genre of this film is a chick flick- comedy. A chick flick is a movie that is mainly targeted at young females. There are a number of conventions throughout the clip that show that this movie is aimed at girls. For example the protogonist of the film is dressed in pink, and the colour pink relates to young girls. The film is also a comedy as it has scenes of humour.
R: blonde females: The protogonist is stereotypically portrayed by her boyfriend as a 'blonde bimbo'. When he sees her at the law school he shockly says ' Elle are you here to see me' he doesn't even think of the thought that she may study there. This is a stereotypical view on blonde girls that of them being 'dumb' and 'uneducated'
men: they are represented differently in the movie. Men are normally shown to go for the pretty girls but during the trailer, warener is represented and portrayed to be a guy after a girl with 'brains', even though Elle is pretty (this normally wins a guys heart) he dumps her in search for a more educated girlfriend.
A: The main audience for this film is young teenage girls from the age group of 10-18. This can be seen through the typography and the colours used throughout the scenes. Elle is shown to dress really girly in pink clothes and skirts. It is also made clear that this film is aimed at girls through the issues spoken about, such as boyfriends, looks, love etc.
I: The film tries to portray a message that not all blonde girls are bimbo's and that most of them are educated and can be educated and earn a livng. The film breaks the stereotype and shows Elle to be successful.
N: The trailer is a linear montage of shots, as each scene links to the next as it begins to unfold the story. Movie trailers tend to create an eigma, sense of suspense, however this is not the case in the Legally Blonde trailer as most of the film is revealed to the audience. Watching the trailer gives away that this film breaks the sterotype and shows that girls are more independent and not all films and programmes show a stereotypical view of females

How Devil Wears Parada Links To Ugly Betty

The devil wears parada has a similar storyline to Ugly betty, in the film Andrea Sachs is a graduated journalist who gets a job with the fashion industry through Runway magazine. The only thing bringing her down is her appearance and this industry is quite critical about the way people look.

Similar to Ugly betty Andrea Sachs undergo's a makeover to change her simple and plain lifestyle for a more trendy and elegant one, in order to gain acceptance of her ruthless boss and colleagues. This also occurs in Ugly Betty as she also undergo's a makeover in order to fit in and be accepted by her work colleagues.

The Devil Wears Parada synopsis

As given away by the title the film focuses on the world of haute culture, and what an exciting insight it provides! The film is centered on a naïve young girl Andy (Anne Hathaway) who moves to New York with her boyfriend in order to make her break in the world of journalism. However it isn’t quite as easy as she originally thought to secure her dream job and so ends up working as an assistant to the editor (Meryl Streep) of one of the world’s biggest fashion magazines. Andy soon discovers that the job is far more than a simple 9-5 office job and quickly looses her faith in the somewhat false world that is fashion. The plot continues and shows how Andy changes due to the demands of the job and the subsequent pressure this puts on her own life.

How Laura Mulvey Relates To My Study

I am going to show both sides of this arguement, because it can be argued that Ugly Betty does follow Mulveys idea's and it also can be said it doesn't. It can be said that this programme challenges Mulveys theory as in this case a women is the protogonist, and she isn't stereotypically portrayed she is shown as unattractive with no sense of dress. It doesn't reflect the idea of patriarchy and challenges it to some extent.

Laura Mulvey - Male Gaze

Mulvey insists on the idea that film and cinematography are inadvertently structured upon the ideas and values of a patriarchy. Mulvey discusses several different types of spectatorship that occur while viewing a film. Viewing a film involves subconsciously engaging in the understanding of male and female roles.

The main idea that seems to bring these actions together is that "looking" is generally seen as an active male role while the passive role of being looked at is immediately adopted as a female characteristic. It is under the construction of patriarchy that Mulvey argues that women in film are tied to desire and that female characters hold an "appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact".

The female actor is never meant to represent a character that directly effects the outcome of a plot or keep the story line going, but is inserted into the film as a way of supporting the male role and "bearing the burden of sexual objectification" that he cannot. Women are seen as sex symbols and are objectified for male pleasure. She has sed that Hollywood films are a narrative cinema and the narrative is usually told via a male perspective, hence the protagonist tends to be male.

Bibliography

• Freud and the Media : The Reception of Psychoanalysis in Viennese Medical Journals 1895-1938 - Publisher: Peter Lang AG
• http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/gaze/gaze09.html