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The crucial role of media in achieving gender equality

21 Feb. 2020

Media today, from traditional legacy media to online media, still hugely influence our perceptions and ideas about the role of girls and women in society. What we have unfortunately seen until now is that media tend to perpetuate gender inequality. Research shows that from a young age, children are influenced by the gendered stereotypes that media present to them.

Research has found that exposure to stereotypical gender portrayals and clear gender segregation correlates “(a) with preferences for ‘gender appropriate’ media content, toys, games and activities; (b) to traditional perceptions of gender roles, occupations and personality traits; as well as (c) to attitudes towards 2 expectations and aspirations for future trajectories of life” .

We are concerned that the latest Secretary General report proposing priority areas to the Commission on the Status of Women does not mention the crucial role of media in achieving gender equality. This is a huge opportunity that is lost. The data we have show that women only make up 24% of the persons heard, read about or seen in newspaper, television and radio news. Even worse: 46% of news stories reinforce gender stereotypes while only 4% of stories clearly challenge gender stereotypes.

One in five experts interviewed by media are women. Women are frequently portrayed in stereotypical and hyper-sexualised roles in advertising and the film industry, which has long-term social consequences. And 73% of the management jobs are occupied by men compared to 27% occupied by women.

We strongly believe in the transformative role media can play in achieving gender equality in societies. By creating gender-sensitive and gender-transformative content and breaking gender stereotypes. By challenging traditional social and cultural norms and attitudes regarding gender perceptions both in content and in the media houses. By showing women in leadership roles and as experts on a diversity of topics on a daily basis, not as an exception.

In many countries around the world women’s opinions are dismissed and they are not taught to ask questions and be part of public debate. Without information women don’t know about and can’t exert their rights to education, to property, pensions, etc. and they cannot challenge existing norms and stereotypes. This makes it impossible to achieve inclusive societies as we aim to achieve through the Global Development agenda. Access to information empowers women to claim their rights and make better decisions.

The media industry needs to be encouraged to produce gender-transformative content and to develop self-regulatory equality policies, including access to decision-making positions. Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms need to be set up to assess the progress within the sector. Thereby creating gender equality in content, workplace and management.

Violence against female media workers

The safety of female media workers has in recent years developed into a serious concern, as it creates another obstacle to gender equality within the media. The majority of female media workers experience gender specific harassment both inside their organisations, outside of them, and more increasingly online.

Gender-based violence (GBV), both digital and physical, pose a threat to freedom of expression and access to information. Silencing female journalists constitutes an attack on democracy itself as it leads to self-censorship: women retreating from the public sphere because of the harassment. Almost a third of female journalists consider leaving the profession because of the threats, intimidation or attacks they endure. More than a third of female journalists avoided reporting certain stories for the same reason. Almost half of female journalists experience online abuse. Many of them indicate the abuse has led them to become less active or even inactive on social media, while it’s a crucial part of the job. Threats are often of a sexual and racist nature, targeted at the person instead of the content, making the workplace an unsafe environment for women. This leaves the male-dominated field of media with even fewer female voices.

We believe that the media sector has the responsibility to provide a safe working environment for all staff and to develop policies that prevent GBV. It is imperative media organisations have mechanisms in place that ensure necessary support for those who have experienced GBV at the workplace, while performing their work outside and/or via digital means.

Our recommendations to the Commission on the Status of Women:

To recognize the crucial role of media in achieving gender equality in all domains by creating gender-sensitive and gender-transformative content and breaking gender stereotypes.
Media should lead the way towards gender equality through gender-sensitive and gender- transformative content. For this we need coherent policies, rules, and mechanisms on all levels, starting with national media policies and media industry self-regulation.
Safety of female media workers needs to be a key priority for Member States and the media industry. A culture of safety needs to be created and effective mechanisms for complaints and redress need to be put in place.

Submitted by: International Media Support, Free Press Unlimited, The Carter Center, Fondation Hirondelle, Global Alliance on Media and Gender, International Women’s Media Foundation, Media Diversity Institute, RNW Media, World Association for Christian Communication and WAN-IFRA

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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Gender Stereotypes — The Portrayal of Women in the Media: Gender Stereotypes

The Portrayal of Women in The Media: Gender Stereotypes

Categories: Gender Stereotypes Woman

About this sample

Words: 620 |

Published: Sep 16, 2023

Words: 620 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Historical context, contemporary portrayals, impact on society, challenges and progress.

Body Image and Beauty Standards: The media frequently promotes unrealistic beauty standards, leading to issues like body dissatisfaction, eating disorders, and low self-esteem among women and girls.
Sexualization: Women are often sexualized in advertisements, movies, and music videos, objectifying them and reducing their worth to their physical attractiveness.
Gender Stereotypes: Traditional gender roles and stereotypes persist in media, portraying women as emotional, dependent, and less capable than men in various areas.
Underrepresentation: Women, especially women of color, continue to be underrepresented in leading roles in movies, television, and other forms of media, limiting their visibility as strong, complex characters.
Body Image and Self-Esteem: Unrealistic beauty standards in the media can lead to body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem, and mental health issues among women and girls who feel pressured to conform to these ideals.
Relationship Expectations: Media representations of romantic relationships can shape individuals' expectations and understanding of what healthy relationships should look like, potentially perpetuating unrealistic or harmful dynamics.
Perpetuation of Stereotypes: Media portrayals that reinforce traditional gender roles and stereotypes can limit opportunities and expectations for women in real life.
Empowerment vs. Objectification: Depending on how women are portrayed in media, it can either empower or objectify them, affecting their agency and self-perception.
Media Literacy: Encouraging media literacy education to help individuals critically analyze and deconstruct media messages, understand stereotypes, and challenge harmful portrayals.
Representation: Advocating for increased representation of women, particularly women of color, in diverse and complex roles in the media.
Regulation: Supporting regulatory measures that encourage responsible media content and discourage harmful stereotypes and objectification.
Supportive Narratives: Promoting media that features strong, multidimensional female characters and narratives that empower women.

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107 Gender Roles Essay Topics & Examples

Looking for gender roles essay topics? This field is hot, controversial, and really worth exploring!

🔝 Top 10 Gender Topics
📝 Gender Essay: Writing Tips
🏆 Gender Essay Examples & Topic Ideas

✍️ Gender Argumentative Essay Topics

❓ research questions about gender roles.

In your gender role essay, you might want to focus on the issues of gender equality in the workplace. Another exciting option is to write about gender stereotypes in education. Finally, you can elaborate on how traditional gender roles are changing.

In this article, you’ll find a list of gender argumentative essay topics, ideas for papers on gender and society, as well as top gender roles essay examples.

🔝 Top 10 Gender Roles Topics

Gender stereotypes and the way they affect people
Fighting gender stereotypes and sexism
Gender equality in the workplace
Gender stereotypes in education
Gender schema theory
Is gender socially constructed?
Social learning theory and gender
Gender roles and sexual orientation
Body image and gender
Social gender construction in the media

📝 Gender Roles Essay: Writing Tips

Essays on gender roles present students’ understanding of the similarities, differences, and aspects of gender roles in society.

Writing gender roles essays helps learners to understand the significance of topics related to gender roles and the changes in societal norms. Students should be highly aware of the problems associated with traditional gender roles. For example, there are many periods in world history, in which people did not have equal rights.

Moreover, some aspects of gender roles may be associated with discrimination. To make an essay on this problem outstanding, you should discuss the problem in detail and present your points clearly. A useful tip is to develop a good structure for your paper.

Before starting to work on the paper, you should select the problem that is most interesting or relevant to you.

Gender roles essay topics and titles may include:

The history of gender roles and their shifts throughout the time
Male and female roles in society
Gender roles in literature and media
How a man and a woman is perceived in current society
The causes and outcomes of gender discrimination
The problem of ‘glass ceiling’
The problem of social stratification and its outcomes
The revolution in the concept of gender

After selecting the issue for discussion, you can start working on the essay’s structure. Here are some useful tips on how to structure your paper:

Select the topic you want to discuss (you can choose one from the list above). Remember to pay attention to the type of essay you should write. If it is an argumentative essay, reflect on what problem you would want to analyze from opposing perspectives.
Gender roles essay titles are important because they can help you to get the reader’s attention. Think of something simple but self-explanatory.
An introductory paragraph is necessary, as it will present the questions you want to discuss in the paper. Remember to state the thesis of your essay in this section.
Think of your gender roles essay prompts. Which aspects of the selected problem do you want to focus on? Dedicate a separate section for each of the problems.
Remember to include a refutation section if you are writing an argumentative essay. In this section, you should discuss an alternative perspective on the topic in 1-2 paragraphs. Do not forget to outline why your opinion is more credible than the alternative one.
Avoid making the paragraphs and sentences too long. You can stick to a 190 words maximum limit for one paragraph. At the same time, make sure that the paragraphs are longer than 65 words. Try to make all sections of the body paragraphs of similar length.
Check out examples online to see how you can structure your paper and organize the information. Pay attention to the number of paragraphs other students include.
Remember to include a gender roles essay conclusion. In this paragraph, you will discuss the most important claims of your paper.
Do not forget to add a reference page in which you will include the sources used in the paper. Ask your professor in advance about the types of literature you can utilize for the essay.

Do not forget that there are free samples on our website that can help you to get the best ideas for your essay!

