Gender Representation

Misogyny - Dislike, contempt or general prejudice against women

Sex - Refers to the biological physiological characteristics that define men and women

Gender - The socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.

This is a magazine that is marketed at boys. The cover is talking about dream cars, which suggests that mechanical and adventurous things are typically for boys.

This is a magazine that is marketed at girls. The cover features mainly shades of pink, purple and light shades of blue, which are colours that are associated with the female gender. The contents of the front page focus on creative activities such as baking, as well as focusing on friendship, which are typically female activities.

Masculinity

• Strength
• Power
• Sexual Attractiveness
• Physique
• Independence (of thought, action, finances)
• Example of masculinity - James Bond
• Male characters often represented as isolated - not relying on others
• If they submit to being part of a family or group, it is often a part of the narrative

Masculinity and violence 

Earp and Katz (1999) Study male representations in the media and found "a widespread and disturbing equation of masculinity and pathological control and violence"

Claim the media is responsible for a steady stream of images that define manhood as connected with violence.

Metrosexual male - high disposable income, living in the city, near to the best shops

Not gay but often confused with being homosexual 

Objectified in the media and sexualised.

The fool/buffoon

• Often middle aged
• Confused 
• Bungling Father in TV ads and sitcoms
• Usually come out on top

Representation of Women

• Beauty (within narrow conventions
• Size/Physique (within conventions
• Sexuality
• Emotional
• Relationships as opposed to independence - Dependent on men

In dramas, they often take the role of the helper(Propp), passive rather than active and an object (Mulvey)

Passivity often extends to victimhood

Narrow set of representations

-Either represented as Housewives/domestic goddesses OR sex objects

In advertising and magazines, they are shown as young, slim, pale/white

In non fictional media

• Women's roles tend to be smaller and fewer than males

People who don't conform to gender norms are treated as outsiders by society. Society considers gender to be binary; there are two gender identities and you must conform fully to one of them. Those that choose a gender expression different to their sex or outside of the gender binary are considered to be abnormal by society. 

An example of Gender Bending would be the comedian Eddie Izzard.

His sex is male, yet he does not conform to male gender norms; a key part of his image is the use of makeup, as well as wearing clothes that are typically associated with the female gender such as dresses.

Judith Butler - Gender is socially constructed. There are a number of "exaggerated, disruptive, tongue in cheek representations of masculinity and femininity", which draw attention to this, and cause what she refers to as 'gender trouble'.

Queer theory - The media portray heterosexuality as normal and the media has limited the representation of gay men and women. The queer theory suggests that there is not a binary between straight and gay, and that sexuality is fluid.

Steve Neale (1992) - The gay gaze - Images in the media that show men in passive, submissive and sexualised poses.

1960s - Fairy Liquid adverts - The women would be washing the dishes, and there is always a daughter with her who asking how fairy liquid works.

This reinforces patriarchy as it shows that through the years it has always been the woman doing the washing of clothes; only the washing machines themselves has changed. (2011)

This is a Delmonte Ketchup advert from 1953 and represent women as weaker than men. It is saying that their bottles are so easy to open that while usually only men can open tight bottles, these are easy enough for women. 

This advert from lynx sexually objectifies women, as she is portrayed showing a lot of her skin and in a sexually provocative pose. Also, her head has been cropped out of the image, removing her identity and presenting her as just her body.

Women were usually shown as being subordinate, passive and submissive (Stratini 1994)

I think that Media representations of gender has changed to an extent, despite there still being reinforcement of gender roles and stereotypes in the media. An example of change would be Nike's 2016 adverts, showing a woman competing sports with commentary that talks about she isn't going to crack under pressure or give up because she is a woman. 

Wonder woman is an example of both a feminist icon and objectification of women. She would be an icon as she is a warrior who fights for herself. She was also one of the first female superheroes. However, her outfit is revealing, which in a way presents her as an object for the heterosexual male to  look at (male gaze). She was announced as a UN ambassador for gender equality, which has received some criticism. One reason why this has received criticism is due her image throughout the years being consistently very sexualised. Also, another criticism was that the UN couldn't appoint this role to a real woman despite many feminists such as Emma Watson making important influences within the UN. Additionally, the use of wonder woman has been criticised for enforcing norms in body image for women rather than challenging them.