English 1102: Television and Feminism

Dr. Casey Alane Wilson • Georgia Institute of Technology

Tag: annotated bibliography

Citations: Gender representation in Television

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On September 20, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

Glascock, J. (2001). Gender roles on prime-time network television: Demographics and behaviors. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 45(4), 656-669. Retrieved from http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.prx.library.gatech.edu/docview/227286652?accountid=11107

 

This peer-reviewed article seeks to evaluate gender roles on Prime-Time Network Television, including children’s programming and soap operas. Types of characters included single women, working women and women with determinable occupations. This article focuses on prime-time fictional programming (comedies and dramas) and includes all characters with speaking parts. It demonstrated that the males outnumbered females among main characters and speaking time by the ratio of 1.7 to 1. It also showed that in creative personnel behind the scenes such as producers, directors, writers, and creators the ratio of male-to-female was about 3.6 to 1. The article is worth reading because it calculated the numerical values for the different ratios between male and female roles in the media industry and the correlation of those data which makes it reliable. Its valuable to my research because it draws attention to the fact that in the media industry, there is still a gender discrimination and the there still exists the glass ceiling.

 

Steyer, I. (2014). Gender representations in children’s media and their influence.Campus – Wide Information Systems, 31(2), 171-180. https://search.proquest.com/docview/1536416276/fulltextPDF/41635C19A0614219PQ/16?accountid=11107

 

This peer-reviewed article seeks to draw attention to the significant underrepresentation of females and d stereotypical portrayals of both females and males that still exist in different kinds of media children are exposed to, as well as to various negative influences these may have on children’s development. In this article, it has been clearly stated that Women are underrepresented in children’s literature, television programs, as well as computer-related software. The negative representations of males have also been shown. It also tries to focus on the negative influence of sexist representations on children shown by numerous studies, as has been the potential of positively affecting children’s development by exposing them to non-traditional gender representations. This article should be valued because it seeks awareness of how highly present sexism still is in media for children and of the ways in which it may inhibit children’s development is seen as a crucial step toward change. It let us know that the change in this field is needed if we want to ensure a better, more equal future for our world.

 

Daalmans, S., Kleemans, M., & Sadza, A. (2017). Gender representation on gender-targeted television channels: A comparison of female- and male-targeted TV channels in the netherlands. Sex Roles, 77(5-6), 366-378. https://search.proquest.com/docview/1927952499/62E183F1A3954D92PQ/7?accountid=11107

 

This peer-reviewed article investigated the differences in the representation of gender on male- and female-targeted channels with regard to recognition (i.e., the actual presence of men and women) and respect (i.e., the nature of that representation or portrayal). It has compared the two female- and two male-targeted Dutch channels via content analysis and found out that there is a more pronounced difference in the representation of gender on men’s channels in different genres than on women’s channels, where gender is more evenly divided. It has also done a research on if country of origin of the programs presented on men’s and women’s channels would lead to a differing presence of men and women on these channels. The results showed that women were underrepresented in programming from all countries. It is an important article because it draws attention that the uneven gender representation in media is a worldwide issue that needs to be addressed.

 

Collins, R. L. (2011). Content analysis of gender roles in media: Where are we now and where should we go? Sex Roles, 64(3-4), 290-298. https://search.proquest.com/docview/850508348/B3F4FD7FAFAB4B7CPQ/1?accountid=11107

 

This peer-reviewed article provides a commentary regarding the quantitative content analysis of gender roles in media. This article states that women are clearly under-represented across a range of media and settings and are often portrayed in a circumscribed and negative manner – often sexualized by showing them in provocative clothing. Also, it points out the fact that women are shown in stereotyped feminine roles such as nonprofessionals, homemakers, wives or parents, and sexual gatekeepers. It has also pointed out the fact that the extent of the discrimination is different by nation and race. This article is worth reading because it points out the fact that the portrayal of women is underestimated, and it concludes that, while increasing the representation of women in media may be valuable, it is also critical that the manner in which they are portrayed be simultaneously considered to avoid increasing negative or stereotypical depictions that may be particularly harmful to viewers.

 

England, D. E., Descartes, L., & Collier-meek, M. (2011). Gender role portrayal and the disney princesses. Sex Roles, 64(7-8), 555-567.  https://search.proquest.com/docview/857999236/fulltextPDF/F9C14CCB94394FE2PQ/1?accountid=11107

 

This article examines the gender role depiction of the Disney prince and princess characters with a focus on their behavioral characteristics and climactic outcomes in the films. It suggests that the prince and princess characters differ in their portrayal of traditionally masculine and feminine characteristics, these gender role portrayals are complex, and princes exhibited more rescuing behavior than princesses. However, the first three Disney Princess movies, produced in the 1930s and 50s, depicted in general more gendered attributes for both the princesses and the princes, and employed more traditional gender roles than did the five films produced in and after the 1980s. Although both the male and female roles have changed over time in the Disney Princess line, the male characters exhibit more androgyny throughout and less change in their gender role portrayals. This article has put the gender representation in media in an interesting way, about Disney, and it has shown that even one of the biggest animation firm is under the effect of gender stereotype.

 

Leonie Roderick-Tanya Joseph-Portia Woollen-Erin Lyons-Molly Fleming-Ellen Hammett-Samuel Joy.  How the Portrayal Of Women in Media Has Changed. https://www.marketingweek.com/2017/03/08/portrayal-women-media/

 

This article makes an argument that the portrayal of women in media has changed. It states that there has been an enormous progress and moving away from the stereotypes. But it is coming from a very low base and there is still a long way to go. We need to stop featuring women as peripheral characters. It makes an argument that the most damaging part are the ads that deals with stereotypes because they have to portray something that connects in 30 seconds. As a result, people often default to perceived advertising norms. They pointed out that it takes one person to do something different, and he or she should start questioning that perceived wisdom. This article has a great value because it is written by different people from different backgrounds and it helps us understand the general view points of other people on the gender representation in media and if they think it has changed or it has not changed.

