Commercials

         As we have learned, media plays a prominent role in our society.  Media in many ways is a reflection of our community.  One of the main ways media tries to influence the masses are through the use of advertising.  Many ads are formed around gender scripts and stereotypes.  In a previous post, I analyzed the different ways cleaning supplies are marketed towards men and women.  Women are pictured cleaning, doing housework, usually with kids around.  Typical women’s work.  On the other hand, the “going into battle” approach is a masculine way to sell products to men.  Masculine verbs, such as destroy and kill, are used to describe the cleaning products.  This style of selling aims at attempting to make cleaning a manlier task rather than women’s work. 

      This gender segregated approach to advertising is evident as we analyze more and more commercials.  For example, car commercials are presented differently depending on the audience.   With female viewers, the car is described with words such as flexible or sleek in the commercials.  However, with male audiences, the car is described as tough or powerful.  Flexible and sleek are generally labeled as more feminine qualities; tough and powerful refer to masculine traits.  Other advertisements, such as for beer and food commercials, use the same gender segregated approach.  This approach to selling products has been quite successful. 

Outnumbered

Women make up roughly half of the population.  Yet, since the 1950’s male characters have outnumbered female characters in all forms of media.  Women today are still underrepresented.  As George Gerbner explains in the “Electronic Storyteller”, there is one woman for every three men on television.  An example of this would be Seinfeld.  When women appear in media they are always stereotyped and usually highly sexualized for a heterosexual male viewer audience.  Female characters are always on the sidelines, rarely seen as the main character.  Some believe this absence of well represented women on television is due to the lack of women in the high status positions, such as director or producer in media.

To deal with backlash, media moguls have created shows and movies with female protagonists.  We see gender role reversal in many of these.  Some examples of media with female leads are American Horror Story, the Hunger Games and Million Dollar Baby.  In American Horror Story:Coven, women greatly outnumber the amount of men in the show.  Also, the males are seen as the sexual objects or passive submissive helpers rather than the women.  Here, the females hold the power.  In a recent GRIID film study of the top 67 films of 2012, 55 of the lead characters were male and only 12 of the characters were female.  Strong, empowered female protagonists are far and few between. In movies with female leads, the young women are not portrayed as sexual objects but rather have their own objectives in mind.  These shows counter the overtly sexual submissive stereotype normally played by women.  

Indecency

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The media industry has changed greatly since the invention of the television.   We are beginning to see increasingly sexualized images on TV these days.  With the lines between porn and mainstream becoming more and more blurred, it is hard to decipher what is indecent and obscene in the media.  We, as a society, seem to become gradually normalized to images of sex and violence that constantly flood into our homes.  Early media moguls recognized the influence media can have over the public.  They needed a way to regulate the images being broadcast throughout society.   Production codes of censorship have become more lax over time.  The Production Code of1930, which lasted until 1968, required that programs involve no profanity, no lust or excessive kissing, no suggestive postures or interracial romance.

 Due to the rise of cable TV, these “indecencies” are now recognized as normal.  TV and movies are continually pushing the limits of graphic sex scenes.  Female nudity has become extremely common in media.  Yet, male nudity is almost unseen, but always assumed.  From “Game of Thrones” to “American Horror Story” sex scenes are essential to the episodes.  Usually, the women in these shows are depicted as sexual objects for men.   The female body has become hyper sexualized and expected to fit into an unrealistic beauty standard.  These shows are marketed not only to men, but to the women who seek to fulfill the fantasy they portray.  In conclusion, media has changed greatly since the 1930's.  We are seeing more sex, violence and objectification everyday.  Through this visibility comes normalization and validation.

LGBT

The visibility of LGBT characters have come a long way since the beginning of television.    From the first girl on girl kiss on an episode of Roseanne to Ellen Degeneres “coming out” on her sitcom, this increased visibility on TV has helped liberate those in the LGBT community.  With this queer theory seeping into media, the companies who own it have struggled to depict accurate representations of gays and lesbians.  Representations of lesbians are often unrealistic and only depicted for a male heterosexual viewers pleasure.  The flamboyant gay male has become the single norm for gay men in the media.  If a man is shown acting feminine, he is automatically assumed to be gay.  He is seen as the comic relief in many TV shows.  However, the “straight acting” gay men are almost invisible in media and assumed to be heterosexual.   Will and Grace is an example of this. Will and Jack are both homosexuals yet Jack is the flamboyant comic relief because he acts more feminine.  Will, the “straight acting” gay male, could be assumed to be in a heterosexual relationship with Grace.