🏆 Gender Roles Essay Examples & Topic Ideas

The Concepts of Gender Roles and Sexuality by John Money and Judith Butler These categories of feminists are united in the belief of existence of many children and little sex. This paper explains the concepts and ideologies relating to gender roles and sexuality.as advocated by John Money and […]
Gender Roles in Antigone Essay This will be seen through an analysis of the other characters in the play and the values of ancient Greeks. Indeed this central character appears to be at odds with the inclinations of the other […]
Athena and Gender Roles in Greek Mythology According to Eicher and Roach-Higgins, the elements of her dress were important because they immediately communicated specific ideas about her character that was as contradictory as the physical gender of the birthing parent.”In appropriating the […]
Gender Roles in “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams In the play The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams has written the story of the Wingfield family that lived in St Louis during the 1940s.
Gender Roles in the 19th Century Society: Charlotte Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper However, the narrator’s developing madness can also act as the symbolical depiction of the effects of the men’s dominance on women and the female suppression in the 19th-century society.”The Yellow Wallpaper” was first published in […]
Conflict of Gender Roles in Munro’s “Boys and Girls” Munro’s “Boys and Girls” is a story about a puzzled girl who struggles to find the balance between the battles of her inner female-housewife side, like her mother, and a boyish character who likes to […]
Gender Roles and Stereotyping in Education Teachers should be trained to give clear and useful instruction to students on the issue of gender roles in modern society.
Gender Roles in “Bridge to Terabithia” by Paterson The theme of gender roles is consistently present in the novel, starting with character origins and becoming the central concept as they mature to defy archetypal perceptions of feminine and masculine expectations in order to […]
Examining Gender Roles in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women In order to investigate gender roles in Little Women, the proposal will use a detailed review of the novel’s characters, storyline, and themes in the setting of the 19th century.
Gender Roles Set in Stone: Prehistoric and Ancient Work of Arts In the prehistoric and ancient works of art, the representation of women and men reveals a massive imbalance in gender equity that favors men over women.
Gender Roles in Social Constructionism The reality, in the view of sociologists, is a social attitude in connection with which a personality is formed that adapts to the requirements of the world.
Gender Roles in ‘Mr. Green’ by Robert Olen Butler Green Butler uses the character of the grandfather to develop the theme of gender roles within the culture. The character of the grandfather is extremely sound for the cultural beliefs the author conveyed through all […]
Women’s Gender Roles in American Literature The stories written by Constance Woolson Fenimore, Mary Wilkins Freeman, and Jaqueline Bishop highlight the harmful gender roles and discrimination that still remains a major topic for disputes and illustrate the fate of oppressed women.
Gender Roles Inversion: The Madonna Phenomenon At the same time partial narrowing of the gender gap in the context of economic participation did not lead to the equality of men and women in the field of their occupations.
Biology and Gender Roles in Society Thus, it may be more convenient for society to justify the imposition of certain gender roles on men and women using biology-related arguments, which, in reality, are more related to culture and social development.
The Construction of Gender Roles However, it is wrong to consider women exposed to the domestic work powerless, as they have the opportunity to informally or implicitly influence men and the decisions they make.
Gender Roles and Body Image in Disney Movies In this research, attention will be paid to gender roles and body images of Disney princesses to understand the popularity of the franchise and its impact on child development.
Nomadic Society’s Gender Roles and Warrior Culture On the one hand, it was clear that the 1100s and the 1200s included the period of male power. It was wrong to assume that all women were similar and treat them in the same […]
Discussing Gender Roles in the Interaction Perspective It is the purpose of this issue to discuss the concept of gender roles using the sociological perspective of symbolic interaction.
Changing Gender Roles Between Boys and Girls In the twenty-first Century, girls have greatly stepped up and assumed some of the roles that were considered to be boy’s while boys have done the same leading to an interchange of roles.
Gender Roles in The Yellow Wallpaper & Trifles The two texts; the short story ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte Perkins and the play ‘Trifles’ by Susan Glaspell strategically illustrate this claim since they both aim at attracting the reader’s attention to the poor […]
Karl Marx and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Description of Gender Roles and Economics Charlotte emerged as a vital intellectual person by emphasizing that the social roles of men and women ought to be described systemically.
Gender Roles in Brady’s and Theroux’s Works In the satire “Being a Man” by Paul Theroux, the author demonstrates to readers the essence of how a particular manifestation of masculinity is extolled in American society.
Aspects of Gender Roles and Identity The breadth of her practice in transgender issues suggests that every choice Bowers makes is ethical, requiring her to be respectful and highly responsible.
Changing Gender Roles in Families Over Time The division of labor and traditional gender roles in the family usually consists of men doing the work while women take care of the children, other relatives, and housekeeping.
Gender Roles, Expectations, and Discrimination Despite Isaac being the calmest boy in the school, he had a crush on Grace, a beautiful girl in the school who was from a wealthy family.
Gender Roles and Stereotypes in Straightlaced Film One might conclude that gender neutrality and abstraction in offices are only a cover to maintain the basis of gender injustice.
Children’s Views of Gender Roles Today, both parents and teachers see the positive impact of the attempts to integrate anti-biased gender-related education on young children as they get more freedom to express themselves and grow up less aggressive.
Sociology of the Family: Gender Roles Thus, the societal predisposition and notion that women are lesser in the community should be abandoned, and greater emphasis should be placed on the critical functions they perform in the household. These assertions, equivocations, and […]
Femininity and Masculinity: Understanding Gender Roles The understanding of how gender roles are portrayed in the media and the general perception of the expected behavior for men and women communicated non-verbally in the society is the basis on which children build […]
Injustice Within Strict Gender Roles There is still no clear answer to how a person can find his or her destiny and place in the world, and understand the opportunities and prospects, considering the opinion of the dominant number of […]
Gender Roles and How People Perceive Them However, all of the survey participants indicated that their families would be inclined to differentiate between the toys for a child based on the latter’s sex and the corresponding perceived gender role.
Gender Roles: From Prehistoric Era to Modern Society Since each gender was assigned a particular role in the past due to the differences in the biological makeup between a man and a woman in the prehistoric era, the modern process of communication between […]
Gender Roles in TV Commercials and Values in the Society Each of them will watch, code, and analyze the TV commercials separately; at the end of the procedure, their results will be compared in order to ensure the inter-observer reliability of the chosen research method.
Gender Roles in Contemporary Society The conditions of life are tough and it is presumed that only men are able to carry out such hardships and limitations of a soldier life.
Culture and History: Gender Roles Over the Past 50 or So Years It is not that there were no women in the workforce; it was just that she had to choose one over the other, juggling the two was quite rare and unheard of.
Gender Roles and Sexuality in Media: Cosmopolitan & Maxim The woman portrayed in these sites is supposed to look ‘hot’ and sexy in order to be attractive to a man.
Gender Roles: Changes From the Late 1800’s to Today The definition of who is a male or a female depends on the types of gender roles one was exposed to during the early ages. In today’s society, we have a greater number of women […]
Social Element in Gender Roles I learned of the origins of gay and lesbian studies, as well that of the confining of such studies in earlier times to specific institutions.
Equality: The Use of TV to Develop Our Gender Roles In this sense, when it is the men who predominantly work outside of the home, they will usually see the home as a place of leisure and so use the TV as a source of […]
Gender Roles in Brady’s “Why I Want a Wife” and Sacks’ “Stay-at-Home Dads” Yet, there are some distinctions Judy Brady believes that women are often viewed as unpaid house servants who have to take care of husbands’ needs, whereas Glenn Sacks argues that gender roles begin to transform […]
Gender Roles and Family Systems in Hispanic Culture In the Hispanic culture, amarianismo’ and amachismo’ are the terms used to determine the various behavioral expectations among the family members.
Family Unit and Gender Roles in Society and Market The role of molding the infant into an adult belonged to the family in the ancient society. In the past, the father was expected to be the breadwinner of the family.
China’s Gender Roles in Mo Yan’s and Shen Fu’s Works Six Records of a Floating Life is a multi-faceted chronicle which helps to comprehend the difficulties and the features of Shen Fu’s life and the romance between him and his beloved Chen Yun.
“Beside Oneself” by Judith Butler: Gender Roles Following the views of the author, who states that choice in the formation of gender and sexuality is not transparent, and a key role is still played by others in the form of expectations and […]
Gender Roles in Couples and Sex Stereotypes Altogether, the last reconsiderations of the nature of relations promoted the appearance of numerous debates related to the role of partners and their right to be the leader.
Gender Roles in South Korean Laws and Society At the same time, all custody is traditionally granted to husbands and fathers in a case of a divorce” though the anxiety about the high divorce rate and the nasty endings of relationships is more […]
Gender Roles in Tango: Cultural Aspects However, one should not assume that the role of women in tango is inferior because they create the most aesthetic aspects of this dance.
Gender Roles in Toy Stores According to Fisher-Thompson et al, two of the major differentiating factors in toys for girls and boys are color and nature.
Women in Hip-Hop Music: A Provocative and Objectified Gender Roles It is one thing that men want women to be in music videos and play a particular role, but women are willing to participate in the videos.
Content Analysis of Gender Roles in Media In the critical analysis of the article, the point of disagreement is that of under-representation of women in the media. How do the media subordinate and relegate roles of women in society?
The Change of Gender Roles This similarity is one of the most important to focus on the structure of the narrative. In both plays, the main actions of the characters are not directly described by the authors.
Gender Equality: Male Dominance The simple reason is that gender inequality exists in affluent societies wherein women are free to do what they want, have access to education, and have the capacity to create wealth.
Gender roles in the Wind in the Willows For instance, in the case where both the mole and the rat make comments to the toad that are full of women critics.
“The Odd Women” and “Women in Love”: Evolving Views of Gender Roles An effort is also made to track the changes of the roles of women in the social fabric in the Victorian era by considering The Odd Women by George Gissing written in 1893.
Gender Roles: Constructing Gender Identity In the course of the twentieth century and at the threshold of the twenty-first century, the images and roles of gender have constantly been changing.
Analysis of the Peculiarities of Gender Roles Within Education, Families and Student Communities Peculiarities of gender aspect within the education system and labour market Attitude for marriage of men and women as one of the major aspects within the analysis of gender roles Family relations as a significant […]
Ideology of Gender Roles In the world of literature, ideology has played a vital role in depicting the condition of the society. In this scenario, Kingston reveals that the men out-live their roles in the society, and they are […]
Concepts of Gender Roles As a result of these, the war on gender inequality and sexism has failed, because of the failure of these agents of change to promote gender equality and eliminate discriminative notions held by the society.
Cohabitation and Division of Gender Roles in a Couple Cohabitation is perceived in the society as the form of relationships which is an effective alternative to the traditional marriage because of focusing on the principles of flexibility, freedom, and equality, but few couples can […]
Gender Roles in the United States Over the Last Century The men’s perception towards this idea was negative, and this consequently resulted to a conflict with the men claiming that the roles of the women were in the kitchen.
Fashions, gender roles and social views of the 1950s and 1960s Fashion was highly valued and this can be seen in the way the clothes worn by the wives of the presidential candidates in America hit the headlines. In the 1950s, the role of housekeeping and […]
Gender Roles by Margaret Mead Once the a rift defining men and women develops this way, it goes further and defines the positions, which men and women occupy in the society, basing on these physical and biological differences, which form […]
Cheating, Gender Roles, and the Nineteenth-Century Croquet Craze The author’s main thesis is, “Yet was this, in fact, how the game was played on the croquet lawns of the nineteenth century?” Whereas authors of croquet manuals and magazines emphasize so much on the […]
Gender Roles in Society One might think that a child is born with the idea of how to behave in relation to gender while in the real sense; it is the cultivation of the society that moulds people to […]
Gender Roles in Cartoons Though the males are portrayed to be logical, but it is shown that the females are more successful because of simple blunders or miscalculations which males fail to understand, females are able to beat males […]
The Industrial Revolution Impact on the Gender Roles The population growth combined with the increased productivity of small parts of the country and the migration of the now landless people in search of work opportunities led to the phenomena of urbanization.
How Does Aristophanes Represent Gender Roles in Lysistrata?
Are Gender Roles and Relationships More Equal in Modern Family Life?
How Do Children Develop Gender Roles?
Does Men’s Fashion Reflect Changes in Male Gender Roles?
How Did Colonialism Resonate With Gender Roles and Oppression?
Are Gender Roles Damaging Society?
How Did Revolutions Affect Gender Roles?
Are Gender Roles Defined by Society or by Genetics?
How Have Family Structure and Gender Roles Changed?
Are Gender Roles Fluid When Dealing With Death and Tragedy?
How Do Gender Roles Affect Communication?
Are Gender Roles Natural?
How Do Gender Roles Affect Immigrants?
Are Gender Stereotyped Roles Correct?
How Do Gender Roles Affect the Physical and Emotional Health?
Have Gender Roles Played a Big Part in the History?
How Do Gender Roles and Extroversion Effects How Much People Talk?
What Are Gender Roles? How Are They Defined?
How Are Gender Roles Predetermined by the Environment?
What Drives the Gender Wage Gap?
How Has Gender Roles Changed Over the Last Centuries?
What Factors Influence Gender Roles?
How Have Gender Roles in Japanese Theatre Influenced and Affected Societal View on Homosexuality and Masculinity?
What Society Norms for Gender Roles Should Be Conceived?
How Have Traditional Gender Roles Been Stressful?
What Was Distinctive About Gender Roles in the Nineteenth Century?
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Governance, social development, conflict and humanitarian knowledge services

Gender and media

Page contents

Introduction

Participation and influence of women in the media, media content and portrayal of men and women in the media, participatory community media, changing attitudes and behaviour, further resources.

Media play important roles in society. They report on current events, provide frameworks for interpretation, mobilise citizens with regard to various issues, reproduce predominant culture and society, and entertain (Llanos and Nina, 2011). As such, the media can be an important actor in the promotion of gender equality, both within the working environment (in terms of employment and promotion of female staff at all levels) and in the representation of women and men (in terms of fair gender portrayal and the use of neutral and non-gender specific language).

White, A. (2009). ‘Getting the Balance Right: Gender Equality in Journalism’, International Federation of Journalists, Brussels How can journalists and other actors working in the media contribute to gender equality? This handbook aims to assist people working in the media to assess progress on gender equality, identify challenges, and contribute to debates and policy formulation. It urges those working in the media to do more to confront gender distortions in newsrooms and in unions. See full text

Studies have found that although the number of women working in the media has been increasing globally, the top positions (producers, executives, chief editors and publishers) are still very male dominated (White, 2009). This disparity is particularly evident in Africa, where cultural impediments to women fulfilling the role of journalist remain (e.g. travelling away from home, evening work and covering issues such as politics and sports which are considered to fall within the masculine domain) (Myers, 2009). The Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) reports that throughout the world, female journalists are more likely to be assigned ‘soft’ subjects such as family, lifestyle, fashion and arts. The ‘hard’ news, politics and the economy, is much less likely to be written or covered by women.

