Running head: FEMINIST IDENTITY AND MASS MEDIA 1

Feminist Identity and its Shaping by Mass Media

Brittany Cartner

College of Southern Maryland

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Abstract

This paper presents a modern view of the identity of Feminism. The meaning of

feminism itself has not changed, yet to the world itself, it has. There have been three waves of

feminism, and each wave has the same meaning but different connotations associated with it and

different underlying issues under the movement. Somehow the message of feminism has become

distorted, and people think of it as a controversial label and movement, even though they share

the beliefs of the movement. What is the source of this miscommunication? This paper explores

what it exactly means to be a feminist and how the connotation associated with it has changed its

meaning. There have been three waves of feminism, and although they still share the same core

belief, the most recent wave varies from those of the past in that mass media has had a

significant impact on how we understand feminism. Mass media allows people to share their

opinions and thus, shape the opinions of others. If mass media has shaped the meaning of

feminism in the third wave, how precisely has it shaped that meaning? Also, has mass media hurt

the feminist movement and distorted the message? These ideas will be explored using the

constructivism theory.

Feminist Identity and its Shaping by Mass Media

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Denisa Elena Chirita (2012), in her article entitled, "The Mediated Construction of

Women Identity," states: “when I recently asked some women in their early 20s- some of whom

were university-educated, others working, and all, clearly, beneficiaries of earlier battles for

women's rights- whether they considered themselves feminists, or indeed had any interest in

feminism, most of them replied, flatly, no. The very term itself, one woman claimed, sounds

stuffy and out of date. Feminism, she felt, has become, on the one hand, a playground for

extremists- she termed them "fundamentalists"- who had nothing useful to say to women like

herself. On the other hand, she argued, feminism has become "institutionalized," and she

compared it to communism: it demands commitment, not simply to ideas, but to a generalized

ideology” (p. 9). As the quote implies, some women feel like feminism is not necessary

anymore. Some women also feel as though the meaning of feminism has changed. This raises the

question of what it means to be a feminist. Denisa Elena Chirita (2012), also states: “the kind of

feminism implied by women's magazines might complete the description above: it contains the

same phrases about emancipation, freedom or beauty, repeated in more articles (p. 9). Women's

magazines may be a source of which women construct their idea of feminism, but more than just

magazines shape the identity of feminism itself. All mass mediums have constructed the meaning

of modern feminism and have even distorted its meaning.

If one asks a group of women, of all different ages, what their definition of feminism is,

they will get a wide array of answers. Depending on what they have heard about it, or what their

experience is with feminism itself, shapes how they view feminism. George Kelly (1955), in his

original theoretical statement of the constructivism theory, stated that "personal constructs are

the building blocks of individuals' interpretations of experience." The way that people interact

with something, or the way we organize schema, influences the way that we interpret our
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experience with it. According to Julia Wood (2004), since Kelly's original theory, there have

been four kinds of cognitive schemata that have been identified: prototypes, personal constructs,

stereotypes, and scripts. All of these schemata work together to help us make sense of the things

around us and the things we experience. Since the way that we organize schema influences the

way that we interpret things, mass mediums help us construct and make meanings of the things

around us. Thus, mass mediums must influence our schemata that construct our meaning of

feminism.

For the purposes of this paper, the meaning of feminism and how mass media shapes that

meaning will be explored, which led to the development of the following research questions:

RQ1: How does mass media influence our schemata that construct our meanings of feminism?

RQ2: How can the constructivism theory explain how the meaning has been distorted?

Literature Review

Mass Media and its Construction of Feminist Identity

How exactly does mass media construct our view of feminism? Since mass media is

used to convey messages, these messages can be persuasive as well. According to Denisa Elena

Chirita (2012), "during the third wave of feminism, one could notice the sexualized image of

woman's body. Is it a mark of self-esteem, an attempt to challenge more the stereotypes related

to sexuality or is it such just a marketing strategy for more selling the magazine itself?" (p. 11)

