Has the mediation of gender changed, does this reflect changes in society?

During the period of the 1950s onwards, it could be argued that media was mainly concerned with the male audience as women were often treated as second class citizens who were inferior to the opposite sex. Women were largely sexualised within the media as can be seen in advertisements such as clothing or cigarettes. Within these adverts, we see women completely objectified and represented according to  Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory. This over sexualised representation of women clearly shows that they were not taken seriously within the media world. This point is highlighted further within this time as women were also represented as dull or stereotypical stay at home mothers. This can be seen within advertisement campaigns such as Fairy Liquid adverts within 1965 which depict this stereotype as a selling point. Apart from these representations women were not really shown as much else within the media. Women were often represented as lesser beings than the male, this was also done because it was thought that men would be buying these items for the women so it was often implied that the women needed what was being advertised because they were unable to cope without it.

Since this point, gender representation has stepped into the modern age and has seen some changes along the way. The role of women has become more general, stepping away from stereotypes. This can be seen in adverts such as Persil which now feature a man doing the washing instead of the woman doing it. Nutella also had an advertisement campaign in the year 2013 which depicted multiple people of varying genders and ethnicities. This marked a change from the previous campaign in the year 2011 which instead depicted a stereotypical stay at home mum in her morning routine of taking care of the children. This shows significant progress and how the lines between gender are becoming blurred. This can also be said for the fashion world, which despite having made little progress in the way it objectifies women actually has taken the views of women into consideration. Now we see men being overly sexualised just as much as women as can be seen in brands such as Calvin Klein. Now theorists must consider the female gaze within media as it now plays such a big role. This much attention to what women want to see would definitely have not been seen within the media of the 1950s. The media has also become accepting of changing genders, a concept that would not have been tolerated years prior has now become a large part of media. Examples of this include Brad Pitt's Rolling Stone cover in which he wears a dress, blending gender stereotypes of both sides, and the Caitlyn Jenner reveal for Vanity Fair which sparked a wave of support and controversy.

To conclude modern media has changed drastically from the small concerns of male audiences to a wide variety in which all gender classes are represented differently but much more equally than before. A lot of these developments can be owed to society and how events within history has influenced the ways in which different classes are represented. As women began to campaign for equal rights throughout throughout the 1960s-1970s period in America it made the idea of strong women move into mainstream media. As celebrities such as Bruce Jenner begin to undertake in life changing surgery, more and more media outlets have begun to cover this subject matter in television such as Orange is the New Black, and in advertisement such as MAC.

Changing Gender Roles

An example of changing gender roles: Male models becoming overly sexualised in the same sense as women now. This is a negative affect in the sense that males are now objectified but it also does show that there is more equality between genders within this sense now. It shows that the media is now considering what appeals to women instead of just what appeals to men.

Women are now less associated with stereotypical, stay at home roles and audiences can now see men being represented in the job roles of women in adverts such as the Ariel advertising campaign. However, some of these sexist ideas still remain prevalent within todays culture. Adverts such as the Oven Pride range off an opposite idea about sexism, reversing the male and the female roles.

Male representation in Media:

• Dominant
• Objectified
• Unaware of how basic things work
• Tough
• Violent

Female Representation in Media:

• Inferior
• Weak
• More intelligent than the male
• Stay at home/Take care of the kids
• Caring
• Objectified

Representation of women

-Beauty (Within narrow conventions)

-size/physique (again, with narrow conventions)

-Sexuality (as expressed by the above)

-Emotional (as opposed to intellectual) dealings

-Relationships (as opposed to independence/freedom)

This image of Brad Pitt wearing what appears to be a dress can be an indicator of how some of the ideas have changed since the beginning of advertising. Brad Pitt is literally blending aspects of both gender roles by wearing a dress and a kitchen glove. You would not have seen a man dressed like this during the 1950s period, let alone feature on the front cover of a major magazine. This clearly shows us that the public and media have become more accepting of gender and are beginning to blur the line within their portrayal within the mainstream media.

                                            

This image shows women being portrayed in a more natural way as opposed to the very mediated images that create women that the media deem beautiful. This shows a massive evolution as a more honest media is represented that doesn't use Photoshop to create a hyperreality. This also allows women to feel more comfortable with themselves as they can acknowledge that there a multiple body types.