The potential effects of TV on children (Group 2) Annotated Bibliography

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On September 20, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

Eisenstock, Barbara A. Television as a Source of Career Awareness for Children: Effects of Sex and Sex Role Preferences, University of Southern California, Ann Arbor, 1979. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu

Eisenstock’s paper above goes into talks about the discovery of career and career options by children, and the various factors that go into this discovery, as told from a professional research angle (graduate school). Eisenstock focuses on TV as a career discovery tool for children, in part due to its accessibility to anyone. Eisenstock references the common trend for TV of the time (1979) to place women in low-status occupations, such as secretaries and homemakers, and for men to be placed in high-status occupations such as doctors or lawyers. Eisenstock states that the continuation of these traditional sex-roles may be a major factor in the slow acceptance of non-traditional occupations and sex-roles. Eisenstock found that a child’s knowledge of his or her sex role mitigated the effect of traditional TV and that feminine and androgynous identified children reacted much better to the non-traditional work role sexes on TV than the masculine identified children. The idea that TV can both bring down and uplift society through its portrayal of gender is a good starting point for my group’s discussion.

 

Foust, James C., and Katherine A. Bradshaw. “Something for the Boys: Framing Images of Women in Broadcasting Magazine in the 1950s.” Journalism History, vol. 33, no. 2, 2007, pp. 93-95,97-100. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu

In the paper above, Foust and Katherine analyze the presence of women in Broadcasting magazine, a trade magazine associated with the broadcasting and TV industry, and determining in what light women are portrayed. They found that there are four major portrayals of the women in the magazines: women as sex objects or decoration, women as housewives, women displaying stereotypical behaviors, and women as professionals. The positive portrayals of women as professionals was found the be heavily outweighed by the other portrayals, 85 percent as opposed to 12 percent. One prominent example was the “Something for the Boys” section of an edition that only portrayed female models for a two-page spread. This research was done using a random sampling method and coding to analyze the frames of 1950s decade issues. This portrayal of women in Broadcasting publications could have been another reason why women in professional broadcasting roles were very rare in the early years of TV in addition to the already high barrier to entry for women in a male dominated industry.

 

Hoffner, Cynthia, and Martha Buchanan. “Young Adults’ Wishful Identification with Television Characters: The Role of Perceived Similarity and Character Attributes.” Media Psychology, vol. 7, no. 4, 2005, pp. 325-351. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu

The above paper tried to answer the question of the factors that go into the perceptions of young adults’ wishful identification, that is the desire to be like or act like a character. They organized a list of perceived character attributes (smart, successful, attractive, funny, violent, and admired) and determined the most wishfully identified with character traits. They found that males tended to want to be like male characters that they perceived as successful, intelligent, and violent, whereas women identified with female characters that were perceived as successful, intelligent, attractive, and admired. The above research helps to determine a difference between older audiences preferred traits and the genders that preferred them. The knowledge that women liked attractive and admired characters versus men liking more violent characters can help to focus in my thoughts on what to look for in a sample of children’s TV shows’ gendered characters; violence in male characters and attractiveness and admiration for female characters.

 

Liben, Lynn S., and Rebecca S. Bigler. “The Developmental Course of Gender Differentiation: Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Evaluating Constructs and Pathways.” Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, vol. 67, no. 2, 2002, pp. 1-147. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu

Liben and Rebecca set out to determine how exactly gender differentiation unfolds to stop a classic situation of gender stereotyping possibly limiting individual expression. They state that gender differentiation might come about from consumption of general ideas about specific concepts (toys, jobs, etc.) and then be applied to other various aspects (including themselves). They then also say that the same process can happen, but the child instead focuses on themselves to determine their ideas. This could be shown simply through two scenarios, one where a male child likes a toy, and using their identity, they identify that toy as male toy, and another where a male child identifies that toy as male, and then plays with it, identifying himself as a male. This understanding of some possible gender differentiation ideas can help to understand to what extent TV and culture has on gender and gender identity, serving a purpose for my research and developing my understanding.

 

Miller, M. M., and Byron Reeves. “Dramatic TV Content and Children’s Sex Role Stereotypes.” Journal of Broadcasting, vol. 20, no. 1, 1976, pp. 35-50. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/60878348?accountid=11107.

In the above paper, Miller and Byron asked the question of whether the portrayal of women in TV in non-traditional occupations would make a child (3rd – 6th grade) say that the non-stereotypical role was fitting for women. The findings showed that in 5 out of 6 cases, children who were exposed to non-stereotypical in TV would say that the role seen was fitting for girls. They found that, in general, TV causes sex-role stereotyping in children, but this could be reversed, and TV could become a factor in helping society break down these sex-role stereotypes. This study helps to further back the main idea that children’s TV can and will affect their view on other people and genders. (and the roles associated with them) The further backing helps to both strengthen the argument of this paper, but also strengthen the argument of any other papers that dealt with TV and children’s thoughts on gender roles.

 

Pila, Sarah C. The “Good Girls”: Exploring Features of Female Characters in Children’s Animated Television, Tufts University, Ann Arbor, 2015. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu

Sarah begins the paper by stating a goal of determining how animated children’s (ages 6 – 12) cartoons portray women in general. Sarah mentions that there could be possible unknown effects of children being exposed to cartoons that portray women in a specific way. Generally, Sarah found that animated TV portrays twice as many male characters when compared to female characters, and that female conversations are more stereotypical in educational TV. Sarah’s extensive usage of other research and relating to the social cognitive theory of children’s development helps to ground and explain her thought processes clearly. Sarah states that her findings are that women are portrayed less and that they tend to be portrayed as more youthful and ‘attractive’ than the male characters. If we accept that children practice social learning, this may lead us to understand why children tend to simply fall into the gender dichotomy that is classically portrayed, girl actions and boy actions, and no mingling of the two.