            Nonetheless, this increased visibility of LGBT character in the media is helping pave the way for more complex gay and lesbian characters.  Shows like the L Word strive to depict accurate representations of LGBT people.  LOGO is an entire channel dedicated to the LGBT media.  With this validation through visibility, storylines are no longer limited only to sexuality.  Rather, LGBT characters can be seen in everyday life just like heterosexual characters.   

Princesses

Generation after generation has grown up watching Disney movies.  Disney is known for its family orientated brands and has become the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue.  With Disney holding so much power in many different sectors of the media, it is essential that we, as a society, evaluate what principles are being taught by the characters in its movies.  The fairy tale princess stories are what young girls are taught to imitate.  But should young girls aspire to be like these princesses? 

 A closer look at Disney movies reveal some troubling aspects.  Domestic violence, racism and the sexist portrayal of women are reoccurring themes in these movies.  The princesses of Disney teach young girls that there is an ideal body image for women.  People don't realize the subtle impact that these movies have on the children of this generation.  Many of the Disney characters are hardly the role models we want for young girls. They’re willing to steal and give no thought moderate dress codes. They use overt sexual advances to attract, distract or divert attention.  Also, they are always portrayed as the damsel in distress needing to be rescued by prince charming. In my opinion, young girls should not be raised on such priorities.  Girls should seek to be independent and successful rather than putting all their faith into being rescued by some dude. 

It is scary that people bring their children up worshiping and aspiring to be like Disney Princesses. They are all based in patriarchal societies where women are see as the inferior gender appealing only to men through their sexuality and their obedience.  

Mr.Clean

Due to stereotypes and gender scripts, women have always been depicted as the ones to be doing the housework.  While the men were out working, women were to care for the children and upkeep the house.  I wanted to look at what tactics TV advertisements use to encourage women to buy their products and why.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiwcIiO0R4g

First example is a Mr.Clean commercial from 1963.  “Listen Mister, I know a little more about floor cleaning than you do.”  This line reinforces the stereotype that cleaning floors and housework in general is women’s work.  Men are portrayed as clueless about cleaning normally.  Women are routinely shown anguishing over dirty floors only to be relieved of their distress when Mr. Clean shows up to tell them how to keep their homes spotless.  Even when commercials are aimed at women’s products, up to 90% of the time a man’s voice is used to explain the value of what is being sold using male voice-overs.  This reinforces the cultural view that men are authorities and women are incompetent.

This commercial for Parozone uses a male to try to sell the cleaning products rather than a woman.  The “going into battle” approach is a masculine way to sell products intended for mostly females.  Masculine adjectives, such as touch and powerful, and verbs, such as destroy and kill, are used to describe the cleaning products.  This style of selling aims at attempting to make cleaning a manlier task rather than women’s work.

Women in Politics

With our current knowledge of media and how it affects our society in a variety of different ways, I wanted to examine how women in politics are represented.

Women are underrepresented in all forms of government.    For the first time since 1987, the United States has made no progress in electing more women to Congress.  According to the WCF foundation, women only hold 17% of the seats in Congress.  This percentage is extremely low when you think about how females make up 51% of the population.  Only 6 out of 50 states have a female governor.  And only 22% of all statewide elective executive office positions are currently held by women.

Even with the United States striving for equality for all, gender stereotypes seem to be holding women back from being active in politics.  The old stereotypes that men are to hold leadership positions while women tend to housework and blindly support the patriarchy must change.  Media depicts women as sex objects and influences young girls to only focus on their appearance.  If women are being taught to only worry about their looks, how can they be successful and actually make something of themselves?  A study found that voters evaluate women politicians more on beauty and approachability, while they look for competence and dominance in male politicians.  

Women in power, such as Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, tend to be asked question on plastic surgery scandals rather than worldwide issues.  A male politician would not be asked such questions. The reporter spent about a minute talking about actual politics and the rest of the time asking Palin about breast implants.  Sarah Palin calls it a waste of time to be asking about implants rather than real issues.  I agree with her. I believe this is another example of how gender is portrayed in the media and how it greatly influences and shapes our society.

