Posted on behalf of James Farley:
Gender roles in the media have been an issue since the very beginning. McQuail states in the 5th edition, “This goes far deeper and wider than the original limited agenda of matters such as the under-representation of women in the media and the stereotyping and sex-role socialization which was and still is a feature of much media content. Current concerns also go beyond issues of pornographic media content which matter to feminists (and others) not only because they are offensive and symbolically degrading but because they might be a stimulus to rape and violence.” (Ch. 5, pg 121)
McQuail also states, “For the feminist critique two issues arise […] second is the degree to which new kinds of mass media texts which challenge gender stereotyping and try to introduce positive role models can have any “empowering” effect for women (while remaining within the dominant commercial media system.)” (Ch. 13, pg 345)
Now, do you guys feel as if women are constantly portrayed solely as sexual beings or do you think media has taken a bit of a turn with new women empowering series such as The Closer, The View and Medium…perhaps even Ghost Whisperer?
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9 comments:
I definitely think that women are being portrayed more positively on television shows as independent, strong figures in society. Sitcoms like Cashmere Mafia, Grey's Anatomy and Gilmore Girls give women inspirational characters who are strong in the career, relationships and family lives. I don't know if I'd say I'm inspired by the women of The View but there are women in the talk show industry and on news networks that are inspirational as well. Ellen Degeneres has swept the nation with her dancing and comedy on her talk show and she's openly out as a lesbian. That's a positive role model for women to look up to and identify with as well. Ellen isn't afraid of her identity at all, she embraces it, and people embrace her back.
There are still the women as sex objects portrayed in the media but I think there are definite role reversals in television and movies these days. My boyfriend hates that I watch and love Desperate Housewives because it features women who cheat on their husbands and have secret lovers quite often and he thinks that it's a bad influence for women. He thinks that cheating has become an accepted occurrance for us to see on T.V. and we're starting to accept it in real life also. It doesn't surprise people anymore if a marriage dissolves because one spouse cheats on the other one. This never happened in the days of Leave it to Beaver and Ozzie and Harriet, is it becoming an accepted behavior in our society because it isn't frowned upon in our media anymore?
Or could the women of Wisteria Lane be seen as an "empowering effect" for a woman to feel confident enough to get what she wants.
Then there's the women in the media that are sex objects, but they're made likable by their media outlet. Before Girls Next Door aired on E! I would have just thought Hugh Hefner's three girlfriends were gold digging barbies. But now, since their reality series, they've become lovable characters that I'm not so disgusted by anymore. (This sounds so pathetic I know) But they have given themselves a better image by using a media outlet.
I definitely think there's more of a balance these days of women being seen as sex objects in the media or as empowering role models. There's also been a mixture of the two. It's truly a turn for the better since the days of Carol Brady.
Things have definitely changed for women over the years when it comes to the media. They are no longer the weak or housewives who don't work and spend all of their time cooking and cleaning. Things have changed a lot since the days of The Brady Bunch and other shows of that time. Today, women are shown as strong, tough, and well-respected in many television shows and movies. Lots of TV shows now have female-based characters and no male characters.
I think the media definitely has females as sex objects, although not all TV shows and movies are like that. Even if a show features females who are strong and respected, there is still that underlying sexuality that attracts the male viewer. They are still wearing provocative clothing on most shows, especially on shows such as Desperate Housewives and even Gossip Girl.
I think that no matter what, women will always be portrayed as sexual beings. It attracts viewers to the show or movie. The female character will continue growing to become more independent, strong willed, and respected...but I also think there will always be that underlying sexuality. It's the same thing with males, it is what attracts most viewers to these shows and movies.
According to the McQuail text, “As Rakow (1986) points out, media content can never be a true account of reality, and it is less important to change media representations (such as having more female characters) than to challenge the underlying sexist ideology of much media content” (Chapter 13, 344-345). Although there more TV shows today with either large female casts (Desperate Housewives, Cashmere Mafia ) or with their focus from a female perspective (Grey’s Anatomy, Ugly Betty), the basic message has not changed and stereotyped portrayals outnumber the “forward-thinking” ones. No one can deny that the portrayal of women has evolved from the days of early television to now, but I still believe that there is a not so quiet undertone of prejudice present today. Yes, within the past 10 to 20 years or so, a sort of movement has occurred which gave birth to the Carrie Bradshaw’s of TV while leaving the Mrs. Brady’s at home to cook and clean and smile. However, where has the respect gone? Shows like Flavor of Love, The Bachelor, and Rock of Love (just to name a few) portray women as needy, whiney, and dependent on men for love and attention to make them happy and complete. Maybe it’s just me, but how stupid and desperate do you have to be to want to voluntarily vie for Flava Flav’s affections?! The female contestants in these shows look to satisfy and fit into the male’s expectations so they can be accepted. They also take to bringing each other down verbally and emotionally in order to come out ahead. Not to mention that one of the main focuses is on how beautiful these women are – casting directors are picky for a reason: they want to maintain a fairytale ideal that just isn’t possible in real life for most people, to give the audience something to wish they had.