Citations On The Role Of Gender Stereotypes In Children’s Television: Annotated Bibliography

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On September 20, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

Bickford, T. (2015). Tween intimacy and the problem of public life in children’s media: “having it all” on the disney channel’s hannah montana. Women’s Studies Quarterly, 43(1), 66-82. Retrieved from http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1665109811?accountid=11107  *

This peer-reviewed source explores the concept of the “tween,” the age cohort between childhood and the teenage years. The source delves into the discussion about how tweens in the United States have a misrepresented image in children’s television. Bickford examines how gender stereotypes affect the image of the tween in America, and it is presumed that tweens are girls who regularly consume children’s media. Bickford utilizes Hannah Montana to argue that even the protagonist, a tween pop star living a double life, is having trouble “having it all” in her public and private life. This source relates how the hyper-feminized view of tweens is negatively affected by the notion of “having it all,” where women are expected to have control over both their public persona as well as their private image. The source argues that adult women in the media are treated as social minors, whereas tweens in the media are eroticized for their childhood innocence. This peer-reviewed source is relevant because it reinforces how female gender roles in children’s television mirror the unequal representation of a woman’s life in the general media.

 

Breed, Lisa, et al. “Variations in the Gender‐Stereotyped Content of Children’s Television Cartoons Across Genres.” The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Wiley-Blackwell, 31 July 2006. Retrieved from onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2002.tb02767.x. **

This study examined how gender role stereotypes are projected across four different genres of cartoons, such as traditional adventure, nontraditional adventure, educational, and comedy. While certain behaviors of aggression were not as present in educational cartoons than in the other genres, the study deduced that male characters were still at the forefront of the storylines across all types of cartoons. The study found that male characters were more represented and had more leverage in the plot of the cartoons than the female characters, and the stereotypical male behavior of aggression was emphasized in the adventure cartoons. The study also supported the notion that female characters were mainly employed as the love interest or supporting character, rather than significant, plot-progressing characters. While this source tends to be redundant with its findings on male representation over female in children’s cartoons, the source does add a specific criteria of cartoons to highlight the differences of representation across the genre. Despite the specificity, the source continues to bolster the fact that female characters are misrepresented in children’s media, which can perpetuate into future generations.

 

Browne, B. A. (1998). Gender stereotypes in advertising on children’s television in the 1990s: A cross-national analysis. Journal of Advertising, 27(1), 83-96. Retrieved from http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/236627552?accountid=11107 *

This peer-reviewed source is a study on how gender stereotypes are perpetuated through advertising on children’s television. In the analysis, gender stereotypes were observed in advertisements that aired on children’s television in the United States and Australia. The goal of the study was to examine how often gender stereotypes are projected through these commercials, and if there was any difference between the children audience in the United States and Australia. The study found that there was relatively little difference in the projection of gender stereotypes in these advertisements between the two countries. The source argues that on a consistent basis, boys were viewed as more knowledgeable and dominant than girls were viewed, regardless of the country. Therefore, this source contains relevant information because it supports the notion that children’s programming inherently perpetuates gender stereotypes that diminish girls’ value. The source is valuable because it has concrete evidence in the misrepresentation of girls in children’s media. This peer-reviewed source supports the idea that this gender bias affects the fabric of the general media in that women are continually portrayed as less than men.

 

Chandler, E. (2016). “I never wanted to be an ashley!” androcentrism and gender entitlement in disney’s recess. Gender Issues, 33(2), 148-162. Retrieved from doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12147-016-9154-9 *

This peer-reviewed source tackles the idea of androcentrism in the range of normal childhood femininity. Chandler utilizes Recess, a popular Disney cartoon, as the prime example of how androcentric characters do more to harm the image of femininity in childhood than help it. The source describes how in one episode, Ashley Spinelli, a “tomboy,” does not like her name because it is associated with the girly-girl Ashleys of the school. Spinelli’s inhibition to accept her name relates to the source’s argument that androcentrism is an alternative way to downplay femininity as cruel and vile. The source acknowledges how perceived masculinity in girls is a better life than embracing their femininity, which is relevant to the gender stereotypes in children’s television as it is. This peer-reviewed source adds a crucial point in the representation of gender in children’s television because it tackles how masculinity is always perceived as better than femininity. This source proves that rather than embrace themselves for who they are, children view masculinity as the best way to live their lives.

 

Morgan, M. (1982). Television and adolescents’ sex role stereotypes: A longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43(5), 947-955. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.43.5.947 **

This study analyzed the relationship between sex-role stereotypes and television viewing in a sample of 349 middle-school aged children over two years. The study was conducted to determine if television viewing did impact the children’s sex-role attitudes as well as the difference in attitudes between boys and girls. The study concluded that television viewing greatly affected the sex-role attitudes of the girls, whereas the boys were seemingly unaffected by television viewing in their attitudes towards gender norms. However, this source does add a unique perspective to gender representation in children’s television because the study includes the socio-economic background of these boys and girls. Lower-class girls were found to have consistently similar views to the boys while the more affluent girls reacted much more strongly to the television viewing. The study adds a significant point that those who are least likely to have traditional sex roles, such as upper class girls, were impacted much more by the television viewing than everyone else. This source reinforces that girls are much more influenced on their sex-role attitudes by television, but it also adds how socio-economic status can differ the attitudes within girls themselves.