The level of participation and influence of women in the media also has implications for media content: female media professionals are more likely to reflect other women’s needs and perspectives than their male colleagues. It is important to acknowledge, however, that not all women working in the media will be gender aware and prone to cover women’s needs and perspectives; and it is not impossible for men to effectively cover gender issues. Recent research from 18 disparate countries shows that male and female journalists’ attitudes do not differ significantly (Hanitzsch & Hanusch, 2012). Nonetheless, the presence of women on the radio, television and in print is more likely to provide positive role models for women and girls, to gain the confidence of women as sources and interviewees, and to attract a female audience.

Byerly, C. M. (2011). ‘Global Report on the Status of Women in the News Media’, International Women’s Media Foundation, Washington DC What is the condition of gender equality in the global news media? This study presents findings from its analysis of news company behaviour in relation to gender equality in staffing, salaries and policies. It finds that men occupy the vast majority of governance and top management jobs and news-gathering positions in most nations included in the study. See full text

Myers, M. (2009). ‘Radio, Convergence and Development in Africa: Gender as a Cross-Cutting Issue’ Paper submitted to International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Carleton University, Roundtable Discussion on a Research Agenda, 10-13 September, Butare, Rwanda How do gender issues play out in the media? Media professionals are subject to prevailing social, economic and cultural norms. Their views, outlook and output often reflect these norms. This paper highlights the cross-cutting nature of gender issues in media practice, production and consumption. When looking at media producers, the most striking gender issue is that the industry is dominated by men. Gender issues are also prevalent in media content, portrayals of men and women and stereotypes. The paper argues for the consideration of gender issues in all research on radio, convergence and development in Africa. See full text

Hanitzsch, T., & Hanusch, F. (2012). Does Gender Determine Journalists’ Professional Views? A reassessment based on cross-national evidence. European Journal of Communication, 27(3), 257-277. This peer-reviewed paper conducted a fairly comprehensive survey of male and female journalists in 18 countries across the world. They found that men’s and women’s opinions and attitudes towards their jobs do not differ significantly by gender. This was tested at the individual, newsroom and national level. Male and female journalists tend to think about their work in largely similar terms. They suggest that the lack of difference means that newsroom culture will not necessarily change if more female journalists are employed, as the professional culture is maintained by both sexes. They do note that the reason for similarities may be that female journalists are forced to adopt male values and are judged by male standards. See full text

Fair gender portrayal in the media should be a professional and ethical aspiration, similar to respect for accuracy, fairness and honesty (White, 2009). Yet, unbalanced gender portrayal is widespread. The Global Media Monitoring Project finds that women are more likely than men to be featured as victims in news stories and to be identified according to family status. Women are also far less likely than men to be featured in the world’s news headlines, and to be relied upon as ‘spokespeople’ or as ‘experts’. Certain categories of women, such as the poor, older women, or those belonging to ethnic minorities, are even less visible.

Stereotypes are also prevalent in every day media. Women are often portrayed solely as homemakers and carers of the family, dependent on men, or as objects of male attention. Stories by female reporters are more likely to challenge stereotypes than those filed by male reporters (Gallagher et al., 2010). As such, there is a link between the participation of women in the media and improvements in the representation of women.

Men are also subjected to stereotyping in the media. They are typically characterised as powerful and dominant. There is little room for alternative visions of masculinity. The media tends to demean men in caring or domestic roles, or those who oppose violence. Such portrayals can influence perceptions in terms of what society may expect from men and women, but also what they may expect from themselves. They promote an unbalanced vision of the roles of women and men in society.

Attention needs to be paid to identifying and addressing these various gender imbalances and gaps in the media. The European Commission (2010) recommends, for example, that there should be a set expectation of gender parity on expert panels on television or radio and the creation of a thematic database of women to be interviewed and used as experts by media professionals. In addition, conscious efforts should be made to portray women and men in non-stereotypical situations.

Gallagher, M. et al. (2010). ‘Who Makes the News? Global Media Monitoring Project 2010′, World Association for Christian Communication, London and Toronto To what degree is the news media democratic, inclusive and participatory from a gender perspective? This report presents findings of a survey taken on one ‘ordinary’ news day to record the portrayal and representation of women and men in the news media. The results are compared with previous surveys, taken every four years since 1995, to illustrate longitudinal trends. Women are underrepresented in news coverage, resulting in an unbalanced representation of the world.

European Commission. (2010). ‘Opinion on “Breaking Gender Stereotypes in the Media”, Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, Social Europe, European Commission, Brussels This report highlights the gap between the reality of women’s and men’s lives in Europe and how they are portrayed in the media. It proposes measures for the promotion of: balanced and nonstereotyped perspectives; equal opportunities and working conditions in the media sector; and increased participation in and access to expression and decision-making for women in and throughout the media. It calls for an in-depth study of the public image of women generated by the media, including advertising.

Sahu, G. K. & Alam, S. (2013). Media Agenda on Gender Issues: Content Analysis of Two National Dailies. Pragyaan : Journal of Mass Communication 11 (1). How do different Indian daily English-language national newspapers portray men and women? The analysis notes that neither paper accords much attention to stories of women’s achievements; rather they both tend to cover stories of violence against women. This results in a representation of women as victims, subordinate, and constantly harassed by men. Both papers reported events rather than examining structural causes for violence, nor did they represent viewpoints of activists and organisations working against violence. This contributes to the discourse of framing ‘women’s issues’ as problems. See full text

Prieler, M., & Centeno, D. (2013). Gender Representation in Philippine Television Advertisements. Sex roles, 69(5-6), 276-288. How are gender roles and stereotypes used in Philippines television advertisements? 254 adverts from 2010 were analysed for differences in gender representation. The quantitative analysis shows that there is a high prevalence of gender differences and stereotypes, which does not accurately reflect Philippine society, which is considered quite egalitarian. The study finds that adverts had settings in which more males were found in the workplace and more females were found at home; more males were fully dressed and more females were suggestively dressed; voiceovers employed more males than females; and cosmetics and toiletries were associated primarily with female characters. In contrast, the predominance of female primary characters ran counter to trends in previous studies. It concludes that television may actively support the status quo and a patriarchal society, while these representations are clearly damaging for gender equality. See full text

Political representation

Llanos, B. and Nina, J. (2011). ‘Election Coverage from a Gender Perspective: A Media Monitoring Manual’, UN Women How can the media contribute to gender equality in election campaigning? The media has in many instances become the principal forum where electoral competition is played out. Some studies reveal that the structural and institutional obstacles women face in political competition are compounded by the lower levels of media coverage of women candidates and their proposals. This publication aims to be a useful tool for promoting fair media coverage during election campaigns, generating an informational approach that includes all candidates’ points of view during election campaigns. See full text

GMMP. (n.d.). ‘Mission Possible: A Gender and Media Advocacy Toolkit’ Global Media Monitoring Project, World Association for Christian Communication, London and Toronto This GMMP media toolkit is designed to train activists to build gender and media campaigns using the findings of GMMP studies. The toolkit explains how best to work with and through the media to put gender on the news agenda. See full text

Grizzle, A. (2012). Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media: Framework of indicators to gauge gender sensitivity in media operations and content. UNESCO. The aim of the Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media is to contribute to gender equality and women’s empowerment in and through media of all forms. It provides a set of indicators for fostering gender equality within media organisations, and gendered portrayals in media. It is currently being used in 11 countries, and provides some case studies of self-assessment. See full text

Participatory community media initiatives aimed at increasing the involvement of women in the media perceive women as producers and contributors of media content and not solely as ‘consumers’(Pavarala, Malik, and Cheeli, 2006). Such initiatives encourage the involvement of women in technical, decision-making, and agenda-setting activities. They have the potential to develop the capacities of women as sociopolitical actors. They also have the potential to promote a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women in the media and to challenge the status quo. In Fiji, women who took part in a participatory video project presented themselves as active citizens who made significant contributions to their families and communities. These recorded images improved the status of women in the minds of government bureaucrats.

There are limitations to participatory community initiatives, however. If unaccompanied by changes in structural conditions, participation may not be sufficient to foster substantive social change. Baú (2009) explains that the establishment of a women’s radio station (run and managed by women) in Afghanistan faced constraints in that women engaged in self-censorship in order to avoid criticism from local male political and religious leaders.

Pavarala, V., Malik, K. K., and Cheeli, J. R. (2006), ‘Community Media and Women: Transforming Silence into Speech’, Chapter 3.2 in eds. A. Gurumurthy, P. J. Singh, A. Mundkur and M. Swamy, Gender in the Information Society: Emerging Issues, Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme, UNDP and Elsevier, New Delhi, pp. 96-109 To what extent do community media empower women? This study finds that community media initiatives perceive women as producers and contributors of media content and not just as consumers. Community media encourage greater involvement of women in technical, decisionmaking, and agenda-setting activities and have the potential to promote a balanced and nonstereotyped portrayal of women in the media.

Harris, U. S. (2009). ‘Transforming Images: Reimagining Women’s Work Through Participatory Video’, Development in Practice, vol. 19, no. 4 & 5, pp. 538-549 How can participatory media support empowerment, dialogue and community building? This study of a participatory video workshop involving rural women in Fiji found that women integrated local norms and practices in their video production. They used social capital – relationships and social networks – as a key element. Women presented themselves as active citizens who made significant contributions to their families and communities. The project highlighted the importance of encouraging multi-ethnic or heterogeneous social networks in Fiji.

Baú. V. (2009). ‘Media and Communication for Gender and Development’, Southern African Gender & Media Diversity Journal, vol.6, pp.170-174, Gender Links, Johannesburg This paper highlights how media and communication can be an invaluable tool in raising awareness of and challenging gendered power structures. Participatory media allows for diverse voices, including those of women, to engage with channels of media communication to make their priorities and issues heard. This paper provides an overview of the debate around gender and communication and provides case studies showing the impact that media can have on the social construction of gender. See full text

Communication for Development (C4D)

The approach to Communication for Development (C4D) has evolved over the years. Initially developed after World War II as a tool for diffusion of ideas, communication initiatives primarily involved a one-way transmission of information from the sender to the receiver. This includes largescale media campaigns, social marketing, dissemination of printed materials, and ‘educationentertainment’. Since then, C4D has broadened to incorporate interpersonal communication: faceto- face communication that can either be one-on-one or in small groups. This came alongside the general push for more participatory approaches to development and greater representation of voices from the South. The belief is that while mass media allows for the learning of new ideas, interpersonal networks encourage the shift from knowledge to continued practice.

Communication for development has thus come to be seen as a way to amplify voice, facilitate meaningful participation, and foster social change. The 2006 World Congress on Communication for Development defined C4D as ‘a social process based on dialogue using a broad range of tools and methods. It is also about seeking change at different levels including listening, building trust, sharing knowledge and skills, building policies, debating and learning for sustained and meaningful change’. Such two-way, horizontal approaches to communication include public hearings, debates, deliberations and stakeholder consultations, participatory radio and video, community-based theatre and story-telling, and web forums.