Though I have never seen The Closer or Ghost Whisperer, I think shows like Medium and Cold Case are taking a step in the right direction when it comes to portraying women not solely as sexual objects. Patricia Arquette’s Alison Dubois is an average woman (never mind the whole seeing dead people thing) who excels at her job while managing three kids (and a husband). The show can carry itself just fine without turning to stereotypic portrayals of women as sexual objects for ratings.
Unfortunately, I do not see an easy or quick way to change things. As long as the bottom line is making a profit and getting ratings, the status quo won’t budge.
I definitely think there has been a shift in the liberation of females on television, meaning that they are being given more positive roles to play and are much more apt to become professional women as opposed to domesticated within their shows. I have never seen Medium, so I can’t comment on that, and the women on the view always kind of annoyed me (I don’t really want to devote an hour of my day to watching older women discuss various issues…could be just me). However, with shows like The Closer, it is clear that women are becoming more respected.
I am actually partial to The Closer and other crime dramas that feature women as leads, having written an entire thesis-style research paper for Prof. Worthington on this topic last semester. I found out a lot about the fact that, while women are moving into more controversial and respectable roles (not simply to be portrayed as a sex object), there are still very clear trends about what kind of women are being hired for these parts, and what they accomplish on the show (and the reverse—what they end up losing out on because they are focusing on a career), among other things, which is not the case for male characters.
As Melissa pointed out, while several television dramas and sitcoms focus on projecting a positive image of the female, most reality shows focus on degrading women… let’s be honest, how many sane people would really want to be on a show like Flavor of Love or Rock of Love? The women on those shows know they are going to be degraded in the worst ways possible, and yet they choose to participate anyway. Where is their self-respect?
I agree that some shows are taking strides to improve the roles that women play on television. Ever since that Alias show and I guess maybe as far back as like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I feel like women have been made to be tougher on television. I watched The Closer for the first time recently and it was interesting to see a woman in a crime drama that wasn't playing second fiddle to a man.
There are still shows though, like stuff on MTV or that Girls Next Door show, that keep women in the same place they were 30 years ago.
One of my favorite shows on TV is Mad Men, and it really portrays women as they would have been seen on television in the 50s. I think when it comes to shows like that its fine to see women in traditional roles. However, its nice to see the girls get to kick some ass too.
I had caught a segment of "Best Week Ever" a few weeks ago and saw them talking about this issue, in a less direct way. One of the commentators was saying how women are supposed to have come a long way in the media, and they are being portrayed as these strong, independent, creative and successful women. And then they go on to show a montague of clips from the new show "Cashmire Mafia," or was it "Lipstick Jungle..." (both look too similiar to tell apart) but let's go with "Lipstick Jungle," and ALL the clips were of the three women crying, balling their eyes out over something. It was definitely a jab at how at times people still like to remind us that women may have not have come as far as we'd like to believe they have in media entertainment.
Yes, we are seeing way more shows about women, for women, starring women, but rare is the show that presents women intelligently and without sex being the main plot story in some way or the other. Try and think of a popular women's show out right now, and try to think of most of the plotlines, especially for an ensemble cast, that does not use sex to facilitate the movement of the show. Chapter 5 in McQuail brings this up, saying "Things have changed in the media, with much more content by women and for women, with no inhibition about female sexuality." (123) Is it a good thing that women can act in the same roles as men did and speak more freely and act more sexualized? Is this why we've seen an evolution of female media roles? "Sex and the City" made no mistake about what their show was about- it's in the title. But other shows carry this facade that there are all these strong women, smart women, successful woemn knocking down doors and demanding answers, but it's really not the case. The most pathetic example of this was in an episode of Grey's Anatomy years ago when Meredith Grey turned to McDreamy in an elevator and begged "PICK ME, CHOOSE ME, LOVE ME." It was, to me, just as degrading a moment as watching Telia Tequila prance around, or the girls on "Rock of Love" make out repeatedly with Brett or each other.