 

Thompson, T.L. & Zerbinos, E. Sex Roles (1995) 32: 651. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01544217 **

This source describes a study that sought to examine the evolution of gender roles in animated cartoons within a twenty year span, from the 1970s to the 1990s. The study observed the behaviors, communication, and overall significance of male and female characters in these selected cartoons. The study found that male characters were still a dominating force in the story and significance of the cartoon, and they wielded much more of the total speaking lines and screen time than the female characters. The source describes how within the twenty year span, there was little change in how male characters are portrayed in cartoons as compared to the female characters. However, the source also acknowledges that the roles of female characters in these selected cartoons has grown in significance from the 1970s to the 1990s, even though the evolution was miniscule. This source provides a unique representation of gender roles because it examines the stereotypes within cartoons, which are ultimately made by men and women. The projection of the real world societal stereotypes in children’s cartoons supports the inherent disparity of gender representation in children’s television.

 

*=peer-reviewed

**=not peer-reviewed

Career Representation in TV Over Time – Annotated Bibliography

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Elasmar, Michael, Kazumi Hasegawa, and Mary Brain. “The Portrayal of Women in U.S. Prime Time Television.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, vol. 43, no. 1, 1999, pp. 20-34. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/227281152?accountid=11107.

This paper mainly focuses on how women are portrayed and how that affects children watching it. It illustrates how previous researchers only tracked the presence of women and that the portrayal of women is what really matters. The article also recognized how men were over represented on television with 58% having professional roles compared to 15% in real life. Women were more likely to have non-serious roles than men. They found that only 44% of women were depicted as working and only 21% of married women were depicted as working. This research paper is important because it focuses on a time period outside of modern television. This helps our topic a lot since it is the portrayal of working women over time. It is further important since it is full of statistics that help illustrate the differences between women and men in prime-time television. It is worth reading to understand the difference of working women in the 70s and today.

Grodin, Debra. “Women Watching Television: Gender, Class, and Generation in the American Television Experience.” Women and Language, vol. 14, no. 2, 1991, pp. 35. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/198799896?accountid=11107.

This paper analyzes another paper over how and why working women are portrayed the way they are on television. It goes over how women like to identify with certain types of characters over others. This paper goes into further detail on how middle-class women dislike watching women with high paying careers because it is very different from their own lives. It notes how shows with female characters similar to an average middle-class women are more likely to be watched and enjoyed and enjoyed by their average female viewer. This source is importance since it goes into why shows mainly depict middle-class women working normal medium paying jobs or as stay-at-home moms. It does not contain lots of statistics and data on working women in television, but it gives good insight into what types of characters women are most likely to identify and relate too. It will be important to relate the ideas of this article to data and statistics from other articles.

Glascock, Jack, and Thomas E. Ruggiero. “Representations of Class and Gender on Primetime Spanish-Language Television in the United States.” Communication Quarterly, vol. 52, no. 4, 2004, pp. 390-402. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/216482966?accountid=11107.

This article goes over class and gender in Spanish-speaking television in the United States. It argues that men are more likely to have higher paying jobs and less childcare responsibilities than women. The paper further argues that lighter skinned characters were more likely to be in a higher class and better position than darker skinned characters. While women were represented equally to men in the shows analyzed, they were less likely to have jobs and even less likely to have higher paying jobs than men. This paper is very important because it relates directly to our topic and focuses on a different subset of American television and viewers. It illustrates that even in Latino television, women are still unequal to men in the roles they play on television. Men are still more likely to be the providers for the household and most women are either stay at home moms or work low paying jobs. Overall, this source is worth reading in understanding the gender differences in a different subset of American television.

Ulaby, Neda. “Working Women On Television: A Mixed Bag At Best.” npr, 18 May 2018, https://www.npr.org/2013/05/18/184832930/working-women-on-television-a-mixed-bag-at-best.

This article goes over careers in characters in prime-time television and compares the statistics to real life statistics. They use statistics from a research Geena Davis’s study. They found that 44.3% of women in speaking roles were gainfully employed on television. The article compares this to the real life percent of 46.7% and decided that prime-time television is pretty decent at depicting women with careers. However, the paper points out that television is not accurate in age and children in working women. Almost none of working women in television have children and most are under 40. This article is important because it goes over important statistics that relate to our topic. It is very important in comparing the statistics from television to real life to see if television is accurately portraying its characters. The article is definitely worth reading as it gives insight on how accurate the portrayal of female characters are in prime-time television.

Smith, Brittany, “Gender Representation and Occupational Portrayals in Primetime Television” (2016). Theses and Dissertations. 1673. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1673

This study looked at gender representation and occupational portrayals on primetime television. The paper looks at lots of statistics and compares them to previous studies. While there has been improvement, the portrayal of women is not where it should be and lots of stereotypes of women still exist in television. This paper also looked into which stations had made the most improvement, and which stations had made the least. The study found that there still needs to be lots of improvement to get these shows up to par with reality as lots of women are still portrayed as housewives or blue-collared workers. This study is important because it contains lots of statistics of different news stations that relate directly to our topic of working women in television, and it relates the statistics to previous studies to show the change in recent years. It provides lots of insight on which areas need improvement the most and on what stations.

Emilaire, Sierra. “A Look At Women Represented In Media.” StudyBreak. 17 July 2017, https://studybreaks.com/culture/women-representation-media/

This article takes a look at how women are portrayed in television and how that relates to young girls’ lives. It states that stereotypes that come from TV shows like women are supposed to be housewives and that women cannot become CEOs puts limitations on girls growing up. This piece explains how representation is important because women shape their perceptions of themselves based on what they see in Television and movies. This article states how there is not enough female characters with high-paying jobs or leads in shows. This article is important because it illustrates the importance of having accurate depictions of women in society and the effect it can have on young girls growing up. It is definitely worth reading to understand the effect having different portrayals of women can have on society and individual people. This article also explains how women in these roles in television are already accepted and liked and should appear more often.