From this quote, you can see that women's magazines can be used as feminist propaganda, but

how accurate is the message they are spreading about feminism? Of course, one person cannot

speak for the entire group, but people seem to listen to that one person instead of the opinions of

the entire group. The meaning is constructed by the portrayal of feminists in the media,

especially on the internet and on television. According to Debra Baker Beck (1998), "feminism
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has become a national dirty word" (p. 138). The media has portrayed feminists badly and has

made people scared of considering themselves such. In reference to the portrayal of feminists in

the media, Beck (1998) states "the message has been mixed, though many would say it has been

primarily nonexistent or negative" (p. 142). Since this message is nonexistent or negative, this

influences the schema that people use to understand feminism. So since the message is primarily

negative, people will understand it as a negative concept. According to Susan Douglas (1995), in

reference of the media stereotypes of feminists, says feminists are portrayed as "shrill, overly

aggressive, ball-busting, selfish, hairy, extremist, deliberately unattractive women with

absolutely no sense of humor who see sexism at every turn" (p. 7).

An interview was conducted with four women, all of different ages about feminist

identity. The ages of said women are 10, 15, 22, and 51. The first question that was asked of

them was if Susan Douglas definition of how feminists are portrayed in the media is true and

where have they seen such portrayals. All of the women interviewed said that they believe

Douglas is accurate in her description of the portrayal of feminists in the media and all of them

stated that this portrayal is common on television and 1 out of 4 said it is common on the

internet. If this is what the feminist identity has been constructed to be, what can explain how it

came to be such? The constructivism theory can provide an explanation for this construction.

Constructivism Theory

In reference to the beliefs of the constructivism theory, Wood (2004), states that "four

types of cognitive schema work together to help us make sense of our experiences" (p. 153).

There are four types of schema that work together to make sense of our experiences, as stated

earlier: prototypes, personal constructs, stereotypes, and scripts. These four types of schema help

us interpret the world around us and make judgments. Wood (2004) states "personal constructs
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are the centerpiece of constructivist theory building, perhaps because they are the most specific

interpretations we make of others" (p. 155). Since these personal constructs we make are the

most specific interpretations of others, wouldn't it be bad if biases influence these

interpretations? If one is not cognitively complex, or they are not able to look at an issue from

more than one perspective, that can be an issue.

Theoretical Analysis

The research questions posed in this paper were:

RQ1: How does mass media influence our schemata that construct our meanings of feminism?

RQ2: How can the constructivism theory explain how the meaning has been distorted?

As stated earlier, mass media presents a variety of ideas and opinions, and thus they

influence the construction of our schema. Also stated earlier by Wood (2004), there are four

types of cognitive schema that work together to help us make sense of the world around us. In

order to analyze the effect media has on the construction of feminist identity, all four elements

will be discussed and analyzed.

Prototypes

Wood (2004) defines prototypes as "ideal or optimal examples of categories of people,

situations, objects, and so forth" (p. 153). Two of these prototypes that are constructed are the so-

called "feminist extremists" and "white feminists." In the interview mentioned earlier, when

asked to describe the characteristics that come to mind when they hear the word "feminist

extremist," they said: very hateful towards men; do not seek equality but wish to be more equal

than men, and ill-mannered. When the subjects were asked to describe the characteristics or

things that they attribute with "white feminists," they said: rich, white women who are not

fighting for equal rights and they only advocate for the rights of those whom they deem worthy.
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Although these may be accurate descriptions of prototypes of feminists, the problem arises when

people are not cognitively complex enough to differentiate between these groups and realize that

all feminists are not the same.

Personal Constructs

Another type of cognitive schema is personal constructs, which Wood (2004) defines as

"bipolar, or opposite scales, of judgment" (p. 153). One could think of feminism as having two

polar opposites: extremists and nonextremists. As stated earlier, extremists are those whom the

media portrays feminists as hateful, ill-mannered, women who do not seek equality but seek to

have more rights than men. Nonextremists can be considered those who think that everyone who

identifies as a woman should have rights, no matter their race, socioeconomic status, religion, et

cetera. The problem arises when we look at things as only having two options, and dismiss the

fact that there is a section in between. That is why most women reject the label of "feminist,"

because of the feeling that there are only two options and no space in between. Douglas (1995)

states that "we are living in a paradoxical time called "I'm not a feminist, but." In other words,

many young adults may live feminist lives and promote feminist ideals but refuse to use the label

feminist" (p. 590). Feminists are portrayed in the media as such, so many people think of

feminists as they are portrayed. This is a problem since many feminists are portrayed negatively

in the media. Since they are portrayed negatively, we take our observations of these feminists

and use it to define every feminist. Many people are feminists, but they may only see the

negative category, so they consider themselves not a feminist.