Nutella Adverts:

Advert 1: Depicts the morning routine of a mother as she attempts to help her children get ready for the day ahead. The husband cannot be seen within the advertisement so it is assumed that he is working or just not concerned with the kids. There is more of a focus placed on the  woman's role of a sat at home mother as it really focuses on these stereotypes.

Advert 2: Shows multiple families of varying genders and ethnicity all enjoying the use of Nutella. The representation within this video is more broad and general a opposed to focused on an individual. Stereotypes are not common within the advert and each gender and race is given equal representation. This shows a change in ideas from stereotypical and gender focused to a much more general and carefree representation.

What is your view on the male Body Image to what extent do you think that the representation of male body image is changing?

Throughout the years, the media's representation of the male physique has drastically changed. Where before, men would not have felt pressured to have perfect body types they are now extremely self conscious about the matter. This is due to a proliferation of media over the years which bombards male audiences with images of models and edited appearances which can combine to make them feel that they have to make drastic, and somewhat harmful changes to their lifestyle in order to achieve unrealistic goals.

When people think about body image and the negative effect that it has, they commonly associate this issue with females. This is because throughout periods such as the 1950s, there was an enormous amount of pressure being focused on their body type as advertising of the time began embracing the idea of using pin up girls as a way to sell product. From that point onwards, women have been concerned with their appearance and have strived to achieve the image that men want. Meanwhile, men of the time had little concern over this matter as there wasn't a lot of media products which highlighted the male form in a way that would force the audience to feel self-conscious.

As years went by, the world saw an influx of media products. Attitudes towards women and their place in the world began to change, as a result distributors began to create media products that would appeal to women in the same way that the pin up girls used in advertisement would have appealed to men. This ushered in a new era of male models and a focus on appearance that had never been seen before. Men are now overly sexualised, almost to the same extent as women in order to sell product. Examples of this can be seen in adverts such as the Diet Coke advertising campaign where a man with an often sought after physique is represented within the female gaze, highlighting certain features in order to gain a reaction out of its desired audience. The proliferation of media products means that variations on male body image can be seen everywhere you go in life. This can be seen on Twitter, television, film, posters, fashion magazines, and so on. This can be overwhelming for the male audience as they see so much of it to the point where they begin to think that this is a natural body type. The result causes men to feel discontent about their own appearance and begin to do erratic things in order to feel happy with themselves.

Media has set unreachable standards within the male physique and has had a extremely negative impact on the audience as a result. The worst thing about the new standards is that they are often false, using new technology such as Photoshop in order to airbrush and contour models, giving them more defined features which the male audience then attempts to achieve. This confusion between the real world and the world in which the media creates for us is referred to as Hyperreality. This theory from Baudrillard is extremely relevant within todays society as young men often confuse the two worlds and then go to extreme lengths such as plastic surgery and life-shortening routines in order to achieve this standard.

Image From Poldark 1975-

The image gives a sense of male dominance as the male character leans over towards the female. He is fixing her view towards him with his hand, suggesting that she is able to be manipulated. The woman does not appear to feel the same way about the male as her arms are crossed, a clear indicator that she does not wish for the man to continue. Regardless, he still continues to move toward her.

Poldark Modern

Focuses on the Female gaze instead, highlighting key features such as physical frame with each aspect being focused on in an overly sexualised way. This shows how the focus has shifted from a predominantly male perspective to a more female perspective. This implies that the roles between genders have changed because women would have been the subject of sexualisation because the female role was seen as inferior to the male.

What is body image?

Body image is the way we think and feel about the size, shape, weight and overall appearance of our bodies.

"What is your view on the male Body Image to what extent do you think that the representation of male body image is changing."

Disability -
a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities

Branston and Stafford (2001) - 
Soaps rely on archetypal characters and stereotypes - sure ensure ready accessibility
because stories have universal appeal about families and communities

Paul Hunt (1966)-
expressed the views of many when he wrote 'We are tired of being statistics, cases, wonderfully courageous examples to the world, pitiable objects to stimulate funding’.

