In today’s class we talked about the gender stereotyping of men and women… this short compilation celebrates the achievements of women in 2013 while acknowledging the negative effect that media had on representing women in 2013 and how stereotyping and sexism still exists in modern media.
My question for you to ponder over the weekend is:
How do we change the way women are represented and viewed in the media? (Come prepared to discuss on Monday)
Below are two post that the Humanities 8 class co-created that looked at the stereotypes of men and women
BE A MAN
&
ACT LIKE A LADY
are conformative boxes that are full of stereotypes…
– What does it mean to “be a mna” or “act like a lady”? What are the stereotypes associated with these gender roles?
– Where to we learn these gender roles?
IF we don’t fit inside the box what are the names or put-downs that are directed at men and women that don’t fit the stereotype?
Tomboy bad bitch attention whore SLUT whore Lesbian Dyke
| Act like a LadyBe a prissy
gossip – verbal abuse solves all problems Quiet /elegant /mature Loves girlie things: pink, flowery, lace, Pastel colours, dresses, make-up, cute things Boys – heterosexual long hair (blonde)/ skinny/ perfect /diet never happy with appearance fashion /shopping |
Wuss wimp Gay FAG nerd Fat
| BE A MANPhysical violence solves problems
Suck it up short hair/ abs /deep voice/ tall/ fit Don’t cry Like sports/ BLUE Women- heterosexual Drive sports car/jet drink beer recreational drug use smokes (sometimes- cigars?) sleeps around (player) plays video games eats meat lazy neverstudies/ procrastinate/ wing it superman |
Media are constructions that re-present reality. Ask:
•Who created this media product?
•What is its purpose?
•What assumptions or beliefs do its creators have about body issues?
Media have social and ideological implications. Ask:
•What body shapes are shown more positively or negatively than others?
•Why might these body shapes be shown this way?
•Which body shapes are not shown at all?
•What conclusions might audiences draw based on these facts?
Media have commercial implications. Ask:
•What is the commercial purpose of this media product (in other words, how will it help someone make money?)
•How does this influence the content and how it’s communicated?
•If no commercial purpose can be found, what other purposes might the media product have (for instance, to get attention for its creator or to convince audiences of a particular point of view.)
•How do those purposes influence the content and how it’s communicated?
Audiences negotiate meaning in media. Ask:
•How might different people see this media product differently?
•How does this make you feel, based on how similar or different you are from the people portrayed in the media product?
Each medium has a unique form. Ask:
•What techniques does the media product use to get your attention and to communicate its message?
•In what ways are the images in the media product manipulated through various techniques (for example: lighting, makeup, camera angle, photo manipulation)?
•What are the expectations of the genre (for example: print advertising, TV drama, music video) towards body shape?
The report Boys to Men: Media Messages About Masculinity, identifies the most popular stereotypes of male characters as the Joker, the Jock, the Strong Silent Type, the Big Shot and the Action Hero.[1]
The Joker is a very popular character with boys, perhaps because laughter is part of their own “mask of masculinity.” A potential negative consequence of this stereotype is the assumption that boys and men should not be serious or emotional. However, researchers have also argued that humorous roles can be used to expand definitions of masculinity.
The Jock is always willing to “compromise his own long-term health; he must fight other men when necessary; he must avoid being soft; and he must be aggressive.” By demonstrating his power and strength, the jock wins the approval of other men and the adoration of women.
The Strong Silent Type focuses on “being in charge, acting decisively, containing emotion, and succeeding with women.” This stereotype reinforces the assumption that men and boys should always be in control, and that talking about one’s feelings is a sign of weakness.
The Big Shot is defined by his professional status. He is the “epitome of success, embodying the characteristics and acquiring the possessions that society deems valuable.” This stereotype suggests that a real man must be economically powerful and socially successful.
The Action Hero is “strong, but not necessarily silent. He is often angry. Above all, he is aggressive in the extreme and, increasingly over the past several decades, he engages in violent behavior.”
Another common stereotype…
The Buffoon commonly appears as a bungling father figure in TV ads and sitcoms. Usually well-intentioned and light-hearted, these characters range from slightly inept to completely hopeless when it comes to parenting their children or dealing with domestic (or workplace) issues.
Traditionally, most of the concerns about media and body image have revolved around girls, but more and more, researchers and health professionals are turning their attention to boys as well. A growing body of research indicates that although boys are less likely to talk about their insecurities, they too experience anxiety about their bodies.[1]
Cultural expectations that guys have to be nonchalant when it comes to their physiques makes body dissatisfaction in boys more difficult to assess, but there is little doubt they are affected by media representations of idealized masculinity. In addition, as advertisers increasingly turn their attention to young men as a lucrative demographic, it is unlikely that such representations are going to disappear any time soon.
