Gender Representations in News

News reflects power relations, indicating that the media does not provide a neutral representation of societal realities.
Gender ideologies significantly influence representation in the news, shaping how stories are told and which voices are amplified or silenced.

Highlighting male-dominated editorial hierarchies:
- Many newsroom staff, particularly in decision-making positions, are largely male-dominated.
Distinction between hard news and soft news:
- Hard news: Topics typically include politics, economy, security, foreign policy, and crises/emergencies.
- Soft news: Encompasses morning programs, magazine news, family and health pages, and weekend supplements.

Experts represented in news are predominantly men.
Women are typically portrayed in limited roles:
- Commonly as victims or relatives of victims.
Global Findings from GMMP (Global Media Monitoring Project):
- Approximately 25% of those featured in news reports are women, while 75% are men.
- Roles of women often include:
- Victim
- Mother
- Wife
- Celebrity
- Rarely depicted as:
- Expert
- Decision-maker
- Authority figure

Observations on language use:
- Instances of gender bias in language, such as:
- Female politician versus just politician (gendered distinction).
- Use of working mother without a corresponding term for working fathers.
- Gender often treated as an exception rather than a norm in discussions.

Analysis of victim-blaming language:
- Example statement: “The young woman was killed during the night”
- This implies a moral judgment about the woman’s presence in a public space “at that hour.”
- Notable trends:
- Romanticization of violence (e.g., terming it as “love murder”), which can lead to legitimization of violent acts under the guise of emotional relationships.

Example headlines that divert focus:
- “Woman in mini skirt attacked” — Focus is given to the victim's attire rather than the perpetrator’s actions.
- Suggested alternative headline: “A woman was injured as a result of male violence.”

Family roles often emphasized over authority:
- Example headline: “A female member of parliament, a mother of three, spoke in the Assembly.”
- Here, the family role precedes political identity, a contrast not applied to male counterparts.
- Emotional framing distinction:
- “Emotional speech from a female MP” is valued differently than similar speeches from male MPs.

Women are generally underrepresented in news, while LGBTQ+ individuals are often invisible or stereotyped.
Example: “Young woman found dead in park”
- The perpetrator is erased from the narrative, portraying violence as individual/accidental.
- Alternative framing could state: “A woman's murder is under investigation.”

Manifestations in media include:
- Moral panic and criminalization of LGBTQ+ identities.
- Often accompanied by unnecessary and irrelevant information,
- Use of language that promotes otherness (e.g., terms like ‘scandal,’ ‘perversion,’ ‘threat’).

Example of nuance in language:
- “The gay scandal has stirred up the neighborhood.”
- The term “scandal” suggests deviance from social norms.
- An alternative and more neutral framing could be: “An investigation has been launched into the incident that occurred in the neighborhood” (omitting sexual orientation unless relevant).

Discussing allegations with damaging language:
- Terms like “deviant relationship” contribute to hate speech and further otherization.
Crime is conflated with sexual orientation, leading to stigmatization.

Coverage can be:
- Either nonexistent or reduced to gossip, morality tales, and public order concerns.
Typical media framing includes:
- “Scandal,” “reaction,” “controversy.”
Media portrayal relegates LGBTQ+ individuals as objects of crisis rather than voices of authority.

Common portrayals associate trans women with crime:
- Example headline: “Prostitution operation targeting transvestites”
- This uses incorrect and derogatory terminology, and misrepresents identity in relation to crime.
- An alternative could be: “An operation was carried out in X district on allegations of prostitution.”

Intersectionality as a concept refers to the impact of combining various identities:
- Categories include gender, ethnicity, class, and their intersecting effects.
Illustrative examples:
- An immigrant woman, poor woman, and LGBTQ+ individual are more prone to stereotyping.
- “Syrian woman caught begging” portrays the woman primarily as a victim and migrant as a problem—lacking any identification of perpetrator.
- Suggested alternative framing: “The conditions that force migrant women into informal employment are being discussed.”

A stark statement: “Violence against women of colour is only reported on if we’re dead or used as clickbait.”
Reference to a blog post: We Are Not Clickbait: Discussing journalists’ responsibilities in reporting violence against ethnic minority women.

Example headline: “Woman in aid queue rebels”
- Analysis of framing indicates:
- Presentation as emotional, uncontrolled, and complaining without identifying structural issues.
- Hidden aspects include:
  - Structural poverty
  - Lack of social policy
  - State accountability.
Stereotyping can lead to narratives like “Emotional, irresponsible poor woman.”
- Alternative framing could be: “Inadequacies in social welfare policies affect poor women.”

Notable disparities in visual representation:
- Women’s faces shown in reports on violence while men's images are often blurred or anonymized.
Example case: “Woman murdered in Başakşehir:”
- The woman was killed by her husband during divorce proceedings, highlighting the visibility of female victims vs. male perpetrators.

Observations on sensationalism:
- The rise of clickbait headlines designed specifically to catch attention, often through sensationalist language.
- The influence of the “male gaze” is more prominently seen in digital news formats.

Key questions to consider regarding gender representation:
- Who speaks in the news?
- Who is silenced in media narratives?
- What narratives become normalized?

Overall insights:
- News reproduces established gender ideology perpetually.
- A call for essential critical reading to engage with media narratives meaningfully.