AS Media Lesson 2 - Representation, gender and stereotypes
Sexism
1. SEXISM What it is, how it is portrayed, and how big of an issue it truly is.
2. How is sexism portrays people. MEN women Shown as “all brawn, no brains.” Usually stubborn. Violent. Lazy. Most women are referred to as “being in the kitchen.” Many of them, particularly in TV shows and in movies are portrayed as “damsels in distress” Usually shown as the “blonde” stereotype.
4. What is Sexism? 1. attitudes or behavior based on traditional stereotypes of sexual roles. 2. discrimination or devaluation based on a person's sex, as in restricted job opportunities; esp., such discrimination directed against women.
5. How sexism against men and women is portrayed in the media. WOMEN Sex in the City 7th Heaven Legally Blonde Clueless Degrassi Mean Girls Many body care commercials. MEN Axe commercials Exercise equipment ads Chuck Norris Most old fairy tales and legends.
6. How many advertisements are sexist towards women. Many body care advertisements show women either naked, in the shower, or chasing after some guy after he’s put on some body deodorant. The use of women's sexuality and the use of gratuitous female nudity in advertisements [has] been labeled "porno chic" by a Paris media watchdog group, and even within the advertising industry in France it is accepted that "nudity is invariably an excuse for bankruptcy of ideas".
7. Did you know that Thomas the Tank Engine was deemed sexist? Yes, this is true! A Canadian professor has been flooded with angry e-mails from parents after publishing a study saying that the popular children's TV show featuring Thomas the Tank Engine teaches children to become conformist and sexist! The main idea is that most of the locomotives are male, and the coaches that they pull around are all female. It wasn’t until the introduction of the character Daisy that this was all blown over.
8. Sexism in the soaps. Traditionally steamier than prime-time programming, daytime soap operas have received substantial research attention because of their strong appeal for women and adolescents. A recent analysis of sexuality on the soaps found that top-rated soap operas averaged 6.6 sexual incidents per hour compared to about half that number 10 years earlier. Talk about safe sexual relations and contraception was still relatively rare --six references in 50 episodes, against a backdrop of 15 different story lines about pregnancy over a two-month period.
9. How Sexism is related to TWISTED The book shows Bethany as some sort of sex object in the beginning chapters, and she is clearly the sex appeal of the book, showing her as hardy dressed during the cheerleader car wash in the beginning of the book.
10. SURVEY RESULTS QUESTION 1: How often have you seen movies portraying women as inferior to men? Very often – 5/23 Often – 8/23 Not very often – 4/23 Hardly – 6/23 QUESTION 2: Have you ever heard the saying that women “belong in the kitchen?” Yes – 21/23 No – 2/23 What’re you talking about? – 0/23 QUESTION 3: Have you been a victim of, or have been a witness to, sexism towards you or a friend, regardless of gender? Yes, I have – 16/23 No, I have not – 7/23 QUESTION 4: Would you consider men and women equal in the public eye? Yes – 7/23 No – 9/23 Depends – 7/23
11. SURVEY RESULTS cont’d QUESTION 5: Do you think men and women try as hard as each other to gain more attention from the opposite sex? Yes, they both try as hard – 13/23 No, women try harder – 9/23 No, men try harder – 1/23 QUESTION 6: Do you believe that women in the media (movies, TV, magazines, etc, are portrayed in such a way that they’d seem abnormal? Yes – 4/23 No – 7/23 Unsure – 11/23 QUESTION 7: Do you believe that the opposite sex is inferior compared to your own? Yes, of course! – 8/23 No, why would I think that? – 10/23 Not too sure, aren’t we all the same species? – 5/23 QUESTION 8: Do you believe sexism is a major problem? Yes, I think it’s terrible! – 9/23 No, I don’t think it’s such a big deal – 10/23 I don’t really care – 4/23
12. SURVEY RESULTS cont’d Part II QUESTION 9: How often are you subjected to sexist acts projected upon you by either friends or total strangers? Very – 8/23 Rarely – 10/23 Never – 3/23 Always – 2/23 QUESTION 10: Has this survey helped you to understand how big a problem sexism is? Yes – 9/23 No - 14/23
13. IN CONCLUSION As you can see, there are several blatant references to sexism (mostly towards women) in the general public, and in the media that keeps us so entertained. What can we do to stop it? Well, my friends, I will leave that up to you. Everyone has their own way of putting things right. So, why not show that off now?
14. CITATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Many Advertisements Are Sexist." Advertising. Ed. Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 13 Dec. 2010. Brown, Jane, and Jeanne R. Steele. "Sexuality and the Mass Media: An Overview." SIECUS Report. April/May 1996: 3-9. SIRS Researcher. Web. 13 Dec 2010 "Is Thomas the Tank Engine Sexist? - The Week." The Week Magazine: Political News and Cartoons, Current Events and Entertainment Online. 17 Dec. 2009. Web. 20 Dec. 2010. <http://mobile.theweek.com/article/index/104250/www.aolnews.com>.