Selected Sources on Gender Representation in News Media

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On September 20, 2018

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All citations are in MLA 8.

Cranford, Alexandra. “WOMEN WEATHERCASTERS: Their Positions, Education and Presence in Local TV.” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, vol. 99, no. 2, Feb. 2018, pp. 281-288. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-16-0317.1.

Alexandra Cranford’s peer reviewed article examines the educational divide between female and male weathercasters. She establishes her argument by detailing the history of the “sexy weather girl” stereotype in the United States, and supplements that with data which show how men receive significantly more screen time and credibility in American television media. Cranford thoroughly explains the methodology of her study, which entails analyzing biographies of over 2,000 weathercasters, both male and female. Results showed that of those surveyed, there were significantly less female weathercasters on air with meteorology degrees than males (52% and 59%, respectively). From the data, Cranford concludes that male weathercasters are receiving the majority of “prime time” evening TV slots as compared to females, who in contrast mostly reported in the weekends and mornings. Cranford includes colorful graphics to visually illustrate her findings throughout the article. While the study presents well sourced quantitative analysis, the findings seem lacking, and this study would best be used alongside supplemental sources.  Discussion of the causes of the discrepancies implied future studies to explore sexist hiring practices, educational obstacles, and the influence of social media on weathercasters.

Ross, Karen. “Women, Men and News: It’s Life, Jim, but Not as We Know It.” Journalism Studies., vol. 19, no. 6, 2018, p. 824. 

This source by Ross, Boyle, Carter, and Ging uses the 2015 Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) report to analyze gender representation in news outlets across the England, Wales, Scotland, and the Republic of Ireland. The study, while not based in the United States, provides valid and usable data from economically and socially comparable nations. Analysis of the GMMP provides reputable data, as it is the longest running longitudinal study on gender representation in media at a global scale. It reported that overall, less women are sourced for stories than men, but their numbers are increasing since 2010. The report also found that women reported more on “soft” subjects like art and pop culture over “hard” subjects like health and politics. Qualitative analysis shows that gender stereotyping is rampant in the newsroom, both on and off air. This source accurately represents reputable data, a the GMMP is a worldwide measure of media representation. However, the report is orchestrated by a religious organization, so data may be presented with a faith-based spin.

 

Elmore, Cindy. “Recollections in Hindsight from Women Who Left: The Gendered Newsroom Culture.” Women & Language, vol. 30, no. 2, Fall 2007, pp. 18-27. EBSCOhost, prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=29324836&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Elmore’s 2007 paper, although already 11 years old, remains a strikingly relevant exposé on the stressful reality of being a woman in a news network. The study, actually conducted in 2003, was conducted through a series of interviews with 15 women of different backgrounds who all decided to leave their journalism careers behind. Elmore found that the participants faced exclusionary culture perpetuated by a male dominated newsroom. The interviewees also explained that women in the newsroom needed to feign masculinity and emotional apathy in order to navigate the male-dominated environment. These women also faced discrimination in terms of the stories they were allowed to report on and the sources they could interview. This source, although quite old, presents a compelling argument for the case of women in television news. Despite the sample size being relatively small, the source does a great job of humanizing the issue. Rather than women’s feelings being portrayed as a series of statistics, each woman’s personal experiences are woven throughout the article. This is a very usable source as it adds an element of humanity to my research.

 

Wagner, Laura. “Megyn Kelly Is Leaving Fox News To Join NBC News.” NPR, NPR, 3 Jan. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/03/508046088/megyn-kelly-is-leaving-fox-news-to-join-nbc-news.

This source, although short, makes an important point about the obstacles women in the newsroom face, particularly sexual harassment. Wagner describes Megyn Kelly’s departure from Fox News following her allegations of being sexually harassed by her former boss, Roger Ailes. The article describes one of the factors for Kelly’s switchover to NBC News being their offer of greater screentime. Although quoted as “one of the network’s biggest stars,” the article still explains that Kelly’s departure from Fox was voluntary, as the network offered a large sum of money to get her back, only to be faced with her refusal (Wagner). Similar to Elmore’s 2007 paper, this article presents a particular case of a woman choosing to leave her job at a particular news network over gender-related biases. Although not peer reviewed, the source reports on primary accounts of information, including a Facebook post made by Kelly herself. It is also published through NPR, a nationally funded public news outlet, so the reporting can be presumed objective.

 

Taub, Amanda. “The #ManPanel Problem: Why Are Female Experts Still so Widely Ignored?” Vox, Vox, 16 Mar. 2016, www.vox.com/2016/3/16/11245454/manpanel-problem-female-experts-ignored.

Taub’s article explores the source bias in news media. It explains how often times, panels of “experts” in televised news broadcasts are comprised of majority men. Additionally, sources in published forms of news media, such as electronic news outlets, are heavily biased towards men as well. Studying her own reporting, Taub found that only about 25% of her sources were female. She outlines reasons for the discrepancy, emphasizing society’s inherent bias towards men in positions of power and organizations’ promotion of senior officials, the majority of which are men. The article also explains the “confidence gap” and how many women in fields of study choose to self-censor in order to be taken more seriously in a male-dominated field. Therefore, the majority of experts on any subject will automatically be men, as women are confined in what they publicly say. This source, while well written, is still heavily subjective, so direct data from it will need to be cross referenced with other more objective sources. However, the article does provide several sources it cites embedded into the text, so it can be used as a tool to facilitate further research.

 

Taub, Amanda, and Max Fisher. “If Only Quoting Women Were Enough.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 10 Feb. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/insider/interpreter-gender-bias-women-experts.html.