Dyer (1979) -
Stereotypes are always about power, those with power stereotype people with out power.

Examples in The Media:

Dickens - Tiny Tim / Silas Wegg
A Touch of Frost - Billy
Eastenders - Stacey Slater
The Undateables

The video wrongly suggests that all disabled people can
not look after themselves. This representation within the media can result in the public forming stereotypes surrounding the disabled public, suggesting that they are dependent on others.

This presents disabled people as
dependant on Charity
and dependent on others

Object of Violence
Charles Darwin and “survival of the fittest”

Is a set of beliefs and practices that aims at improving the genetic quality of the human
population.

Eugenicists reiterated ancient traditional fears that disabled people were a serious threat to
British and European society. They set out to safeguard humanity's future by preventing the
reproduction of 'defectives' by sterilisation and segregation

Disabled children are more likely to be abandoned than their able bodied peers
They have less chance of being adopted
More prone to physical and sexual abuse.

Effects of these representations
Disabled people are helpless,
Pitiable
Unable to function without protection,
The Eugenic conviction that the 'natural' solution to the problems associated with impairment
is a violent one.

Does British Society undervalue disabled people, in what why?

I think that disabled people are undervalued in British Society because they are under
represented in the media as there aren't that many disabled characters that feature in
television programmes and therefore some disabilities are not represented at all. Also as
there is a lack of representation of disabled people in the news many story lines containing
disabled people are not always shown on the TV.

Sinister and Evil

Bond Villans with disabilities
Blow-feldt
Dr No
Jaws
Roaul Silva (Skyfall)

Disabled people are more likely to be introverted and sensitive than violent and aggressive,
They are more likely to avoid rather than attack others

The bible there are over 40 instances in which 'the cripple' is connected to sin and sinners
Representation of difference in society are often used to confer evil and suspicion from
Medieval times

Atmosphere or Curio

Disabled people are sometimes included in the story lines of films and TV dramas to
enhance a certain atmosphere, usually one of menace, mystery or deprivation, or to add
character to the visual impact of the production. This dilutes the humanity of disabled people
by deducting them to objects of curiosity.

In what way does the film support views on eugenics.

This films supports the views on eugenics because it suggests that they have to be the
prefect specimens and wherever you see evil with in the film you will see a person with a
deformity or disability suggesting that in this film anyone with a disability is evil and anyone
without a disability are good. The atmosphere is quite dark and has a sinister feel about it
and the people in the room are adding to the atmosphere within the room.

Affects of these Representation

Such exhibitions represent little more than disability voyeurism because they encourage lewd
fascination with impairment.
The non- disabled public's morbid preoccupation with physical difference is also kept alive in horror
and science fiction films. These depictions nurture and perpetuate the unfounded belief that
appearance is inextricably linked to a person's moral character and value

Super Cripple

Disabled person is assigned super human abilities

Blind people are portrayed as visionaries with a sixth sense or extremely sensitive hearing.

News stories about disabled people's achievements -either extra-ordinary or managing to fit
into a 'normal life' -both on television and in the press. On television they account for over a
quarter of all news stories about disabled people.

Effects of these representation

Misguided assumptions about disabled people's abilities can result in them being denied
essential services.

Focusing on a disabled individual's achievements such imagery encourages the view that
disabled people have to overcompensate to be accepted into the community.

Object of Ridicule
Disabled people have been a source of amusement for non-disable
people for centuries.

Effects of these representation

Being mocked publicly is only acceptable if the negative images which ensue can be offset against
positive ones, or if those being ridiculed are able to defend themselves should they choose to.

At present there are virtually no positive images of disabled people in the media disabled people do
not have the resources or a legal framework within which to fight this type of discrimination.

To what extent does this TV comedy drama raise or reinforce issues on the representation of
disability?

The TV comedy drama 'life's too short' reinforces many issues of the representation of people with
disabilities. The main character is featured to have a reliance on other people in order to reach high places, implying that he is inferior to those who aren't disabled. However he attempts not to be helped by others and resist his stereotype. Disabled people
are sexual abnormal when the lady behind the till asks him if the condoms are right for him and then
asks a co-worker if they will fit him.