So it is really better to have these shows on that act like we have positive portrayals of women, and yet with only a little digging, realize that 9 times out of 10, it comes down to sexualizing them or the situations they're in?
I agree with what everyone has been saying about the portrayal of women in the media. I don’t think that women are being portrayed solely as sexual beings; television and movies now add other “elements” to the woman—such as she having a successful career, owning her own home, being financially stable, etc. But on the other hand, I think that because the content on television has become extremely sexual (whether it be direct actions or indirect innuendos), I think that women are still highly sexualized no matter what. Even though a woman might have a successful career and everything going for her, there is still that glamorization and sexualization of the woman. The media is trying to and attempting to represent the female as this strong, empowering woman who is all about independence, but yet they also want to try to stick with the “mainstream" and depict her as a sexual being and dependent on a man in some way.
James mentions one of the issues that arises in the feminist critique of the media’s portrayal of the female. The other issue is “… the extent to which media texts intended for the entertainment of women (like soap operas or romances) can ever be liberating when they embody the realities of patriarchal society and family institutions (Radway, 1984; Ang, 1985)” (McQuail 345). So again, in certain genres, women are still being highly sexualized and controlled in a patriarchal society. However, I think that shows such as Medium are definitely trying to steer away from that concept and show women in a different light. I hope this works! :)
Posted on behalf of Alyssa Jones:
“Most central to critical feminist analysis is probably the broad question (going beyond stereotypes) of how texts 'position' the female subject in narratives and textual interactions and in doing so contribute to a definition of femininity in collaboration with the 'reader'”(McQuail 345). This excerpt from McQuail will be the main basis of my blog response. My observation based on women’s portrayal in shows is that the portrayal of women is dependent on the programming. The portrayal and the level of sexuality a female character will have is in direct correlation to the story-line and context of the show. To explain this statement I will use two different programs both portraying professional women: “Murphy Brown” and “Sex and the City”.
“Murphy Brown”: a show that started in the 80’s is about the title character Murphy Brown, whose occupation is journalism. She is very opinionated and is the personification of a “working woman.” Though she did have love interest, she was never married and came under fire from Dan Quail when her character had child out of wedlock. Actress Candice Bergen who portrayed Murphy Brown, is not a stand out beauty, and seems to have been chosen for the part more so for her acting ability than her physical appearance. This program about a no nonsense journalist is portrayed by a women who looks like she would be this in real wife and her sexuality is not pushed to the forefront. Therefore the image of the actress is essentially the image of the show.
“Sex and the City”: Because of its cable showcasing, “Sex and the City” is an overtly sexual show. Each character is highly characterized into their role. Carrie is a sex columnist who thusly has a lot of sex, though it’s debatable whether or not she needs to have all this sex for work and article material or just for enjoyment. The rest of the characters are as follows: Charlotte who is the Upper East Side conservative, Miranda the working woman, and Samantha the highly sexual cougar. All very attractive women in their own right and each personify their role. They are supposed to represent that breed of Manhattan women, the mid 30’s-40’s successful single women who can walk around in their Manolos without shame and be “fabulous.” Their beauty and sexuality is pushed to the forefront and the show portrays them as beautiful women who happen to be intelligent and successful, instead of the other way around because the bulk of storylines are about their relationships with men, fashion, themselves, and they the wayward scene of them in their workplaces are intermingled in.
I am a firm believer that the media is solely a reflection of our society. If women are being portrayed in a myriad of roles ranging from sexual objects to empowered, educated beings, that simply reflects the type of women that are in our culture.
All I have to say is that thank goodness everyone is being represented. We can't deny that some women use their sexuality to their advantage to advance in society, and we also can't deny that women are becoming corporate executives and are obtaining high status. I'm really anti-feminist, and I think that women should just plug ahead and do whatever they want to do without making a big deal about it. And, it's a reality that a lot of women don't assert themselves and allow themselves to be held back. That's how girls get caught up in cases like the Spitzer one. But there are so many positive role models out there, like Oprah, and some drama/sitcom characters. Every role on television is just a reflection of real roles women play in regular society. I don't believe that women are targeted or exploited in the media at all.
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