This article by Taub and Fisher does not particularly concern gender bias in television news. It does, however, explain that citation of female sources and inclusion in written articles is not enough to boost female representation in news media. The piece explains the institutional barriers that women face in fields of study and how they are at a disadvantage in men in every measure when trying to become an “expert” in any one field. Additionally, the study explores how women are quoted sparsely by media outlets, as it is difficult to extrapolate a complete story from the limited number of female sources on any given topic. Again, while this source does not directly examine gender bias in cable news networks, it does delve into a deeper issue that is still perpetuated by these organizations. Taub and Fisher’s work can be used as supplemental background for data sets provided in studies regarding coverage of female sources. Ultimately, while this source does not hit the target dead center, it still provides valid and useful information about gender biases in media.

 

The Role of Female Characters in Doctor Who from 1960-Present

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On September 20, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

Colgan, Jenny. “The Bolshie, Brilliant History of the Women of Doctor Who.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 27 Aug. 2018, www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/aug/27/the-bolshie-brilliant-history-of-the-women-of-doctor-who.

This article from The Guardian details the history of women in the show Doctor Who. It speaks of Sarah Jane Smith, a companion who began her stint with the third doctor and ended up being the companion who was on the show the longest. Her character was a feminist and actually kept her job as an investigative reporter after becoming a companion, which was a big deal because the companions before her had not kept their day job and usually did not exhibit any feminist characteristics. The article also analyzes how there was no sexual tension between the doctor and their companions in early seasons but as the seasons progress it becomes more prevalent. This shows how the companions’ roles have become more sexualized over the years. This article has value because it shows the history of women in Doctor Who and how their roles have changed throughout the show’s run.

 

Gregg, Peter B. “England Looks to the Future: The Cultural Forum Model and Doctor Who.” The Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 37, no. 4, July 2004, pp. 648–661., doi:10.1111/j.0022-3840.2004.00091.x.

This peer-reviewed journal gives insight into how as Doctor Who progresses the cultural structure of the show reflects the cultural structure of society. Most of the show’s themes throughout the years have reflected current cultural norms and popular ideology. The journal also details how some decisions about the direction of the show in the past were made by the actor playing the Doctor, such as the fourth doctor, Tom Baker. The person who played the doctor made decisions about how not only the doctor would be portrayed, but also how companions would be portrayed and viewed by the doctor. This is significant because the Doctor, up until 2018, was always portrayed as a man, and the input from a man’s perspective can be very different than from a woman’s. This journal has value because it shows how the show’s themes and values change as time goes on, which in turn means that gender roles would change.

 

Orthia, Lindy A., and Rachel Morgain. “The Gendered Culture of Scientific Competence: A     Study of Scientist Characters in Doctor Who 1963–2013.” Sex Roles, vol. 75, no. 3-4, Feb. 2016, pp. 79–94., doi:10.1007/s11199-016-0597-y.

This peer-reviewed journal delves into the scientific roles that women have played throughout the run of the show Doctor Who. The study found that males and females in the show are not equally represented but they both equally exhibit scientific capability. Women are able to operate the TARDIS and perform important scientific calculations just as well as the men. They make almost as many, if not as many, crucial decisions as the doctor does. Despite this, there are some details of how characters are depicted in the show that indirectly devalue women, such as inadequate male scientists lacking masculinity and having feminine qualities. Lacking masculinity is seen as negative, which therefore means acting like a woman is seen as negative. This journal has value because it shows that although women are represented as scientific equals in the show there are indirect ways that they are not represented equally.

 

Pelusi, Alessandra J., “Doctor Who and the Creation of a Non-Gendered Hero Archetype” (2014). Theses and Dissertations. Paper 272.

In this thesis/dissertation the author explores how Doctor Who has created one of the only non-gendered characters depicted on television. They do this by analyzing the female and male characters and their roles within the show. The paper also brings up the interesting point that the doctor and their companions are dependent on each other, which elevates the importance of companions and in turn increases the relevance of female characters in the show. Female characters are seen as true game-changers because they are able to change the course of the show simply by voicing their opinions to the doctor. Although there will always be some stereotypes, due to their relevance in popular culture, there are less gender stereotypes displayed in the show due to these points the author explored. This thesis/dissertation has value because it demonstrates how gender does not play a direct part in Doctor Who and women have a significant role in the show.

 

Peters, Jasper. “Nothing Will Ever Be The Same Again: Exploring Faith, Doubt, and the Disciple     Journey of a Companion to the Doctor.” Implicit Religion, vol. 18, no. 4, 2015, pp. 499–506., doi:10.1558/imre.v18i4.29089.

This peer-reviewed journal demonstrates how the Doctor’s companions, who are predominantly female, sway the Doctor’s actions and how their decisive roles affect the show. The Doctor is the main character of the show and will sometimes make split decisions on their own, but the companions, despite their usual devotedness to the Doctor, will challenge their ideas and significantly impact the plot. The emotions that the Doctor feels toward the companions and vice versa also affect the show and give female companions a symbolic role in the show, despite their role being simply titled as “companion”. There are times presented in the show where a companion and the doctor will actually have romantic feelings for each other, which complicates the situation even more when it comes to decision-making. This journal has value because it talks about how companions can sway the doctor’s decisions and therefore play an important part of the plot.

 

Ras, Ilse A. “Doctor Who: Companions and Sexism, 1963-1989.” Dr Ilse A. Ras, 2 June 2014, iaras22.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/doctor-who-companions-and-sexism-1963-1989/.

In this blog post the author explores whether or not the show Doctor Who is sexist. They decide that the show is simultaneously sexist and not sexist at the same time. The author cites blatant examples of sexism, such as outfits that female companions have worn and certain things they were made to say. Certain companions have been made to wear revealing costumes and/or bikinis that do not contribute to the plot of the show. There are also times where there is indirect sexism in the show, such as women being seen as a lesser figure in decision-making. She also observes that pre-1989, most of the companions had highly skilled jobs such as a journalist, teacher and heart surgeon. In the most reason seasons many companions have jobs that do not require a college degree. This article has value because it addresses the role of women in Doctor Who and whether or not their role can be seen as sexist.