Body dissatisfaction amongst boys and young men is fuelled not just by the idealized male bodies they see in media, but also by the idealized images of women that are represented. A 2008 study found that young men were more self-conscious about their bodies after reading “lad magazines” featuring photos of sexualized, scantily-clad women, based on the belief that girls would expect similar idealized physiques from men as well. [2] Other research has found a relationship between the increase in idealized male bodies in media and the rise in body dissatisfaction and weight disorders in boys and young men: a 2005 study, for instance, found that media influence had the largest effect on whether middle-school boys were dissatisfied with their bodies. [3]
The increase in eating disorders in male adults is well-established. A study by the UK National Health Service found that hospital admissions for men with eating disorders had risen by two-thirds between 2001 and 2011. [4] Eating disorders are also on the rise amongst boys, particularly athletes. [5] There are also concerns that some boys – some as young as age 10 – are becoming obsessed with building a muscular physique, [6] a condition that is thought to be related to changes in how muscular male sex symbols have become over the last few decades. [7] This obsession may take the form of fixation with exercise, particularly weightlifting; abuse of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, which may damage the heart, liver, kidneys and immune system; and muscle dysmorphia, whose sufferers see themselves as thin and weak no matter how well-muscled they become. [8]
While the desire to be more muscular has been the focus in most of the research on body image issues among boys, recent evidence suggests that rather than focusing on building muscle mass boys are most likely to focus on achieving or maintaining an average weight that is neither over- nor underweight, to avoid standing out from their peers. [9] As a result, boys who are unhappy with their bodies are almost equally likely to be concerned about being too thin as being too fat. [10] This suggests that the level of eating disorders and other body image issues may be higher than is currently thought, since researchers have traditionally measured body dissatisfaction in boys based on their desire for a more muscular build. It also suggests that interventions based on those that have been designed for girls may be less effective with boys: for instance, researchers found that BodiMojo, a website designed to help youth deal with body image issues, had positive results with girls but not with boys. [11]
This may be because while girls are typically open about being concerned with their bodies in general and weight in particular, boys are under pressure to avoid being too skinny or heavy without seeming to care about how they look. [12] Julia Taylor, a counselor at a North Carolina high school and author of Perfectly You, describes her experience at a body image awareness event: “Guys did not even want to go near our table,” she says, but when she left the table boys “would look at it, then walk away, then come back and fold up a pamphlet real quickly and put it in their pocket.” [13] Parents, teachers and counselors need to be more aware of the prevalence of body image issues among boys, and not wait for them to openly seek help; [14] as well, while boys need to be educated and provided with the same sorts of tools as girls, they need materials that are specifically designed for them [15] that not only address their particular concerns (both the drive to muscularity and the pressure to not stand out on the basis of weight) but are delivered in a way that boys can access them privately, away from the eyes of their peers.
——————————————————————————–
[1] Norman, M. (2011) Embodying the Double-Bind of Masculinity: Young Men and Discourses of Normalcy, Health, Heterosexuality, and Individualism. Men and Masculinities, 14, 4: 430-449.
[2] Aubrey, J. S., & Taylor, L. D. (2009). The role of lad magazines in priming men’s chronic and temporary appearance-related schemata: An investigation of longitudinal and experimental findings. Human Communication Research, 35, 28-58.
[3] Linda Smolak, Jonathan A. Stein. The relationship of drive for muscularity to sociocultural factors, self-esteem, physical attributes gender role, and social comparison in middle school boys. Body Image 3 (2006) 121–129.
[4] “Rise in male eating disorders tip of iceberg: charity.” Alice Baghdjian, Reuters, July 13 2011.
[5] “Eating Disorders May Be Rising Among Male Athletes,” Anne Harding, Reuters, January 8, 2009.
[6] Jay Dawes, Mark Roozen and Marie Spano. Muscle Dysmorphia. National Strength and Conditioning Association, June 3, 2009.
[7] Leit RA, Pope HGJ, Gray JJ. (2001). Cultural expectations of muscularity in men: The evolution of playgirl centerfolds. International Journal of Eating Disorders 29:90-93.
[8] Kurtz, Sara. Adolescent Boys’ and Girls’ Perceived Body Image and the Influence of Media: The Impact of Media Literacy Education on Adolescents Body Dissatisfaction. Carroll University, December 2010.
[9] S. Bryn Austin, Jess Haines, Paul J. Veugelers. Body satisfaction and body weight: gender differences and sociodemographic determinants. BMC Public Health 2009, 9:313.)
[10] Freeman et al. (2012). The Health of Canada’s Young People: A Mental Health Focus. Public Health Agency of Canada.
[11] Cousineau, T.M., Franko, D.L., Trant, M., Rancourt, D., Ainscough, J., Chaudhuri, A., & Brevard, J. (2010). Teaching adolescents about changing bodies: Randomized controlled trial of an Internet puberty education and body dissatisfaction prevention program. Body Image, 7, 296-300.