Inagaki, R. (2007). ‘Communicating the Impact of Communication for Development: Recent Trends in Empirical Research’, World Bank, Washington DC How can the use of communication in international assistance programmes be promoted and improved? This report argues that the communication community needs to: articulate more clearly why communication is essential for meeting the MDGs, demonstrate positive impacts of communication on development initiatives, and conduct more effective evaluations. It aims to contribute to the promotion of communication in development by presenting evidence of positive impacts from a review of recent research in the field. It also discusses weak spots in the evidence and proposes areas of further research. See full text

Pettit, J., Salazar, J. F. and Dagron, A. G. (2009). ‘Citizens’ Media and Communication’, Development in Practice, vol. 19, no. 4&5, pp. 443-452 Citizens’ media and communication comprise social, cultural and political processes that have the potential to be transformative. These approaches and processes are often not well understood, however, by mainstream development policy and practice, resulting in weak implementation. This introductory article finds that citizens’ media and communication is about more than bringing diverse voices into pluralist politics: it contributes to processes of social and cultural construction, redefining exclusionary norms and power relations. Local participation, ownership and control can allow people to reshape the spaces in which their voices find expression. See full text

Khosla, V., Mikami, A., Frank, L. B., Popal, I., Debeljak, K., & Shaw, A. (2013). Combating Violence Against Women Through C4D: The ‘Use Your Voice’ Campaign and Its Implications on Audience-Citizens in Papua New Guinea. International Journal of Communication, 7 (18). How can C4D be used to address gender issues? The Use Your Voice campaign was implemented in PNG in 2011 to promote speaking out against violence and displace the positive cultural association between violence and masculinity. The campaign used radio, television, and mobile phones to reach audiences, and included weekly shows on national radio, public service announcements, a press conference, and talk shows on television. The campaign also hosted a national competition for best community-based initiative to end gender-based violence in PNG. Within PNG, awareness of and concern about VAW is very low. The campaign was moderately successful in raising awareness, but not in changing behavioural patterns, which are deeply socially embedded. See full text

Communication initiatives aimed at changing attitudes and behaviours

Communication initiatives aimed at changing attitudes and behaviours have increasingly been used in the health sector since the 1970s. Such initiatives – including television and radio shows, theatre, informational sessions and pamphlets – can and have affected social norms related to gender roles, since gender norms are linked to all facets of health behaviour. Initiatives that seek to affect gender norms and inequities as a goal in itself, however, are a relatively new phenomenon.

Community radio is considered to be an effective tool in promoting women’s empowerment and participation in governance structures. Radio is often the primary source of information for women. It is accessible to local communities, transcends literacy barriers and uses local languages. Afghan Women’s Hour, for example, aims to reach a large cross-section of women and offers a forum to discuss gender, social issues and women’s rights. It was found that female listeners demonstrated a pronounced capacity to aspire, defined as the ‘capacity of groups to envision alternatives and aspire to different futures’ (Appadurai, cited in Bhanot et al., 2009, p. 13). Women developed specific aspirations in areas that had been recently covered by the programme segments. Their aspirations, however, were not particularly focused (Bhanot et al., 2009). Challenges with other community radio programme initiatives include women’s general under-representation and in some cases, the negative portrayal of women.

Participatory approaches are considered to be an effective tool in encouraging alternate discourses, norms and practices, and in empowering women. The use of sketches and photography in participatory workshops, for example, has encouraged women who have traditionally been reluctant to engage in public forums to express themselves.

In order for the empowerment of women to have a genuine impact, opportunity structures also need to be addressed, such as conservative and male opinion. Afghan Women’s Hour has a large male audience (research by BBC Media Action found that 39% of listeners were men), which provides a way to challenge male views on gender norms. Group educational activities, a common programme for men and boys, also have the potential to contribute to changes in attitudes on health issues and gender relations and, in some cases, changes in behaviour.

It is also important for communication initiatives to build on tradition and culture, not only because this can resonate better with communities, but because it can help to mute opposition from conservative segments of society. The involvement in projects of key community leaders such as teachers, cultural custodians and government officials is also important for greater impact and sustainable change.

Cooper, C., Goodsmith, L., Lotter, E. and Molony, T. (2010). ‘Communication, Participation and Social Change: A Review of Communication Initiatives Addressing Gender-based Violence, Gender Norms, and Harmful Traditional Practices in Crisis-affected Settings’, USAID, American Refugee Committee, Communication for Change In conflict and post-conflict settings, high levels of gender-based violence (GBV) can result from disruption of social structures, men’s loss of traditional roles, poverty, frustration, alcohol and drug abuse, and criminal impunity. Harmful traditional practices (HTP) also pose a threat to conflictaffected populations, and the incidence of HTP may increase in communities during and after conflict, as affected communities often respond by strengthening cultural traditions to deal with the loss experienced through the process of displacement. This review of development communication initiatives addressing GBV, HTP and related health concerns in crisis-affected settings finds a need to increase the number of genuinely participatory development communication programmes in conflict-affected areas where these concerns are pervasive. See full text

Solervicens, M., ed. (2008). ‘Women’s Empowerment and Good Governance through Community Radio: Best Experiences for an Action Research Process’, AMARC, World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters This report describes how community radio can be used to increase women’s awareness of political processes. Radio is an important medium for shaping social values. Community radio can provide women with a voice and the possibility of participation. It provides extensive case studies on community radio projects. See full text

Case studies

Morna, C. L., Mpofu, T. and Glenwright, D. (2010). ‘Gender and Media Progress Study: Southern Africa Gender and Media Progress Study Southern Africa, Gender Links, Johannesburg See full text

Tom, T. O. (2008). ‘Enhancing Gender Equality in the Media in Eastern Africa’, Regional Study, Eastern Africa Journalists Association (EAJA), Djibouti See full text

Malik, S. I. (2012). Writing from Inside Out: Accounts of Sudanese Women Working In the Media. Journal of Arts and Humanities, 1(2), 68-83. See full text

Haider, H., 2011, ‘Communication Initiatives to Change Attitudes and Behaviours’, GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report, Governance and Social Development Resource Centre, Birmingham

For discussion on gender and social media, see ‘ New media and citizenship’ in the Gender and Citizenship section of this guide.

See the GSDRC’s Topic Guide on Communication and Governance for more information on communication for development, communication for governance reform, and communication for social change.

Women Make the News (WMN) is a global policy advocacy initiative aimed at promoting gender equality in the media.

15 Representations of Gender in the Media

Erica L. Scharrer, Department of Communication, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA

Published: 28 January 2013
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Individuals young and old can learn a great deal from the ways in which men and women and boys and girls are depicted in the media. Alongside other socializing influences such as family and peers, the media help form perceptions of gender roles, and can shape the behaviors that stem from those perceptions. This chapter first reviews the evidence from content analysis research to determine the most prevalent patterns in gender representations in the media, with particular emphasis on television, video games, advertising, and magazine content. It then connects the themes that emerged in the content analysis literature—underrepresentation of women, depictions of physical appearance, domestic roles, and professional roles—to studies measuring the influence of such media depictions. In doing so, the topics of gender role socialization and body image disturbance are discussed, and the social implications of such media effects are identified.

Introduction

The media are among the most important socializing agents of the modern era, informing audiences directly and indirectly of cultural norms, beliefs, and expectations. With both adults and children spending vast and increasing amounts of time with various media forms, the media join the ranks of parents, other family members, friends, and others in shaping individuals’ perceptions of the world around them and their position within. Audience members learn a great deal about what is valued and accepted in the culture (and what is less so) from the media, and identities can form and reform from what is gleaned from the characters and other individuals who populate the programs on television and the advertisements between and within them, the pages of magazines, web sites and social media, and video and computer games.

Chief among the various messages communicated to audiences through media are messages about gender. Witnessing the men and women and boys and girls who appear on television and in other media forms, including what they say, what they do, what they look like, and how they interact, can help form audience members’ views of gender roles and their corresponding conceptions of themselves and others. The media can thus shape perceptions of masculinity and femininity, attitudes regarding gender roles (including what is deemed acceptable for girls and women or for boys and men) and behaviors that derive from these conceptions.

The socialization of gender roles is an especially important topic of scholarly inquiry. Very young children begin to develop a sense of themselves and others based on biological sex and socially constructed gender. These conceptions are likely to shift and reshape as children mature, primarily in adolescence as identity is in flux. Yet, adults too are guided by their own perceptions of gender roles. From division of household chores to beliefs about occupations, and from views of one's own attractiveness to ideas about romantic or familial roles, gender role conceptions can govern the daily lives of individuals young and old.

This chapter examines social science research on media representations of gender and the consequences of attending to these representations for the ideas, beliefs, and behavior of audiences. It begins by reviewing the most recent content analyses documenting patterns in gender portrayals, primarily on television, magazines, advertising, and video games, because the bulk of the research investigates these media types. Next, it synthesizes the body of research regarding media effects on gender role–related outcomes, including the experiments that show causal connections and the surveys that demonstrate correlations. In doing so, the chapter provides important insights into social norms for gender as reflected and shaped through media.

Content Analysis Research

What types of information might viewers receive from monitoring the media regarding what it means to be a boy or a girl, a man or a woman, in our society? The body of evidence from decades of content analysis research, a body that traces long-term, stable patterns as well as provides many important updates, answers that critical question. Content analysis research allows for systematic estimations of aggregate patterns in media content, thereby illuminating the most common themes. An overarching conclusion from media content research is that although one can point to some progress in wider and more encompassing gender roles, stereotypical portrayals persist.

Numbers of Characters

Women continue to be underrepresented on television and in other media forms compared with men on television and the actual population. The very first content analyses of television programming documented this pattern (Head, 1954 ) and the situation persisted through the 1970s, when there were approximately three male characters for every one female character on network television (Signorielli, 1985 ). There was some progress toward greater parity in the 1980s and through the 1990s, but even then the distribution of characters by gender was 60% in favor of males, and 40% females (Signorielli & Bacue, 1999 ). More recently, Greenberg and Worrell ( 2007 ) determined that female characters comprised on average just 39% of the new characters introduced each fall season by the networks between 1993 and 2004. Signorielli's ( 2013 ) analysis of an extensive database consisting of prime time broadcast network programming over time finds a 58% male, 42% female split that has characterized the last 10 years.

Although underrepresentation of women on television is the consistent conclusion from this research, studies show some variation according to genre as well as additional evidence of male dominance in other media types. The underrepresentation of female characters is particularly profound in drama and action-adventure programming and somewhat less so in situation comedies (Lauzen & Dozier, 1999 ; Signorielli & Bacue, 1999 ; Signorielli, 2013 ). A recent analysis of music videos from multiple music television networks found three times as many males as females (Turner, 2011 ). Within film rather than television, Smith, Pieper, Granados, and Choueiti ( 2010 ) conducted a content analysis of popular G-rated titles and found a 2.57:1 ratio in favor of males.

Among cartoons, a perennially popular aspect of children's programming, the tendency either mirrors or further distorts the favoring of male characters. The number of males outdistanced the number of females 58% to 42% among major characters in the sample of programs that had been labeled as satisfying the social/emotional aspect of the Children's Television Act analyzed by Barner ( 1999 ). Leaper, Breed, Hoffman, and Perlman ( 2002 ) discovered that male characters outnumbered female characters four to one in traditional adventure cartoons (e.g., Spiderman) , two to one in comedy cartoons (e.g., Animaniacs ), and 1.5 to one in educational/family cartoons (e.g., Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego, The Magic School Bus ). Most recently, Baker and Raney ( 2007 ) found an unequal distribution of superheroes in preference of males and Signorielli ( 2008 ) determined that the lopsided male-to-female ratio pervaded all Saturday morning cartoon types. In television as well as in film, therefore, implicit messages about who is privileged with a larger presence on the screen are sent to very young viewers and continue throughout general audience programming, as well.

The numbers are often even more uneven within the increasingly popular medium of video games. In an analysis of more than 1,000 ads appearing in video game fan magazines, Scharrer ( 2004 ) found males outnumbered females by 3 to 1. In the games themselves, Beasley and Collins Standley ( 2002 ) found 71.5% of all characters appearing in the first 20 minutes of game play were males and only 14% were females (the rest were gender indeterminate). Williams, Martins, Consalvo, and Ivory ( 2009 ) examined thousands of human characters in video games, and found males comprised 85.23% of all characters, 89.55% of primary characters, and 85.47% of secondary characters (after weighting by sales figures of the games so as to emphasize those most widely circulating). Downs and Smith ( 2010 ) studied top-grossing games for the most popular consoles and found males appeared more frequently within the games than females at a rate of approximately 7 to 1.

