Women and Media

The Beijing Platform for Action devoted

one whole section (Section J) to Women
and Media: Two main thrusts:
•the participation & access of women to
expression and decision-making
in and through the media and new
communication technologies

•a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of

women in media.
 Stereotyping
1. GENDER ROLES. Are traditional gender roles
reinforced?

2. SUPERWOMAN STEREOTYPED. Are active,

independent women represented as if
they are “superwomen”?

3. NATURAL WOMAN STEREOTYPE. Are the

stereotypes of women (as innately
docile, emotional, technically inept, etc.)
reinforced?
4 . SEX OBJECT OF STEREOTYPE. Are women
represented primarily as objects of desire?

5. PRESENCE. Count the women and the subject

area in which they appear. Are they evenly
distributed or imbalanced?

6. WOMEN SPEAKING. Do they speak with

dignity and authority?

7. THE BEAUTY MYTH. What physical attributes

apply to males and females, e.g., in relation
to age, weight, skin tone, clothes?
8. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN. Does the material
normalize violence or suggest that women
accept or enjoy violence?

9. MULTI-DIMENSONALITY. Are women shown

to have many dimensions in terms of
personality, tastes, capabilities,
preferences, etc?

10. DIVERSITY. Does the material reflect the

diversity of age groups, social classes,
ethnic groups, physical characteristics of women
and men in the community as a whole?

(Adapted from Margaret Gallagher,

GENDER SETTING, 2001)
 Advertising

Guilty of stereotyping.

Excused offered by Advertisers:

ads are short and the characters they
present have to be of the type
immediately familiar to the audience.

Advertising also accused of sexual exploitation,

Commodification, objectification &
other sins.
 Women in the News
Factual media world wide have many of the same sexual
biases as fictional media. Also women are practically
invisible in the world’s news media – developed
country or not.

In 1995, women were just 17% of the world’s News

subjects – meaning the people whom the news is
about or who are interviewed.

In 2000, 18%; 2005, 21%.

 Summary of Survey of Global Media
Monitoring Project:

Women rarely appear as subjects or central focus of

news stories, & when they do , they are rarely
authority figures or spokespersons.

Females in the news often have no stated occupation,

and are usually defined in terms of their family
relationships.

When women are in the news, they are likely to be

celebrities or victims or ornamental figures
on tabloid front pages.
Female presenters and reporters are much
younger than their male counterparts,
but retire (or are made to retire) from the
news much earlier.

Sad to note that while the numbers of

Women reporters and presenters have
steadily increased, the reporting of women
in the news has not improved significantly.
Blatant stereotyping is still alive and well
in news all around the world.
WHY?
Is it because fewer women are managers
and owners of media companies?

Or because of traditional values of what

we consider as news?

Or are there really less women in

the public sphere?
 Women In Politics
Media portray male and female politicians
differently.

Male: media emphasize their political

record and experience.

Female: focus on their family situation

and their appearance (including
their wardrobe and hairstyle!
 Media watching
Aside the major issues of STEREOTYPING,
SEXIST ADVERTISING & WOMEN’S REPRE
SENTATION IN THE NEWS, INCLUDING
WOMEN IN POLITICS – more issues related to
media and gender:

impact of violence and sensationalism

in the media,
pornography, and the
lack of women’s access to media, including
new media technology, either because of
illiteracy, poverty or discrimination.
 Media activists:
Strengthen media literacy

Encourage/organize active audiences

(e.g. Media watch groups)

Initiate a dialogue with media professionals

Widen women’s space in the media

Conduct research on relevant issues on
media and gender and challenge media
with the findings.
Pursue development of communication policy or
media reform