 

Gender Representation (or Lack of) in TV Advertising

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On September 20, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

Ember, Sydney. “For Women in Advertising, It’s Still a ‘Mad Men’ World.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 May 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/business/media/for-women-in-advertising-its-still-a-mad-men-world.html.

While my group’s research question is centered around gender representation in international television advertising, this article provides insight into the people behind the scenes who are responsible for the advertisements that broadcast on TV and includes testimonies of women who are starting out in the industry and of the scant few who have reached the executive level.  Sexism continues to exist very prominently in the advertising industry, which has its influences on the gender representation in advertisement.  These advertisements reflect their creators, which are usually white men.  While there have been some improvements over the years in the industry, the article ultimately ends less optimistically, noting that there is still a lack of collective action taken to correct gender bias or even completely address it because of how deeply entrenched and aggravating the issue is in the advertising industry.  The lack of gender representation in the advertising industry translates to the lack of gender representation in the actual advertisements because of the lack of female voice in the process and development of the advertisements.

 

Peer reviewed sources:

Luyt, Russell. “Representation of Gender in South African Television Advertising: A Content Analysis.” Sex Roles, vol. 65, no. 5-6, 2011, pp. 356-370. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/880032319?accountid=11107, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-011-0027-0.

Luyt uses data from the study to support the hypothesis that there would be differences in gender portrayals in South African television advertisements that reflect the traditional societal roles.  South Africa provides an interesting environment for the study because of its long-standing racial inequalities that intersect with other social constructs, such as gender.  Luyt found that males were presented as dominant and the primary focus, while females were subordinate and often sexualized.  However, the author also points out that the data and current trends point to a gradual shift in the status quo that would require additional research.  Some results I found interesting were that females in the advertisements were often young adults, while males were often on the older side.  In addition, in comparison to males, females were more often portrayed as middle or upper class, as well as white.  The article presents a strong, evidence-based argument about the gender inequalities present in South African television advertising that possibly contributes to the preservation of societal norms about gender roles.  As a result, the article ties in nicely with our research question regarding gender representation in international television advertisements, both in comparison to each other and to the United States.

 

Michelle, Carolyn. “Co-Constructions of Gender and Ethnicity in New Zealand Television Advertising.” Sex Roles, vol. 66, no. 1-2, 2012, pp. 21-37. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/912293673?accountid=11107, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-011-0067-5.

This source presents information about the stereotypes in New Zealand television advertising regarding both gender and ethnicity.  One of the reasons I chose this paper was because of the intersectionality it presents with gender and ethnicity in New Zealand television advertisements.  Much like most other countries, New Zealand has its share of ethnic conflict and diversity.  Through the study, Michelle presents evidence that white people dominate advertisements and are often overrepresented, with gender affecting the type of advertisement, fitting with stereotypes about traditional societal roles.  While Maori/Pasifika men were stereotyped as athletes and sales workers, Maori/Pasifika women and Asians overall lacked representation in these primetime television advertisements.  While the study had some hypotheses supported, such as women being underrepresented as main product representatives, the data shows that overall gender and ethnic stereotypes remain prevalent in New Zealand television advertising.  The results from the study indicate how stereotypes continue to reflect traditional social hierarchies in New Zealand.

 

Mwangi, Mary W. “Gender Roles Portrayed in Kenyan Television Commercials.” Sex Roles, vol. 34, no. 3, 1996, pp. 205. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1308098639?accountid=11107.

This paper has an interesting departure from previous results with there being roughly equal numbers of women and men as main characters in television advertisements, as well as equal numbers of women and men depicted with occupations.  These characteristics are generally seen with the television advertisements of more developed countries, which provides a unique comparison with other African countries and with other countries that are culturally and politically different as well.  However, the advertisements still displayed confined, traditional gender roles for men and women.  Once again, women are more likely to voice-over advertisements for household products and are presented as more passive.  Women were also confined to four choices for jobs that reflect the traditional and ideal occupations for educated Kenyan women and tend to have an absence of men in these occupations.  As mentioned before, these results reflect those of developed countries in which television advertisements have increased their number of women as main characters but still largely confine them to traditional gender roles.  As with other studies in this annotated bibliography, the author stresses the importance of advertising, especially on television, in the formation and perpetuation of stereotypes and barriers to gender equality.

 

Nassif, Atif, and Barrie Gunter. “Gender Representation in Television Advertisements in Britain and Saudi Arabia.” Sex Roles, vol. 58, no. 11-12, 2008, pp. 752-760. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/225368430?accountid=11107, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9394-6.

This paper covers a comparison of gender representation in television advertisements from Britain and Saudi Arabia.  This study fits well with our research topic because of the intercontinental comparison of two countries that vary vastly in political climate, social norms, media freedom, etc.  A trend with the studies is that women in these television advertisements are often younger and generally portrayed in domestic roles or related to household items.  These stereotypes are seen more prominently in Saudi Arabia’s television advertisements, although they are still present in British advertisements to a smaller degree.  As with Kenya, there was not a significant difference in the proportion of lead roles held by men versus women across both countries, but stereotypes cropped up when it came to roles, such as occupation, as well as the type of product being advertised.  These differences are more evident in Saudi Arabia’s advertising, partly because of the male-dominated society in which women are seen as in need of guardianship.

 

Nelson, Michelle R., and Hye-Jin Paek. “Cross-Cultural Differences in Sexual Advertising Content in a Transnational Women’s Magazine.” Sex Roles, vol. 53, no. 5-6, 2005, pp. 371-383. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/225366068?accountid=11107, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-005-6760-5.