The overall tendency to overrepresent men compared with women is also consistent across race. A recent analysis found, for example, women comprised 45% of all prime time television characters of color, whereas men made up the remaining 55% (Signorielli, 2009a ). Both black/African-American female characters and Latino female characters tend to populate situation comedies more frequently than their male counterparts, who enjoy a wider array of roles across other program types (Signorielli, 2009a ). Thus, underrepresentation is both the overall condition for female characters and is exacerbated in particular genres for female characters of color. (See Chapter 13 for more research on race and ethnicity.)

Physical Appearance

The media present a narrow definition of attractiveness, emphasizing thinness as an essential component, particularly for females. On television, in the programs that are broadcast and the commercials between them, thinness and a narrow definition of attractiveness are presented as the overwhelming ideal. As evident in this section, content analysis research consistently finds that media characters are thinner than individuals in the actual population, thin characters tend to be portrayed more positively than less thin characters, and the emphasis on attractiveness and physical appearance—particularly for women but also for men—is profound.

Fouts and Burggraf ( 2002a ) found, for instance, characters on sitcoms underrepresent above-average weight individuals compared with population statistics, and overrepresent female underweight individuals. In a study of more than 1,000 primary characters on prime time television, Greenberg, Eastin, Hofschire, Lachlan, & Brownell ( 2003 ) found that overweight characters were also coded as less attractive, and they were less likely than their thinner counterparts to be shown dating, interacting with romantic partners, or engaging in sexual behavior. In an analysis of programming on Fox, the WB, and UPN (the latter two now merged but then separate networks), Glascock ( 2003 ) also determined that female characters were dressed more provocatively than male characters, calling attention to their attractiveness and sexuality. Thinness and sexuality appear to co-occur in televised depictions, therefore, and heavier characters are not typically shown as objects of romantic or sexual interest.

These emphases occur within particular television genres as well. Females were coded as more attractive than males in a study of Spanish-language prime time programming, for instance, and their appearance was emphasized to a greater degree in the narrative (Glascock & Ruggiero, 2004 ). A recent study of rap music videos by Zhang, Dixon, and Conrad ( 2010 ) found 51% of the female characters appearing were coded as thin, a percentage that was consistent across race. Thinness was associated with sexuality in the study, and because the US Centers for Disease Control estimates that just 24% of women in the actual population meet the clinical definition of “thin,” the finding points to a decided overrepresentation. In another study of music videos representing multiple musical genres, Turner ( 2011 ) found women were more likely than men and black characters more likely than white to be dressed provocatively.

In advertising, males outnumber females in commercials for all product types except health- and beauty-related and household products (Bartsch, Burnett, Diller, & Rankin-Williams, 2000 ; Ganahl, Prinsen, & Netzley, 2003 ), thereby establishing the association of femininity with beauty (as well as domestic roles). Female characters are typically younger than male characters and older women are the least visible group that appears in advertising (Ganahl et al., 2003 ). Stern and Mastro ( 2004 ) found further that young adult females were the most attractive as well as the thinnest group of characters appearing in television advertising, whereas older females were shown to be less attractive and heavier. In children's programming on Nickelodeon and Disney, Northrup and Liebler ( 2010 ) discovered a strong emphasis on a slender white body as the standard for beauty. Indeed, the tendency of media forms from advertising to video games and from magazines to music videos to present young women and girls in a sexualized manner that emphasizes not only thinness, but also presents them as objects for others’ sexual stimulation prompted the American Psychological Association to issue both a report on the topic and a call for more research into the phenomenon (APA, 2011 ).

The physical appearance of characters belonging to varying racial and gender groups has been compared in a number of content analyses of magazine advertising content, as well. Baker ( 2005 ) studied characters in ads appearing in magazines targeted primarily toward white women (e.g., Cosmopolitan ), white men (e.g., GQ ), black women (e.g., Essence ), and black men (e.g., Black Men ), and found white characters were more often shown as objectified (defined by a strong emphasis on their bodies and physical attributes and a de-emphasis on their faces) than black women across most magazine types. Yet, black female characters across magazine types largely conformed to a white norm for attractiveness, with medium complexions, straight hair, and curvy figures. And when black female characters appeared in the magazines targeted toward primarily white audiences, they were more likely to have lighter skin, straighter hair, and thinner bodies. Many of these themes were echoed in a more recent analysis of gender and race in ads appearing in Essence and Jet magazines (geared toward black women and black men and women, respectively) conducted by Hazell and Clarke ( 2008 ). They found black women characters were often shown as dominant—with faces presented as a focal point or “head shots” used rather than visuals emphasizing body parts—but also with light to medium complexions, straight and long hair, and increasingly thin figures, thereby reflecting the dominant white standard for beauty.

Television content analysis research has not only tracked the relative attractiveness and body size and shape of characters, but has also analyzed comments made about appearance, as well. Northrup and Liebler ( 2010 ), for instance, found evidence of the reinforcement of the importance of attractiveness and low body weight in characters’ verbal interactions. Lauzen and Dozier ( 2002 ), in a sample of prime time characters, found that although males and females were equally likely to make appearance-related comments, females were twice as likely to receive them. Somewhat similarly, Fouts and Burggraf ( 2002a ) found that those female characters who were below average in weight received more positive comments about their appearance from other characters than those female characters who were average or above in weight. Female characters who were portrayed as dieting admonished themselves for their weight and body shape, adding further force to a drive toward thinness (Fouts & Burggraf, 2002a ). In a parallel study, Fouts and Burggraf ( 2002b ) found that heavy male characters frequently made negative verbal comments about their own weight, often played to the audience for laughs.

Once again, video game content stands out as among the most problematic of media types in the sexualization of female characters and the strong emphasis on their attractiveness. Dietz ( 1998 ), in a content analysis of top-selling and top-renting titles, found female video game characters to frequently have clothing that exposed their bodies and to have exaggerated sexual features. Beasley and Collins Standley ( 2002 ) found female characters in video games were more likely than males to wear fewer items of clothing and show more skin, and 41% of all female characters were coded as having “voluptuous” breasts. Downs and Smith ( 2010 ) found approximately 40% of the female characters who appeared in the popular games in their sample wore clothing that emphasized curves or other body parts and another approximately 40% were partially or fully nude. The body proportions of many of the female characters were skewed toward large breasts and curvaceous hips accompanied by a very thin waist. In magazine ads for video games, Scharrer ( 2004 ) found the female characters appearing in the ads were more likely to be coded as attractive, wore more revealing clothing, and were more likely to be presented with an emphasis on sexuality than the male characters.

Although the topic has received comparatively less research attention, the depiction of male media characters’ attractiveness and physical appearance has been examined, as well. Across these studies, the body type that pervades and is presented as the most ideal for men is muscular and lean. For example, Lin ( 1998 ) studied more than 500 commercials appearing on ABC, CBS, and NBC and determined that a common body type for male characters was muscular (30%), with only very few male characters coded as either “skinny” (4%) or “chunky” (9%). Within magazine content, an increasingly muscular male body has been identified as the norm (Leit, Pope, & Gray, 2000 ; Hatoum & Belle, 2004 ; Frederick, Fessler, & Haselton, 2005 ). Morrison and Halton ( 2009 ) studied a random selection of top-grossing action films from 1980 to 2006 and found the body fat among the male characters decreased over time and their muscularity increased. The muscular male characters in the films were more likely than their less muscular counterparts to interact with others both romantically and sexually and were also more likely to be physically aggressive. Just as we saw for female characters, male characters that meet an increasingly narrow definition of physical attractiveness are more often presented as objects of desire in media compared with those who fail to measure up against such standards.

Domestic Roles

Another realm in which gender roles can be communicated via media is within the household, through domestic roles and responsibilities. From sitcoms that feature families and depict mothers and fathers in particular ways to advertisements for cleaning products and other household goods, the media can be a source of information regarding the division of labor and duties within and around the home. Such depictions can suggest to audience members that males or females are somehow “naturally” better at particular tasks and roles, or “naturally” worse.

Televised female characters’ marital status is more likely to be readily identified compared with male characters (Signorielli & Kahlenberg, 2001 ), thereby suggesting to the audience the relative importance of marriage to and for women. Female characters in telenovelas and serial dramas on Spanish-language television were responsible for more childcare than were male characters and they also had lower status occupations outside the home (Glascock & Ruggiero, 2004 ). An analysis of 124 programs on the broadcast networks aired during the 2005 to 2006 television season found female characters are more often depicted in roles and scenarios having to do with interpersonal relationships—including those familial, between friends, and with romantic partners—than males (Lauzen, Dozier, & Horan, 2008 ). Although there have been greater depictions of women working outside the home (as we will see in the following section of this chapter), the relative tendency to associate female characters with domestic spaces and tasks and with relationships (children, romantic partners, and friends) more so than male characters persists.

Within televised families, studies have also found some pointed differences in how mothers and fathers are represented. The general trend has been toward emancipation for women and mothers over time, with recent roles reflecting more independence and fewer domestic duties (Reep & Dambrot, 1994 ). However, on close scrutiny stereotypes and narrow depictions remain within media depictions of motherhood. Both Keller ( 1994 ) and Douglas and Michaels ( 2004 ) found within the content of women's magazines that the traditional roles of motherhood (including being in charge of care and upkeep of the home as well as of childcare) persist in articles and ads across the decades examined. Also within content in women's magazines, Smith ( 2001 ) found an increasing tendency to feature negative articles about working mothers and daycare between 1987 and 1997, thereby indirectly reinforcing the importance of women's roles within rather than outside the home. Johnston and Swanson ( 2003 ) studied 1998 and 1999 issues of women's and parenting magazines and found employed mothers were present in just 12% of all mother-related text units (i.e., an article, ad, letter, column) compared with 88% for at-home mothers. Mothers of color were underrepresented, with 89% of working mothers and 95% of at-home mothers being white. The working mothers were more likely than the at-home mothers to be presented as happy, busy, and proud, whereas the at-home mothers were more likely to be shown as confused and overwhelmed. Within depictions of motherhood, therefore, contradictions prevail, which seem to simultaneously deliver the message that work and family do not mix and that a maternal role for women is paramount, especially for white women.

In a rare quantitative study investigating masculine roles within the home, Scharrer ( 2001a ) studied 136 episodes of 29 domestic sitcoms airing from the 1950s through the 1990s. She found the father figure increasingly portrayed in a foolish manner, serving as the butt of 60% of all jokes involving the father in the 1990s sitcoms compared to approximately 30% in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Indeed, if joke telling can be considered a manifestation of power between the sexes, women increasingly showed that they had the upper hand. Fathers told jokes at the expense of mothers an average of two to three times per episode in the more recent sitcoms, whereas mothers told jokes at the expense of fathers three to five times. Although in some ways these data suggest progress for the depiction of gender because women have an increasing amount of power, the bumbling role of the sitcom father can suggest to audiences that women are somehow “naturally” more adept at childcare.

Callister and Robinson ( 2010 ) looked at expressions of physical affection among characters populating children's programs in the United States, and found some evidence of gender equality, yet additional data pointing toward gender biases. There were no differences, for instance, in whether male or female characters initiated affection (including hugging and kissing and other forms of affectionate touching) more often. Yet, males received more affection than females and sons were on the receiving end of affection from parents more than daughters, especially from mothers. In this study, therefore, we see that masculinity in this genre can include expressions of warmth and fondness, but interestingly, children's television characters appear to perceive males as more appropriate recipients of such expressions compared with females.