Stereotypes

Wood (2004) defines stereotypes as "predictive generalizations” (p. 54). We use our

personal constructs and prototypes to judge people. For example, if someone says that they are a
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feminist, you take what you already think about feminists and apply it to them. Although these

generalizations have the possibility of being correct, they are harmful as not every feminist is the

same. The media portrays feminists as extremely liberal, rude, and easily offended. Since they

are portrayed this way, our schema that understands feminism is constructed to match what we

see. So we assume that all feminists are the same and we base our prior "knowledge" on

everyone who fits in that category. Stereotyping is a huge cause of the "I'm not a feminist, but"

age, as everyone assumes that feminists are all the same, so people do not want to associate

themselves with such a title, although they should define themselves as such.

Scripts

Lastly, Wood (2004) defines scripts as "a routine, or action sequence, that we have in

mind about a particular interaction" (p. 154). If one thinks of feminists as prototypes or

stereotypes, they may expect their interactions with one to go a particular way. One who is not

cognitively complex may assume that a feminist may be easily offended so they will be careful

with everything they say around them. One may also assume that since "all feminists hate men,"

that a conversation between a man and a feminist would be a hostile one. This is problematic in

that the media only shows us the extreme side of feminists, which goes back to the idea of

personal constructs. Since we are only shown the extremists, one who is not cognitively complex

may assume that the portrayal of feminists applies to all feminists and that their interactions with

them will be like such.

Implications

This analysis and research furthers the field of communication as feminists are a muted

group that has a wrongfully negative connotation. Somehow the definition has changed over the

years. Feminism has changed, in both negative and positive ways, as it has become more
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inclusive, but it is seen in such a negative light. The definition of feminism itself has remained

the same: women's rights. This definition has remained the same, but the way that we have

constructed the meanings associated with it has changed. Feminism needs to stop being a "dirty

word" and needs to become a household word.

Some limitations of this research are that, according to Wood (2004), the constructivism

theory "is more concerned with cognitive processes than actual communication" (p. 159). This

research also assumes that all mass mediums depict feminists the same way, which may not be

entirely accurate. Also, the sample group of the research was small, so it cannot accurately

reflect the views of many people. Other limitations are that the constructivism theory has not

addressed practical issues and internal validity is questionable (Wood, 2004). Since there are

limitations with the theory, there may also be limitations on this research.

Conclusions

Further research should be done with a larger group of women of different ages. There

should also be an analysis of which mass medium is the most harmful to the feminist movement.

The "I'm a feminist, but" age should be studied as well, as it is an effect of the harmful effects of

mass mediums on the feminist movement. With further research, we can identify problems in

communication that lead to this negative connotation that is associated with feminism. By

attempting to correct these miscommunications, we can clarify that feminism is not how it is

portrayed in the media and that the concept itself is still needed. By clarifying this issue, the

feminist movement may gain new supporters, and we may finally see some political change.

There could also be a removal of the negative propaganda against feminism in the media. There

should also be research on the source of the miscommunication. We need to find out where

exactly the message got distorted. By finding out where the message was distorted, we can
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correct it for future generations.

References

Baker, B. B. (1998). The “F” Word: How the Media Frame Feminism.” NWSA Journal, 10(1),

139-153. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4316558

CHIRIŢĂ, D. E. (2012). The mediated construction of women identity. Romanian Journal of

Journalism & Communication / Revista Romana de Jurnalism Si Comunicare- RRJC, 7(3/4), 5–

13. Retrieved from

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&site=ehost-live
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Douglas, S. (1995). Where the girls are: Growing up female with the mass media. New York:

Random House.

Olson, L. N., Coffelt, T. A., Ray, E. B., Rudd, J., Botta, R., Ray, G., & Kopfman, J. E. (2008).

“I’m all for equal rights, but don’t call me a feminist”: Identity Dilemmas in Young Adults’

Discursive Representations of Being a Feminist. Women’s Studies in Communication, 31(1),

104–132. Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csmd.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=32604565

&site=ehost-live

Wood, J.T, & Fixmer-Oraiz. (2017). Gendered lives: Communication, gender, and culture. (12th

ed). Boston, MA: Cengage

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