Video games, Marketing and Gender

The stereotype that only boys play video games is far from the truth.  According to the Entertainment Software Association, 45% of all gamers are women.  With women making up so much of the gamer society, I wanted to discuss how marketing and gender are represented in video games.  Advertisers and game companies tend to work with stereotypes when trying to appeal to the general public, rather than speaking to women who identify themselves as gamers.  Games marketed towards young men usually involve lots of aggression, explosions, blood, gore, guns, justifiable violence and domination.  The task of saving the damsel in distress is the key objective in most games.  These are seen as masculine aims.  There are few games that have a female protagonist, and far less that have the entire game based on a female character.  Marketing to women on the other hand is quite different.  Due to the age old stereotype that girls like the color pink, companies have created pink controllers, consoles, etc. to entice more women to get gaming.  

Another marketing strategy used by companies is placing popular female celebrities in their advertisements.  Below is an ad of Beyoncé playing a Nintendo DS with a child.  This could represent the stereotype of women caring for and raising children.  Also, there are numerous games that involve cooking and physical fitness, more stereotypes that are linked to women.  I believe this is a way for companies to say that female gamers can still be feminine even in the masculine world of gaming.

Women's Work

Women’s Work

Traditional gender roles in this society seem to have created occupational differences for men and women.  It is learned, with the help of media, that men are expected to get a job and make money to support and care for their families.  Whereas, women are to stay at home, watch the children and tend to the household responsibilities.

 Numerous TV shows depict this traditional lifestyle, such as Father Knows Best and I Remember Mama.  Before the First World War, it was very uncommon for women to hold position in the workforce.  As explained in “Class Dismissed”, women in the workforce tend to be working class at a job with no possibility of promotion.  These are women working jobs for the money, not as a career.  Recently however, many have strayed from the traditional gender roles .We are seeing more women in the workforce holding high power careers.  But with more women at work, who’s watching the kids?  The men.  One example of this was clearly visible in a TV reality show called Modern Dads.

This reality show follows the lives of 4 stay at home dads.  They take care of the children and tend to the household chores while the highly successful wives are off at work all day.  This show depicts a role reversal of traditional gender roles within a family.  I watched one episode in which the dads were trying to set up a poker night.  In it, the men seemed scared to ask their wives if they could go out and play poker with the guys.  It appeared that because the men perform the domestic duties and make no income they are not seen as the head of the household.  Therefore, the power in the family is shifted to the wife.  With more shows like Modern Dads in mainstream media, traditional gender roles and stereotypes in the family may be replaced with more equal household partnerships.

Objectification of Gender in Media

Mass media tends to place men and women into clearly defined gender categories each with its own set of standards.   These gender roles that media forms can be stereotypical, objectifying and offensive.  Images of women in media emphasize their bodies and sexuality.  Women are depicted as passive and dependent on men rather independent and self-sufficient.  Images of men emphasize control, aggression and even violence.  They are portrayed as powerful and masculine.  This objectification of gender roles through media shapes the way men and women within society tend to behave and act in everyday life.

Let us consider contemporary music videos and how they portray men and women, in relation to desire, sex and power.

Especially in music videos, women tend to be objectified as sex objects.  This is not only degrading to women but also sets unrealistic standards for the society.  Furthermore, one does not see women over the age of 35 in such music videos or other forms of media.  As George Gerbner explains in “The Electronic Storyteller”, older women’s romantic and sexual aspects seem to vanish making them undesirable.  This decreases their visibility in many media forms.   These women often play roles of mothers, witches, evil stepmothers and even grandmothers rather than being portrayed for their sexual appeal.  However, men do not have such limitations.  This makes it common for older men to be seen with younger women.  One example of this would be 43 year old Jay-Z surrounded by groups of younger women in his music videos.  Even though he is in his 40’s, he is still seen as powerful, confident and successful.  Likewise, Sean Connery’s romantic appeal did not diminish even throughout his movies in his 60’s.  For example, in the movie First Knight, Connery was 65 and his love interest Julia Ormond was 30.  With this objectification of gender, media is creating “ideal” stereotypes for men and women that can result in unhealthy behavior and offensive, unrealistic views of individuals within the society.