Perhaps in no other television genre do gender stereotypes regarding the domestic sphere pervade than in advertising on television (Browne, 1998 ; Coltrane & Messineo, 2000 ; Scharrer, Kim, Lin, & Liu, 2006 ). Not only are household responsibilities distributed stereotypically, with women, for instance, doing the majority of the cleaning and cooking and men the majority of the outdoor chores and household repairs in commercials (Kaufman, 1999 ; Scharrer et al., 2006 ), but in the few instances in which males do take on chores that run counter to gender expectations, their efforts are often presented as humorously inept. Kaufman ( 1999 ) coded more than 900 characters appearing in more than 1,000 commercials broadcast on the major networks and found that 72% of the time cooking was done by female characters, and females did more cleaning, shopping, and other indoor chores than males. Scharrer et al. ( 2006 ) coded 477 characters in prime time television commercials and found 64% of all domestic chores were performed by women, whereas only 3% of all stereotypically masculine domestic chores (like taking out the trash) were carried out by women. Tellingly, 50% of all chores taken on by men were met with a humorous response compared with just 9% of all chores done by women. When the father figure burns the dinner because the wife who usually cooks is working late, for instance, the subtle message is that one should not transgress traditional gender boundaries.

Women were found to be portrayed as homemakers and mothers and otherwise appearing in the domestic sphere in a recent sample of Spanish television commercials (Royo-Vela, Aldas-Manzano, Kuster, & Vila, 2008 ) and in the United Kingdom (Lewin-Jones & Mitra, 2009 ). A relatively recent study of television commercials in Australia by Milmer and Higgs ( 2004 ) shows that compared with past analyses, there is more evidence of stereotypical gender roles rather than less. Thus, the assignment of women to a domestic space, increasingly out-of-step with the realities of many women in the actual population, is the tendency in other cultural contexts outside the United States, as well.

In commercials within children's television programming, just 12% of commercials featuring boy characters only had an in-home setting compared with 39% of those featuring only girls (Larson, 2001 ). The girls-only commercials were overwhelmingly more likely than the boys-only to show cooperative interactions with others, whereas the boys-only were more likely to feature competition with others. This study joins prior research in determining that within the advertisements that appear during children's programming on television, girls are much more likely to be shown in a domestic setting and boys in an outdoor setting (Bretl & Cantor, 1988 ; Smith, 1994 ). Furthermore, girls in commercials during children's television have also been found to be significantly more nurturing, dependent, and deferential, whereas boys have been determined to be more aggressive and active (Barner, 1999 ). Thus, the placement of girls in roles within the home can coincide with their engagement in quieter, more calming pursuits (playing with baby dolls or kitchen sets, for instance), whereas the placement of boys outdoors can translate into more active and physically demanding activities (like running with trucks, planes, or other toy vehicles).

Occupational Roles

Another key area in which gender roles can be analyzed and understood is within the world of work. What jobs and occupations are held by male and female media characters, respectively? A number of content analysis studies identify the occupational status of media characters (whether they are depicted working outside the home or not), the jobs at which they are employed, and the relative prestige of those jobs. Within these analyses, once again we see some evidence of improving gender equality over time as well as additional indication of lingering limits and stereotypes.

Importantly, male characters are more likely to be explicitly presented as having a job outside the home than female characters on television. Signorielli and Kahlenberg ( 2001 ) found approximately 60% of female characters were identified as having an occupation compared with an estimated three-fourths of male characters. That disparity lingers in the most recent analysis of prime time television programs, as well (Signorielli, 2013 ). Just as women are associated with a home setting more than men, men are connected to the working world more than women on television.

Additional analyses have determined the sorts of occupations that are taken on by male and female characters on television, defining “traditionally male” occupations such as doctors, lawyers, and politicians and “traditionally female” occupations such as teachers and those in the service sector, as well as “gender neutral” occupations. Here we see some progress as well as remaining obstacles standing in the way of wider roles. In terms of progress, women are just as likely as men on television to be found in white collar or professional occupations (Signorielli & Kahlenberg, 2001 ; Signorielli, 2013 ). Furthermore, only about 20% of female characters are currently in “traditionally female” occupations, with an estimated one-third crossing traditional gender boundaries by occupying “traditionally male” jobs (Signorielli, 2013 ). Limiting circumstances persist for male characters, however, in that an estimated one-half has “traditionally male” jobs and careers, and just 5% are depicted in “traditionally female” occupational roles (Signorielli, 2013 ). Thus, the roles of male characters are more restricted within the professional realm than those of female characters in the contemporary television scene.

Important differences arise for gender and race when examining television programs that mostly feature characters from a single racial or ethnic group compared with those that feature characters that span multiple racial and ethnic groups. Signorielli ( 2009b ) found only 40% of black women in mostly minority programs were depicted working outside the home. Of those black women in mostly minority programs who did hold out-of-the-home occupations, they tended to be classified in non-professional jobs. Likewise, white women in programs with all or mostly white casts were also less likely to have high-prestige occupations. No such pattern was found for the occupations of male characters in the study. Their occupational status and prestige was not related to the overall racial and ethnic composition of the cast.

A limited number of studies examine the messages audiences receive through magazines regarding occupations. Massoni ( 2004 ) compared data from the National Center for Education Statistics to study career aspirations of teens of color and white teens and depictions of occupations in the highly popular Seventeen magazine in the same year. The analysis yielded more than 1,000 references to jobs and occupations in the editorial copy of the magazines to which gender could be ascribed. Men were depicted as having an occupation three times more often than women were in the magazine, and men held about three-fourths of the white collar, highly skilled occupations. Women held the majority of white collar, low-skilled occupations, but that was mostly explained by the predominance of females employed as models highlighted in the magazine. A total of 40 discrete jobs were depicted, and of those, 24 were male-dominated, 10 female-dominated, and 6 gender-neutral. Somewhat similarly, Peirce ( 1997 ) generated a random selection of fiction stories published in five women's magazines from 1990 to 1995 and found men were more likely to be shown as having an occupation and occupations were gender stereotyped, with common roles for men including doctors, lawyers, and business people, and common roles for women including secretaries, nurses, and housekeepers.

Finally, a subset of the existing content analyses depicting occupational activities examines the use of computers and information communication technologies (ICTs) by gender. Studies have found males outnumber females in magazine ads for computers, and differences exist in how males and females interact with computers as well, with males more often portrayed in executive or managerial roles and women as sales clerks and clerical employees (Ware & Stuck, 1985 ; Marshall & Bannon, 1988 ). Knupfer ( 1998 ) studied gender in banner ads appearing on the Web and found females were presented as lower in technological skills and in more subordinate roles compared with men. White and Kinnick ( 2000 ) examined 351 commercials during prime time television and determined that although female characters were shown as computer users nearly as often as male characters, their occupations were lower in status (e.g., secretaries or telemarketers) compared with males (who were, for instance, business professionals). Raphael, Bachen, Lynn, Baldwin-Philippi, and McKee ( 2006 ) studied 35 Web sites that expressed a mission to increase the involvement of girls and women in ICTs and found these sites show just the opposite trend, with girls and women depicted in elite and high-powered professional occupations.

Effects Research

One of the primary reasons why content analysis research is conducted is as a necessary first step to understanding media effects (Neuendorf, 2002 ). To determine whether and how and under what circumstances individuals are influenced by media, it is crucial to know what messages prevail in media texts. There is not always a direct correspondence between media content and media effects, however. The media effects research tradition has made great strides in recent years in showing that individuals are not always affected by media in uniform ways, but rather that individual differences and situational variables shape media effects. Therefore, the same media content can have differential effects on audiences. At the same time, content analysis research can identify the themes and patterns in media messages that ultimately may be called on by individuals—again, perhaps in differing ways—as they make sense of social norms and their relative position within those norms.

Like most media effects topic areas, the potential influence of media representations of gender is often studied through the use of surveys and experiments. The former lends external validity and generalizability but often falls short of asserting causal claims (unless, of course, it is conducted longitudinally). The latter is often rather artificial but allows for declarations of cause-and-effect relationships among variables. Studies using survey methodology are effective at measuring long-term, cumulative associations between media use patterns and gender-role related variables. Studies using experimental methodology capture the short-term, direct impact of media exposure. Both techniques have been used extensively to determine the ways in which media can shape conceptions about gender roles, attitudes toward those roles, and corresponding behavior.

The organization of this latter section of the chapter parallels the organization of the first section, with the subtopics identified in the content analysis research informing the review of effects research. Therefore, the surveys and experiments conducted to understand the impact of media depictions of physical appearance, roles within the home, and roles at work are synthesized and summarized here. However, one exception to this parallel structure surfaces. The content analysis section of the chapter provides evidence for the systematic underrepresentation of women in many media forms. This is a topic that has not been taken up directly in effects research to date, and therefore there is no corresponding subsection in the latter part of the chapter exploring the ramifications of underrepresentation. What are the consequences of an inequitable representation by gender on television, in video games, and in other media forms—where males consistently outnumber females—for audience members? Collins ( 2011 ) identifies this question as a critical gap in the media and gender literature. She suggests that the closest parallel in the existing research is the very small number of studies that show audiences of color gain increases in self-esteem when they see fellow people of color in the media (e.g., McDermott & Greenberg, 1984 ). Perhaps women in the audience, too, would experience a boost in self-esteem if they saw more women in primary roles in the media. Yet, clearly this phenomenon is not well understood and this chapter author joins Collins in calling for future research attention devoted to this important question.

Influence on Overall Gender-Role Attitudes

Before a more specialized review of the subtopics considered in this chapter (physical appearance, domestic roles, and occupational roles) is conducted, it is also necessary to consider the evidence for the influence of the media on attitudes and views about gender, in general. In other words, before discussing the evidence for effects of gendered portrayals of physical appearance, domestic roles, and professional roles, we first turn to the studies that explore the role of media in fostering overall conceptions of gender norms. For this task, meta-analysis is a useful approach. With the technique of meta-analysis, a number of studies on a shared topic are examined in the aggregate to arrive on overall conclusions that span the individual studies that comprise the analysis. Thus, meta-analysis identifies the overall size and strength of statistical relationships across numerous studies on a shared topic that encompass multiple methodologies and samples of various size and characteristics.

A small number of meta-analyses exist on the topic of media's effect on gender-related attitudes and behavior. Herrett-Skjellum and Allen ( 1996 ) integrated 30 existing studies and found an average effect size of .10 between television use and gender role stereotypes. The relationship held across age of subjects, and among the strongest associations was that between television exposure and views of occupational roles (a topic taken up in more detail in the following). An average effect size of .10 was also found by Morgan and Shanahan ( 1997 ), whose meta-analysis consisted of 14 studies of overall television use and gender roles that used cultivation analysis as a theoretical frame. Most recently, Oppliger ( 2007 ) conducted a meta-analysis of 31 studies and found a statistical relationship between television exposure and gender-role outcomes among experimental studies of r = .24 and among surveys of r = .12. Across each of the meta-analyses that exist on the topic; therefore, the effect size is small to moderate but in a consistently positive direction, suggesting television contributes modestly yet significantly to relatively more stereotypical and traditional gender-related outlooks.

Individual studies have also shown links between television exposure and overall conceptions of gender. For instance, Signorielli ( 1989 ) used the General Social Survey (GSS) from 1975 to 1986 to examine the association between amount of television viewing and gender-stereotypical attitudes. Although overall, views became less gender-stereotyped over time, a statistical association between television viewing and holding more traditional views of the role of women in society held across the time period examined. Jennings, Geis, & Brown ( 1980 ) used experimental methodology to expose college-aged women to either a gender-stereotyped commercial or a counter-stereotypical commercial and found the assertiveness of those in the counter-stereotypical group outscored those in the gender-stereotypical group in both a conformity and a public speaking task that took place after exposure. Garst and Bodenhausen ( 1997 ) exposed male college students to magazine advertisements that varied according to how androgynous or traditionally masculine they were. Those in the traditionally masculine condition, and in particular those who had scored as more “nontraditional” before exposure, displayed more traditional views of gender when reporting gender-related attitudes later, in a task that was ostensibly unrelated to their exposure. Hurtz and Durkin ( 2004 ) asked 72 adult residents of an Australian city to listen to radio ads that varied in terms of gender stereotyping (e.g., promoting soccer among males or sewing machines among females) presented alongside music programming. Those exposed to the set of stereotypical radio commercials processed gender-related trait words more efficiently following exposure compared to those exposed to neutral commercials. From this brief review, therefore, we see that radio, magazine advertising, television commercials, and television programming each has the potential to exert an influence on the overall view of gender held by individuals and the behaviors that emerge from those views.

