Gender and Media

Any understanding of everyday life and experience at the beginning of the 21st century must have at its heart an understanding of the workings of the mass media. The media are crucial to the economic, political, social and cultural spheres, at the global, national and local levels, as well as to everyday life in the private sphere -- where they are a primary source of information and entertainment. They operate as virtual public spaces for debate and discussion and play significant roles in setting agendas for what and how issues will be discussed. The media do not simply disseminate particular messages to passive audiences. Instead, they provide the resources -- repertoires of ideas, ways of thinking, ideas, images, values -- through news and entertainment, which we use to understand the world and our relationships to others. Such understandings shape our everyday lives in many ways: they influence our social relationships as well as the identities we develop in terms of ethnicity, culture, class and gender. They also have a direct impact on decision-making processes and policy formation in the public and political spheres. For these reasons, such understandings can play a fundamental role in bringing about social change.

First, there are different aspects of women’s everyday experiences which are never portrayed or discussed in the media, such as those linked to significant changes taking place in the workplace, in gender relations and the family.
Second, the portrayal of women and of gender inequality is constructed by the media. It is the result of specific decisions and choices made by specific gendered entities and is shaped by broadcasting goals, professional practices, artistic and cultural conventions, political and ideological positions, economic and institutional limitations; as well as the historical, social and cultural context in which the media are embedded. Whereas this context may be a factor which currently limits the ways in which women and gender issues are represented, it can also be significantly changed by media production which provides the resources for women to understand themselves in empowering ways and for gender inequality to be challenged.
These discourses also value women solely for physical abilities and attributes. They result in an overwhelming emphasis on motherhood, physical health and beauty.
The portrayal of gender in media fiction is often discussed in terms of stereotypes. A stereotype is a generalisation made about a group of people which is supposed to be necessarily true for everyone in the group and which works to "erase" differences within the group.
However, it is tricky to think about stereotypes in relation to media fiction, because television programmes and films are often complex and constituted through so many multiple and often contradictory different elements -- through the characters (the way they behave, look, dress, and through their body language), their multiple roles, the dialogue, choice of language, the story lines or narratives, the settings and much more.
A more productive way of thinking about media fiction in a gender sensitive way, is to think about the resources it produces on gender and the spaces it provides for gender issues to be considered, discussed, negotiated and contested from multiple points of view and positions.
Media fiction in many places in the world provides a very limited range of resources (ideas, assumptions, values, images, ways of thinking) on gender. This means that:
Female characters are defined in extremely limited ways, usually only as mothers or objects of male desire.
They are overwhelmingly portrayed with the same limited characteristics and interests.
The story lines, or narratives involving women are limited and predictable -- for example, women get married and have children, they sacrifice their own needs and desires for those of others, they are punished for leaving their husbands or for exploring their sexuality.
This type of media fiction does not provide viewers with resources with which to understand women as complex, multi-faceted human beings, who are equal to men. It also generally does not work as a space where discussion and negotiation of gender issues takes place, or if it does so, this takes place in such a way so that limited understandings of women's characteristics, roles and destinies are reinforced. This type of media fiction does not provide media resources which challenge gender inequality.

An individual or group which owns and/or controls a media space, in effect controls the type of media resources that are made public and the type of public discussion and debate that takes place in a society. This means that they have the power to set agendas, to decide what is important enough to be discussed, how it should be discussed, which opinions should be heard and not heard, who will participate and who will be excluded. Media spaces can be owned and controlled by commercial and public interests, the state, women's organisations, minority associations, unions and many other groups working for social change. The greater the variety in who owns and controls media spaces, the greater the range of topics, resources and voices that are made public, and the wider the range of ideas and political positions discussed and debated. This kind of diversity in the ownership and control of media spaces is crucial for social change and participatory democracy.
Media messages are not passively absorbed by media audiences or users. Instead, we ACTIVELY use them to think about and understand the world, others, our relationships and ourselves. We also actively use them to create different pleasures during our engagement with the media.
Different individuals and groups can in fact use the same media resources to think and feel differently, and to experience different forms of enjoyment and pleasure. However, the nature and range of media resources can shape and influence what we think and feel, despite the fact that this influence can differ in nature and extend among different individuals and groups. The specific nature and range of media resources provided in a society can play significant role in shaping what is thought to be true, normal, acceptable, legitimate and even possible for gender, as well as many other issues. Thus, changes in media resources can have significant influence on individuals, particular groups and on the direction of society itself. Gender studies, women’s studies and feminist studies courses and university programmes focus on the role of gender and gender inequality in humanities, social science and even science subjects. This allows students to see and think about the world through a “gender lens” in whatever job, career or other activities they pursue in the future.
Scholarly writing and research involves producing new knowledge about different women’s lives, new ideas and ways of thinking about gender issues in relation to many dimensions of economic, political, social and cultural life; new understandings about how gender discrimination established, maintained, reproduced and resisted through complex power relations in everyday life; and finding solutions to the problems different women face around the world. Such work can also be the basis for policy formation and problem solving undertaken by other entities working for gender equality.
The activities of journalists in state/commercial, as well as women’s media, reach and influence mass audiences. They can play a crucial role in promoting gender equality by providing diversity in information, images and ways of thinking about gender and women, and spaces for discussion and debate which privilege progressive voices and diverse points of view from different women.
Journalistic practices can avoid reproducing stereotypes and gender inequality through choice of language, sources, subjects, titles, photos and captions.
Gender equality can also be promoted through the activities of mainstream political parties as well as through other groups -- such as unions, NGOs, associations, organisations and movements. Political action promoting gender equality involves a wide range of activities such as developing, implementing and mobilising for positions, platforms, policies, legislation, rules, regulations; obbying, forming committees, developing projects, events and activities (including lectures, newsletters, demonstrations and strikes). It also involves voting for candidates at all levels of government who pledge to work for gender equality legislation!
An important way of exploring gender issues, working to make them a legitimate and crucial issue and empowering both women and men to understand, support and work for gender equality, is through the arts and cultural production. Fiction films, documentaries, television programmes, novels, short stories, cartoons, video diaries, songs and works of art about different women’s lives, problems and experiences, as well as other gender related issues, can move people in a way that nothing else can! They can be created and produced both by professionals and ordinary people. It is crucial to support these activities and make sure they reach as many people as possible (both adults and children) by organising film festivals, art and cartoon exhibits, literary readings, concerts and also by developing projects which allow ordinary people to engage themselves in cultural production which explores gender inequality and other gender issues.
Popular media fiction does matter for social change and for gender equality! Like news, it provides resources (ideas, assumptions, images, ways of thinking) on many subjects, including gender, which we use to think about the world and thus it can play a role in shaping how we think and feel about many issues. These resources can emerge from many aspects of fiction programming: from the ways that characters are portrayed, from the situations they find themselves in and the problems they face, and from the ways that narratives develop.
Media fiction can also provide "spaces" in which many issues (such as relationships between women and men, family life, sexuality, politics, crime) are regularly discussed and debated by the fictional characters, both directly and indirectly.
By engaging with media fiction, viewers come in contact with the resources provided, they consider the different experiences, conflicts and dilemmas of the characters and what happens to them, and they can discuss and debate the issues involved. Through these processes viewers can come to understandings that can have implications for the ways they think and feel about social issues, as well as for their actions. Thus, media fiction, and the processes of engaging with it, does have the potential to affect the nature and direction of society itself.