How does the Media Help Construct Feminine Identity?

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(The Role of Socialization in the Creation of Gender Identities)

What is the “Mass Media”-

In simple terms the mass media is forms of communication that everyone has access to- •TV

•Radio

•Cinema

•Advertising

•Magazines

•Internet

Feminine Identity-

Bob Connell (2002) argues that feminine identity in the UK is still the product of hegemonic ideas of how the sexes should be socialised and how they should behave as adults.

Women are still given very distinct roles, including the traditionally main domestic one (as mothers, housewives and emotional caretakers).

In addition young women are often seen as sexual objects, and viewed in terms of their physical attributes (size, shape etc), and not their intellect.

Connell points out that all agents of socialization are involved in creating these expectations about femininity but that the mass media has and continues to play a particularly important role in reinforcing these traditional ideas about women.

The Role of the Media-

Media representations of women often do not represent the reality of their lives.

In particular TV advertising, newspapers, magazines and even the music industry show women as either seeking fulfilment in the home as wives, mothers, consumers or as sexual objects for men to look at.

Guy Cumberbatch (1990)-

Cumberbatch’s study of television commercials concluded that such adverts reflected an “unacceptable face of sexism” and contribute to the patriarchal idea that ultimately women exists in what is essentially a man’s world.

Cumberbatch’s study found that youth and beauty were the main features of women in commercials, and that women occupy a decorative role far more than men.

Cumberbatch also found that men were more than twice as likely to be shown in paid employment while women were more than twice as likely to be shown doing things like washing and cleaning.

Also…

The positive changes in women’s roles in recent years do not seem to be shown on TV (or referred to in adverts)-

Girls outperform boys in education

The feminisation of the workplace

The increase in divorce rates

Some media representations seem to be very positive. For example programs such as Cold Feet and Prime Suspect include assertive female lead characters as do soap operas such as Eastenders.

However, on closer examination, many of these “strong” female characters are shown as having problems, ie they are incapable of maintaining successful relationships and are unstable or neurotic.