Other studies have examined these processes among particular subgroups of the population or particular genres of television programming. For example, Ward, Hansbrough, and Walker ( 2005 ) found that black high school students who viewed both more music videos and more sports had more gender-typed attitudes than those who watched less of those program types. In their study, viewing of other genres including situation comedies, dramas, and movies, was not related to gender-related attitudes. Rivadeneyra and Ward ( 2005 ) surveyed a sample of Latino high school students, measuring gender-related attitudes through such items as “the husband should make all the important decisions in the marriage” and “a wife should do whatever her husband wants” (p. 462). They found girls who watched more television, especially talk shows and situation comedies, were more likely to endorse gender-role stereotypes than girls who watched less. For both the males and the females in the sample, exposure to Spanish-language programs was also associated with traditional gender-role attitudes. Importantly, television use was more strongly correlated with these attitudes when participants had higher levels of perceived realism and viewer involvement.

A number of studies also examine television's contribution to gender role attitudes outside the United States. In one such study, Saito ( 2007 ) surveyed 417 adult Tokyo residents and determined that amount of television viewing was significantly associated with more stereotypical responses to the Scale of Egalitarian Sex Role Attitudes (Suzuki, 1991 ) and remained marginally significant ( β = –.094, p = .07) when controlling for age, education, occupational status, and political orientation in hierarchical regression analysis. Follow-up analyses revealed stronger or weaker results depending on subgroup. For instance, politically conservative respondents who were heavy television viewers had less stereotyped responses to the scale than heavier viewing liberal respondents. These analyses support the notion of mainstreaming, a concept within cultivation theory that shows the ability of television to reduce differences in individuals’ viewpoints that would typically be found based on demographics (Morgan, Shanahan, & Signorielli, 2009 ). Thus, in some individuals and under some circumstances, television use can associate with less rather than more stereotypical attitudes regarding gender.

In fact, additional analyses have supported the ability of television to contribute to gender role attitudes that run counter to gender stereotypes in other cultural contexts. In Kuwait, Abdulrahim, Al-Kandari, and Hasanen ( 2009 ) found that amount of viewing of American television programming was associated with more open, nontraditional views of gender, measured using items including, “Women should have the same rights as men in every way” and “Men and women should get equal pay when they are in the same jobs” (p. 64). Exposure to US television remained a significant predictor of less gender-stereotypical views even when accounting for demographic variables and perceptions of television's ability to provide transcultural knowledge. The direction of television's correlation can change, therefore, depending on its message in comparison with other cultural and social forces.

The research record is quite clear that there are negative repercussions of the media's depiction of the thin ideal, particularly for women. Groesz, Levine, and Murnen ( 2002 ) performed a meta-analysis on 25 experiments examining the effect of thinness-depicting media on women's body image. They found an overall effects size of –.31, showing lower body satisfaction among women who saw media depictions of the thin ideal compared with those in control groups (most of whom saw more realistic images of women). The effects were stronger when research participants were less than 19 years old. A meta-analysis conducted by Grabe, Ward, and Hyde ( 2008 ) consisting of 77 studies found effects sizes of women's media exposure with their dissatisfaction with their bodies of –.28, with their internalization of a thin ideal of –.39, and with their eating behavior and beliefs (which included restricting one's eating, bingeing and purging, and excessively exercising) of –.30. Holstrom ( 2004 ) meta-analyzed 34 studies for which an effects size could be determined between exposure to media and judgments about one's own physical appearance, particularly regarding body size and shape. When weighting effects sizes by number of participants in each study, Holstrom arrived on smaller but still significant results: a mean effects size of .08 for the experimental studies and .07 for correlational. We can confidently conclude from these meta-analyses that media exert a small to moderate sized effect on body image–related outcomes.

Some of the existing research uses survey methodology to examine the relationship between overall amount of television exposure and feeling dissatisfied with the appearance of one's body. For example, Harrison and Cantor ( 1997 ) and Tiggemann ( 2003 ) have each found overall amount of television exposure predicts body dissatisfaction. Zhang and Lien ( 2010 ) determined from a sample of 301 Taiwanese adolescent girls that among those with low self-esteem and heavier body weight, television viewing associated with body dissatisfaction. Other surveys have examined exposure to particular genres or types of television programming (such as programs that are particularly “thinness depicting”) rather than (or sometimes in addition to) overall amount of television viewing, and have found associations with body image disturbances (Harrison, 2003 ; Bissell & Zhou, 2004 ; Stice, Schupak-Neuberg, Shaw, & Stein, 1994 ; Park, 2005 ; Tiggemann, 2003 , 2005 ). Similar results have been found to stem from exposure to fashion and beauty-centered magazines, as well (Harrison, 2000a ).

An important new trend in the literature is to examine these relationships between media and body image as they develop over time. For example, Moriarty and Harrison ( 2008 ) conducted a longitudinal study of 315 second, third, and fourth graders, gathering data at two points in time 1 year apart and measuring disordered eating, a phenomenon that includes having a negative body image, binge eating, restricting one's diet, abusing laxatives, pills, and other substances in an attempt to control weight, and over-exercising. They found television exposure significantly predicted eating disorder symptomology among both the white and the black girls in the sample, but not among boys of either race, after controlling for a number of variables, including disordered eating at baseline.

Indeed, one particularly disturbing subtopic within the literature examines the age at which media-influenced body image disturbances begin. Harrison and Hefner ( 2006 ) studied a sample of prepubescent girls over time, some as young as 6 years old, and found television viewing predicted later disordered eating as well as a thinner view of the ideal adult body type. Dohnt and Tiggemann ( 2006 ) surveyed girls age 5 through 8 and found significant associations between viewing “appearance-focused television” and the girls’ satisfaction with their own appearance. Boys are not immune from such influence. Harrison ( 2000b ) studied boys and girls age 6 to 8 and found that television exposure predicted disordered eating for both.

Another recent direction in research on this topic is to examine the impact of playing video games that feature sexualized portrayals of female characters that emphasize their body and their beauty on individuals’ attitudes toward sexual harassment and sexual aggression. Yao, Mahood, and Linz ( 2010 ), for example, randomly assigned 74 male college students to play either a sexually explicit game with objectified female characters ( Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude ) or one of two control games. Posttest measures included a lexical task to measure the priming of sex-related thoughts and a scale measuring likelihood to sexually harass. Yao et al. found those in the sexually objectifying condition responded faster to both sexual words and to sexually objectifying descriptions of women, thereby indicating priming had occurred, and scored higher on the likelihood to sexually harass scale than those in the control conditions. Dill, Brown, and Collins ( 2008 ) also found a link between playing video games featuring appearance-related gender stereotypes and greater tolerance for sexual harassment (but not rape myth acceptance) in a prior experiment (see Chapter 12 for other effects of sexually explicit media).

For males, there is evidence that boys are driven not necessarily toward thinness but rather toward muscularity as a body ideal (Cohane & Pope, 2001 ; Moriarty & Harrison, 2008 ). Barlett, Vowels, and Saucier ( 2008 ) have used meta-analysis to summarize and synthesize the existing studies on the topic of media and the body image disturbances of males. They examined 25 studies comprising 93 different effects sizes between media exposure and males’ body satisfaction (how one thinks about one's body), body esteem (how one feels about one's body) and self-esteem. Within the correlational studies, the overall effects size was –.19 and within the experimental studies, the overall effects size was –.22, thereby determining that, like females, males are negatively affected by media depictions of thinness and muscularity among male media characters.

The vast majority of studies examining media influence on body image–related variables examine the role of television and magazines and the advertisements contained within (Holstrom, 2004 ; Grabe et al., 2008 ). Yet, recently the phenomenon has been extended into video games, as well, with Barlett and Harris ( 2008 ) finding that playing a game that featured either an exceptionally thin or an exceptionally muscular character for 15 minutes led to decreases in self-esteem among male and female research participants. Furthermore, two recent studies have examined the consequences of viewing television programs that focus explicitly on appearance-related makeovers. Nabi ( 2009 ) studied exposure to reality-based programs specifically about cosmetic surgery makeovers, such as The Swan, Extreme Makeover , and I Want a Famous Face . Exposure to the cosmetic surgery makeover programs was positively linked to self-reported likelihood to engage in “appearance-enhancing procedures” if cost were no object, including those procedures minimally as well as more invasive. Somewhat similarly, Kubic and Chory ( 2007 ) found amount of viewing of makeover programs to be negatively related to self-esteem and positively related to dissatisfaction with one's body and a drive toward “perfectionism.”

Although the occasional study fails to find a significant link between negative body image and either overall amount of television exposure (e.g., Botta, 1999 ; Tiggemann, 2005 ) or viewing of specific genres (e.g., Botta, 1999 ; Stice, Spangler, & Agras, 2001 ), the majority of the evidence suggests conclusively that media exert a small- to moderate-sized influence on body image. For individuals young and old, for males as well as females, and for individuals who vary by race, the profound emphasis in the media on beauty, thinness, and physical attractiveness does have negative consequences for the ways in which they perceive themselves and others. Such consequences can span the range from momentary lapses in self-esteem to longer lasting and more troubling forms of eating disorder symptomology.

Domestic and Relational Roles

Television and other media forms have also been examined for their potential contribution to gender roles regarding responsibilities in and around the home. One of the primary questions under this heading is whether the consistently gender-stereotyped information audiences receive from advertising and other media sources regarding housework responsibilities (as we have seen in the first section of this chapter) sways perceptions among individuals in the audience regarding whether males or females should do particular chores. Although the existing research is rather dated, the available evidence suggests television use is related to children and adolescents holding traditional attitudes about who should be or is suited for particular roles and responsibilities, such as females cooking and cleaning and males fixing things and taking out the trash (Morgan, 1987 ; Signorielli & Lears, 1992 ). In an interesting split between attitudes and behavior, the role of television does not seem to extend to the issue of who actually does these domestic tasks. Rather, the distribution of housework and chore behavior (although often shown to be quite gendered) is not typically related to amount of television use. For example, in Morgan's ( 1987 ) longitudinal data from 287 adolescents, television viewing predicted changes in adolescents’ views of whether males or females should perform certain chores toward those more traditional in nature. Yet, television viewing was not related to the adolescents’ own household chore responsibilities. In a sample of fourth and fifth graders, Signorielli and Lears ( 1992 ) also found significant associations between television use and gender-typed attitudes toward housework but no such link between viewing and actually doing particular chores in and around the house.

Another research question regarding domestic roles is whether media can play a part in forming individuals’ perceptions of what mothers or fathers should be like, as well as how men and women form and behave within romantic relationships in general. One study on the topic took place in the Netherlands and featured the survey responses of 166 female adolescents and young women age 15 to 22 (Ex, Janssens, & Korzilius, 2002 ). Ex et al. found the amount of exposure to sitcoms and soap operas that feature more conventional gender-role depictions, but not the overall amount of television viewing, was associated with the young women anticipating a more traditional approach to their own future roles within motherhood, one in which family and children were emphasized over work. From this study, it seems specific television genres can shape the notions that girls and young women hold regarding potential roles for themselves as mothers.

Additional analyses have studied perceptions of dating and intimate relationships, and have generally supported the hypothesis that specific forms of television viewing can promote gender-related stereotypes. In a sample of 259 undergraduate students, Ward ( 2002 ) found amount of exposure to prime time comedies, prime time dramas, soap operas, and music videos were each associated with support for such stereotypical conceptions, including women being viewed as sex objects and men being seen as driven by sex as well as being unlikely to maintain a monogamous relationship. Ferris, Smith, Greenberg, and Smith ( 2007 ) found male heavy viewers of reality-based television dating programs endorsed the same sorts of stereotypes that surfaced in the Ward ( 2002 ) study (women as sex objects, men as sex driven) compared with their lighter viewer counterparts. Bryant ( 2008 ) determined that greater exposure to rap videos was related to black adolescents endorsing adversarial attitudes about romantic relationships, including economic equality and roles taken up within relationships. The more the young people watched rap videos, the more accepting they were of the ways in which both males and females were depicted in the videos. In an experiment conducted by Ward, Hansbrough, and Walker ( 2005 ), it was determined that black high school students who saw clips of music videos with stereotypical portrayals of men and women expressed more traditional views about sexual relationships and gender than those assigned to a different experimental condition.

