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".