[12] Norman, Moss. Embodying the Double-Bind of Masculinity: Young Men and Discourses of Normalcy, Health, Heterosexuality, and Individualism. Men and Masculinities, Sept 17 2011
[13] Grace Rubinstein. Boys and Body Image: Eating Disorders Don’t Discriminate. Edutopia, April 2010.
[14] Ibid.
[15] McCabe, M.P., Ricciardili, L.A. (2006). A prospective study of extreme weight change behaviors among adolescent boys and girls. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35(3), 425-434.
Images of female bodies are everywhere, with women and girls – and their body parts – selling everything from food to cars. Popular film and television actresses are becoming younger, taller and thinner. Women’s magazines are full of articles urging that if you can just lose those last twenty pounds, you will have it all: the perfect marriage, loving children, great sex, and a rewarding career.
Why are these impossible standards of beauty being imposed on girls, the majority of whom look nothing like the models that are being presented to them? The causes, some analysts say, are economic: by presenting a physical ideal that is difficult to achieve and maintain the cosmetic and diet industries are assured continual growth and profits. (It’s estimated that the diet industry alone brings in $60 billion (U.S.) a year selling temporary weight loss, [1] with 80 per cent of dieters regaining their lost weight.) [2] Marketers know that girls and women who are insecure about their bodies are more likely to buy beauty products, new clothes, and diet aids, and a whole media industry has developed around fuelling body dissatisfaction.
These messages are so powerful and widespread in our culture that they affect girls long before they are exposed to fashion or beauty ads or magazines: three-year-olds already prefer game pieces that depict thin people over those representing heavier ones, [3] while by age seven girls are able to identify something they would like to change about their appearance. [4] These attitudes only get more powerful as girls get older. In one survey nearly half of nine- to twelve-year-old girls said they wanted to be thinner and had either been on a diet or were aware of the concept of dieting. [5]
The effects of exposure to these images go beyond influencing girls to buy diet and beauty products. Research links exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies to depression, loss of self-esteem and unhealthy eating habits in girls and young women: in one study half of girls ages 16-21 said they would undergo surgery to improve their bodies. [6] Poor body image may have even more serious consequences as well: a 2009 study found that girls who were unhappy with their bodies – whether they were genuinely overweight or not – were significantly more at risk for attempting suicide. [7]
Media activist Jean Kilbourne concludes that, “Women are sold to the diet industry by the magazines we read and the television programs we watch, almost all of which make us feel anxious about our weight.” [8] The barrage of messages about thinness, dieting and beauty tells “ordinary” girls that they are always in need of adjustment—and that the female body is an object to be perfected.
Kilbourne argues that the overwhelming presence of media images of painfully thin women means that real girls’ bodies have become invisible in the mass media. The real tragedy, Kilbourne concludes, is that many girls internalize these stereotypes, and judge themselves by the beauty industry’s standards. This focus on beauty and desirability “effectively destroys any awareness and action that might help to change that climate.” [9]
Given the serious potential consequences, it is essential that girls and young women develop a critical understanding of the constructed nature of media representations of women’s bodies and the reasons why these images are perpetuated. More importantly, they need to be empowered to challenge these representations and advocate for more realistic representations. Because girls’ exposure to these messages starts so young, it is also vital that this education starts at an early age.
——————————————————————————–
[1] The U.S. Weight Loss & Diet Control Market. Marketdata, May 2011.
[2] Priya Sumithran, Luke A. Prendergast, Elizabeth Delbridge, Katrina Purcell, Arthur Shulkes, Adamandia Kriketos, Joseph Proietto. Long-Term Persistence of Hormonal Adaptations to Weight Loss. New England Journal of Medicine, 2011; 365 (17): 1597 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1105816
[3] (Harriger, J.A., Calogero, R.M., Witherington, D.C., & Smith J.E. (2010). Body size stereotyping and internalization of the thin-ideal in preschool-age girls. Sex Roles, 63, 609-620. doi: 10.1007/s11199-010-9868-1)
[4] Girl Guiding UK. Girls Attitude Survey. 2009.
[5] Clark, L. & Tiggemann, M., 2006. Appearance culture in nine- to 12-year-old girls: media and peer influences on body dissatisfaction. Social Development, 15(4), 628-643.
[6] Girl Guiding UK. Girls Attitude Survey. 2009.
[7] Overweight status, self-perception, and suicidal behaviors among adolescents. Dhaval Dave and Inas Rashad. Soc Sci Med 68(9):1685-91 (2009) PMID 19297063)
[8] Kilbourne, Jean. Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel. Touchstone, 2000.
[9] Ibid.
Mr. Clarke [604] 