We can safely conclude, therefore, that exposure to particularly gender-stereotyped content on television—whether it is found in music videos or soap operas, reality-based programs or prime time sitcoms or dramas—can contribute to audience members’ stereotypical views of gender in sexual and romantic relationships. The effects research in this topic area has also shown that amount of television viewed by children and adolescents can shape their views of whether males or females should be responsible for particular household chores, although such exposure has not been shown to extend to the domestic responsibilities actually enacted by children and adolescents. There appears to be few if any recent scholarly inquiries into the possible effects of media depictions of household tasks and roles, however, and therefore the ways in which media might or might not influence the contemporary audience in this regard remain largely unknown.

Television has been found to affect perceptions of the careers that are deemed open to and suitable for males and females, as well as those that are deemed less so. These effects have the ability to limit one's view of career aspirations if they uphold gender stereotypical norms. On the other hand, the research evidence is also quite clear that when television and other media forms portray a counter-stereotypical set of occupations, exposure can translate into a more encompassing view of “acceptable” occupations.

Research conducted in the 1970s and 1980s points to television's ability to foster traditional notions of gender and occupation. Beuf ( 1974 ) found amount of television viewing to predict stereotypical views of careers among 3- to 6-year-old children. A longitudinal study of sixth to eighth graders conducted by Morgan ( 1982 ) found among girls that television viewing predicted stereotypical responses over time to an index that included such measures as “women are happiest at home raising children” and “men are born with more ambition than women,” even after controlling for a number of additional variables. Jeffries-Fox and Jeffries-Fox ( 1981 ) surveyed 200 seventh to ninth graders and found that television exposure made a small but significant contribution to their conceptions of gender roles regarding occupations and work-related capacities. In early research conducted on the topic, therefore, television was associated with support for traditional occupational assignments, such as men as doctors and women as nurses, men as lawyers and women as secretaries, and so on.

Other studies examined audience members’ perceptions of the ways in which television depicts gender and occupations. Within a sample of more than 1,200 Israeli adults, Zemach and Cohen ( 1986 ) found heavy television viewing to be associated with a smaller gap between perceptions of the ways in which television depicts gender and occupations and actual population statistics regarding gender and occupations. In other words, those who watched more television perceived the “real world” to more closely approximate the television world in terms of whether and how men and women were employed. Wroblewski and Huston ( 1987 ) found fifth and sixth grade girls who were frequent viewers of television programs with traditional gender depictions and infrequent viewers of programs with counter-stereotypical gender depictions expressed stronger aspirations toward more traditionally feminine occupations such as those featured on the screen. Both boys and girls in the study had negative attitudes about male characters participating in traditionally female-associated occupations on television.

Among the first studies to consider whether reverse stereotypical depictions can have a liberating effect on conceptions of gender roles was the experiment conducted by Atkins and Miller ( 1975 ). In their study, young research participants in the treatment group watched commercials that featured female characters in traditionally male-dominated careers. Following exposure, treatment group members were more likely than control group members to endorse male-dominated occupations as being acceptable for women, too. In an analysis of the prominent “Freestyle” television series featuring counter-stereotypical occupations (e.g., females as car mechanics and males as nurses), Johnston and Ettema ( 1982 ) found exposure to be associated with less stereotypical views of gender, especially with accompanied by an in-school curriculum. Geis, Brown, Walstedt, & Porter ( 1984 ) exposed research participants to either gender-stereotypical commercials or counter-stereotypical commercials and then asked them to write about what they imagined their lives would be like in 10 years. The women in the stereotypical commercial condition brought up aspects of domesticity more so than professional achievements compared with both the men and the women who were in the counter-stereotypical condition. In a much more recent study, Nathanson, Wilson, McGee, and Sebastian ( 2002 ) also determined that parental mediation can shape children's responses to stereotypes on television, with those in a mediation condition less likely to have favorable views of stereotyped characters and, among the younger children in the sample, more likely to score lower on a scale measuring stereotypical attitudes.

It is clear that children perceive television's depiction of occupations as stereotypical rather early on in childhood (Wroblewski & Huston, 1987 ; Wright et al., 1995 ). In fact, in Wright and colleagues’ ( 1995 ) study of second and fifth graders, the children were more likely to aspire to a career seen on television if that career was not seen as gender stereotypical. Nonetheless, despite the skepticism that awareness of gender stereotyping would suggest, there is at least tentative evidence of television's effects in the existing research. The topic does not appear to have been taken up in more recent research, yet the (admittedly aging) research record does suggest that depending on the nature of the depiction—whether it upholds or runs counter to gender stereotypes—television use can contribute to views of gender and occupations. More recent explorations of what audiences may be learning from television and other media depictions of work are curiously absent in the literature.

Conclusions

The body of evidence accrued through content analysis regarding gender representations in media has pointed decidedly to progress in the opening up of gender roles on television, particularly those for women, both within and outside the home. Yet, a careful review of the content patterns suggests there still exists room for improvement, with some gendered depictions proving more stubborn to overturn, including within roles for men, within the close association of marital status to women and occupational status to men, and perhaps most egregiously, within the strict assignment of individuals to specific housework, parenting, and domestic care practices, particularly in advertising. Furthermore, all of these depictions and others occur within a scenario in which women continue to be underrepresented in media compared with men and their presence in the actual population. Such lack of visibility has the potential to send a message that women are undervalued in society.

Content analysis research also establishes conclusively that the men and women who populate media increasingly bear little resemblance to the men and women in the audience. Female characters in media are thin yet curvaceous. Many are clothed, photographed, or filmed in such a manner as to draw particular attention to their bodies. Male characters are lean and muscular. Both male and female characters who meet these increasingly strict definitions of beauty are more likely than their less fortunate (and less visible) counterparts to receive positive comments about how they look and to be presented in romantic as well as sexual contexts.

The effects research has shown that these media depictions of gender do, indeed, matter in that audiences young and old are absorbing these messages about gender and using them to shape their attitudes, intentions, and behavior. First, we have seen through both meta-analysis and through individual studies that myriad media forms—from overall amount of television to exposure to particular program types or genres, from video games to magazines, and increasingly ubiquitous ads—contribute to overall attitudes held by individuals regarding gender roles. The direction of this relationship is typically positive: Increased exposure relates to increased stereotypical or traditional views. However, we have also seen evidence that when television is among the more liberal or progressive messages an individual receives from the culture, the direction of the relationship can change. Television use can associate in these contexts with more open and wider views of gender roles.

The implications of the underrepresentation of women in terms of effects on the audience are unknown at this time. Yet, the implications of the other content patterns identified in this chapter have been explored in media effects research, some more thoroughly and some more recently than others. It is clear, for instance, that the profound emphasis on physical beauty and thin and lean bodies has negative consequences for media audiences. Media impact on body image disturbances begins as a disturbingly young age and has the potential to impact across gender and race. We can also confidently conclude that individuals are responding to the ways in which romantic and sexual relationships, often occurring within domestic settings, are portrayed in the media according to gender. The views of young audience members regarding how and why men and women form romantic relationships take shape, at least in part, from the media messages they receive, which include males being loathe to make commitments and women being viewed as objects of sexual attention. Early research established that television could also shape young people's views of housework and division of labor by gender, although this topic is in need of updating in future research. Finally, once again, early research showed the ability of television to contribute to conceptions about jobs, careers, and related skills and roles within. The conclusion from that body of research, that the television influence can either promote or refute stereotypes, should also be revisited in future research and should be extended into other popular media forms.

Future Directions

The body of knowledge on media and gender, as we have seen, is extensive and robust. Yet, key unanswered questions remain. First, it is essential to update the effects research in this area, as much of the existing research record on a number of subtopics relies on studies conducted in the 1970s or 1980s. The effects research has not kept pace with the content analysis research, and future researchers should use the most recent content findings to guide explorations of the ways in which audiences are receiving and responding to those depictions. Do modern media audience members draw from media in forming their notions of gender roles related to domestic and professional realms? With real-world statistics showing more equity in housework and child care roles within the home and more participation of women in the out-of-home workforce, how do media portrayals potentially resonate with or challenge individuals’ day-to-day experiences?

Second, it is also quite evident from this review that men's roles and the depiction of masculinity have received much less attention than women's roles and the depiction of femininity, in both content analysis and effects research (Scharrer, 2012 ). One exception not yet discussed in this chapter is the existing research linking masculinity with aggression and violence in media portrayals. The longitudinal analyses of prime time television content conducted by Gerbner and, most recently, by Signorielli, for instance, establish conclusively that males are both the most frequent perpetrators and the most frequent victims of violence (Signorielli & Gerbner, 1995 ; Signorielli, 2003 ). Scharrer ( 2001b , 2012 ) has expanded these analyses to examine not just physical aggression but other indicators of “hypermasculinity”—including having a calloused attitude toward sex, a sensation-seeking tendency, and a tight control over emotions—in police and detective shows on television over time. The consequences of hypermasculinity for the aggressive responses of viewers to violent television has also been explored (Scharrer, 2001c , 2005 ). Yet, with this exception aside, the relative failure to explore masculinity and media from a quantitative, media effects perspective is a considerable gap in the literature that should be addressed in future research. Increasingly, scholars from sociology, psychology, cultural studies, and other fields are recognizing that the study of masculinity is important as a means of examining social and cultural norms, dominance and power in society, and implications for everyday interactions between and within people of varying genders. With some content analysis evidence that men's roles, too, are often restricted and constrained in media depictions (once again, as we have begun to see in this chapter), it is likely that media could contribute to conceptualizations of male roles. How do views of masculinity form in our media-saturated culture? New research in this area would make an important contribution to the body of knowledge regarding gender and media.

Another area that needs greater attention in future research is the issue of gender and the online media environment. A meta-analysis of 132 articles pertaining to gender and the Internet published between 1995 and 2003 in 28 publications found just two content analysis studies of gender roles in Internet content (Royal, 2005 ). The vast majority of articles in Royal's analysis were about women's access to Internet technology and women's uses of the Internet, thereby demonstrating the need not just for additional content analyses in this area, but also more effects research. Of course, the challenge of Internet research is the vast and ever-changing landscape that is represented in the millions of pages and sites. Nonetheless, with audiences young and old spending more time using social media (e.g., Facebook) and visiting other web sites, future research must overcome these obstacles. What are the ways that Internet use might contribute to gender-related perceptions, norms, and other outcomes among individuals young and old? This, too, is largely unanswered in the existing research, most of which focuses on television. Although television continues to dominate other media forms in how most individuals devote their time to media, exploring the Internet and other media forms more fully is necessary, nonetheless.

Finally, as the field of media psychology continues to embrace and attempt to capture the complexity of individuals’ responses to media, future research in this area should reserve a central role for the study of individual differences. How does one's own degree of gender conformity, lived experiences with distribution of labor within the family or within the home, and professional status and roles shape one's response to media representations of gender? Close attention to these questions in future research in this area would make important contributions to the ever-important topic of media and gender.

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The Portrayal of Women in The Media: Gender Stereotypes

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Gender and media

Introduction

Political representation

Communication for Development (C4D)

Communication initiatives aimed at changing attitudes and behaviours

Case studies

Related Content

15 Representations of Gender in the Media

Introduction

Content Analysis Research

Numbers of Characters

Physical Appearance

Domestic Roles

Occupational Roles

Effects Research

Influence on Overall Gender-Role Attitudes

Domestic and Relational Roles

Conclusions

Future Directions

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