Images of Women (lecture 4)

Page 1

• Images of Women

Page 2: Language Matters

• Linguistic Sexism

  • Definition: Gender inequality embedded in language.

  • Deviates from gender roles and career norms, e.g., "male nurse," "career woman".

  • Historically, language has portrayed women as men's property.

  • Taking a man's last name as a symbol of patriarchy.

  • Less pressure on same-sex couples to change surnames.

  • Masculine pronouns more frequently used when gender is unclear.

  • English lacks a gender-neutral singular pronoun (e.g., "mankind").

Page 3: Language Matters Continued

• Slang and Gender

  • Terms for women often carry sexual and negative connotations (e.g., "chick" vs. "dude").

  • Rap music language reflects gender biases.

  • Sports commentary often focuses on women in relation to men (e.g., "Wife of..." vs. "Venus").

  • Women’s appearances are often highlighted, overshadowing their athleticism.

Page 4: Media Representation

• Underrepresentation of Women

  • Women in leading roles outnumbered by men at a ratio of 2:1.

  • Women hold only 30% of speaking roles in top 100 films each year.

  • Predominantly seen in health and beauty commercials; ratio unchanged since 1980s.

  • In 2019, only 10.6% of top films were directed by women.

• Bechdel Test

  • Criteria for a film:

    1. Contains at least two named female characters.

    2. Characters must converse with each other.

    3. Their conversation must not revolve around a man.

Page 5

Page 6

Page 7: Gendered Media - Disparity in Attributes

• Media Representation of Gender

  • Men depicted as active, aggressive, and dominant in media.

  • Ads feature men in professional roles more than as fathers or husbands.

  • Representation is influenced by audience perception.

  • Face-ism: Men often depicted with higher facial prominence than women, who are usually shown focusing on their bodies.

Page 8: Gendered Media Continued

• Sexualization in Advertising

  • 1/4 of White women and 1/10 of Black women in commercials are depicted sexually, compared to 1/14 of men.

  • Body of women treated as mere objects rather than individuals with agency.

  • This objectification is prevalent in music, TV shows like Miss America, video games, and magazines.

Page 9: Idealization and Distortion

• Fashion Trends

  • Historical trends have consistently required women to alter their natural appearance.

Page 10: Historical Representations of Women

• Images through the Decades

  • Gibson Girl: 1890s

  • Flapper: 1920s

  • Marilyn Monroe: 1950s

  • Twiggy: 1960s

Page 11: Body Image and Self-Objectification

• Body Image

  • Definition: One’s perception of their physical appearance and associated feelings about size and shape.

  • Social Comparison: Evaluating oneself against others in terms of body image.

  • Objectification Theory: Culture teaches women to see themselves as objects for evaluation.

  • Self-Objectification: Women preoccupy themselves with appearance, detracting from their subjective self.

  • Links to mental health issues: eating disorders, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and self-injury.

Page 12: Influence of Fashion Magazines

• Study Overview (Turner et al., 1997)

  • Sample: 49 undergraduate females.

  • Comparison: Fashion magazines vs. news magazines.

  • Results:

    • Women reading fashion magazines showed lower body image satisfaction.

    • Increased focus on thinness and body dissatisfaction reported, even after just 13 minutes of exposure.

Page 13

Page 14: Underrepresentation of Women of Color

• Film Industry Analysis

  • 74% of speaking roles in top films are granted to White characters.

  • Representation statistics:

    • 14% African American

    • 5% Hispanic

    • 5% Asian

    • 1% Middle Eastern

    • <1% American Indian

  • Racial stereotypes are prevalent in character portrayals.

Page 15: Underrepresentation of Older Women

• Commercial Representation

  • Older adults over 51 make up 27% of the population but only 18% of characters in commercials.

  • 2/3 of older characters portrayed in media are men.

  • Older women shown in a more negative light compared to older men.

Page 16: Underrepresentation of Women in Larger Bodies

• TV Representation

  • 1980 Study: 88% of TV figures were average or thin; of the leftover 12%, men outnumbered women 2:1.

  • Discrimination faced in multiple sectors: employment, education, healthcare.

  • Negative portrayals of overweight individuals: 72% of depictions are stigmatizing.

Page 17: Underrepresentation of Lower-Income Women

• Media Portrayal

  • Often depicted negatively or not represented at all.

  • Overlap with stereotypes faced by women of color.

Page 18: Voices of Authority

• Disparity in Guest Appearances

  • In media, 75% of guests in talk shows were men.

  • Authoritative voiceovers in commercials: 70-90% male.

  • 93% of TV network and studio heads are White and 73% are male.

  • Women in authority are often judged more on appearance than ideas or beliefs.

Page 19: Gender Stereotypes

• Physical Characteristics

  • Divisions: Strong/dainty, tall/petite.

• Personality Traits

  • Men: Instrumental and agentic traits.

  • Women: Affective and communal traits, e.g., nurturing, understanding, emotional, submissive.

• Roles and Occupations

  • Traditional vs. modern roles: Housewife/mother vs. career woman vs. athlete.

  • Sexuality stereotypes and stigmas, e.g., gay/lesbian.

Page 20: Stereotypes by Ethnicity

• Brief Overview

  • Asian Men: Intelligent, short, good at math.

  • Asian Women: Quiet, bad drivers, intelligent.

  • Black Men: Athletic, poor, macho.

  • Black Women: Curvy, loud, feisty.

  • Latina Women: Attractive, uneducated, promiscuous.

  • Middle Eastern Men and Women: Stereotyped as violent, terrorist, oppressed.

  • White Men: Arrogant, tall, rich.

  • White Women: Ditsy, privileged, attractive.

Page 21: Why Do Stereotypes Survive?

• Functions of Stereotypes

  • Help ingroup members maintain cohesion.

  • Serve as cognitive shortcuts affecting information processing.

  • Can influence the formation of subtypes.