While this article covers differences in female representation in Cosmopolitan magazines across countries instead of differences in television advertising, the study provides interesting data about the role that culture and politics play in the representation of women in media.  The study covers seven countries, Thailand, China, Brazil, U.S., India, Korea, and France, that range in their political culture and social norms, which influences the representation of women, especially their sexuality.  The East Asian countries, China and Korea, had the lowest percentage of nudity, likely reflecting traditional Confucian values, while Thai and French advertisements had the most.  The results for Thailand were a surprise for the researchers because of the authoritarian regime and prominence of religion, though the openness of Buddhism toward feminine sexuality, such as including prostitutes, likely contributes to the unexpected results.  Western models featured in magazines from the other countries were also generally portrayed with more sexual imagery, while domestic models were more likely to be associated with products more closely related to the domestic sphere, such as household products.  With Cosmopolitan being a Western-based magazine that has now spread because of globalization and the subject of the study, there can be conclusions drawn about how these different variables are interacting in this world that is becoming increasingly smaller because of these interconnections among countries that lead to homogenization while also enforcing cultural differences.

Changes in Women’s Careers Portrayed by Popular Television Throughout Time: John Ryu

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On September 20, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2395&context=rtd

Martinez-Sheperd, Ivonne. “Portrayals of Women in Prime Time Reality TV Programs.” Iowa State University, . Retrospective Theses and Dissertations, 2006.

In this Thesis paper written by Ivonne Martinez-Sheperd, Ivonne examines to which extent women are shown and portrayed on reality TV shows. She examines a census of reality shows aired in June to July of 2006 from four major TV networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX. Unexpectedly, she deduces that women are portrayed positively in terms of roles, behaviors, and appearances.

This paper is very useful and important to our research project because of the sheer amount of statistics data it provides on gender representation in American Television. Not only does it provide concrete percentage data of female demographics in American television, but also it provides qualitative data on the kind of roles women played in those reality TV shows. This data can be used to show trends/changes in the portrayal of women in television by comparing Ivonne’s observations with that of other articles or reports.

http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1661077194?accountid=11107

Pasztor, S. K. (2015). The gendered world of work in TV programming and the media industry. Media Report to Women, 43(1), 12-20. 

Sabrina Pasztor discusses and argues on the existence of occupational segregation and glass ceilings in media. She begins her essay describing gender roles and expectations in the 1950s when television started to become the main source of media for most households in America. She then goes on to describe how many television shows reflected career expectations given to women at the time in the section “Gender Role Portrayals on Television: 1950s-1960s”.

This essay is extremely useful because it provides specific examples of TV shows in the past and how they portrayed gender roles in terms of the careers they portrayed. She also analyzes women’s roles in families and how that was also portrayed in television shows as well. Furthermore, she continues to analyze trends in the portrayal of women’s careers in the 1970’s all the way up to the 1990’s, which makes this essay an excellent source of information about how women’s careers portrayed in television have changed over time.

Bahadur, Nina. “Why We Need These Kinds Of Women On TV.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 13 Nov. 2012, www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/13/women-in-the-media-female_n_2121979.html.

Huffington Post writer, Nina Bahadur, claims that female TV and film characters are still being assigned to specific gender roles and are often sidelined as a character. She uses one main study as a central point to back-up her statement. She cites a study done by a sociologist who analyzed almost 12000 speaking roles in modern-day television. The study pointed out many common patterns often seen with female characters. Some of those patterns have to do with appearances but also the type of careers the female characters had in the show.

This source is useful because the specific study cited in the essay provides useful information on the differences of gender roles between men and women with specific quantitative data. This data can be later used in our research to show how women’s jobs are shown differently than men’s jobs on American television.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15205436.2016.1212243

Alexander Sink & Dana Mastro (2017) Depictions of Gender on Primetime Television: A Quantitative Content Analysis, Mass Communication and Society, 20:1, 3-22, DOI: 10.1080/15205436.2016.1212243

This article statistically analyzed prime time television by randomly sampling shows across 9 cable networks and broadcasts. It concluded from its analysis that modern prime time television is not at a “golden age” for women. However, it does conclude that some gender stereotypes have decreased compared to previous decades such as the existence of dominant men and/or sexually provocative women in the show.

This article presents very useful data since it is an almost unbiased, statistically based report that provided quantitative data on exactly what career roles women are shown to have played in modern television. This data can be compared to data from the past given in other articles to show the changes in the portrayal of women’s careers in American television.

Jack Glascock (2003) Viewer perception of gender roles on network prime‐time television, Communication Research Reports, 20:2, 173-181, DOI: 10.1080/08824090309388813 https://doi.org/10.1080/08824090309388813

Unlike other studies done, this study examined the audience’s perception of sex roles in American television rather than have the writer report about his/her observations on sex roles in American television. A total of 321 college students were asked to rate major female and male characters in comedies and dramas using the Bem Sex-Role inventory. Jack Glascock concluded that both male and female characters were perceived similar to real life people. However, dramas tended to stereotype each sex more than comedies did.

This article presents us a unique piece of information: public opinion. Rather than provide quantitative or qualitative data on the portrayal of women’s careers, this article presents data on how the audience today views women’s careers and their opinions on how the female character’s career differs from the male character’s career.

Hess, Donna J, and Geoffrey W Grant. “ Prime-Time Television and Gender-Role Behavior.” Teaching Sociology, vol. 10, no. 3, Apr. 1983, pp. 371–388. 3.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1317366.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A7b00039695e53ad92cd58e24764ddafb

In this article, Donna Hess and Geoffrey Grant discuss the impact prime-time television on gender roles and views of gender roles of television watchers. They also deeply discuss specific kinds of behaviors shown in television shows and how they reflect gender roles in society. They also provide statistical data on gender demographics in prime-time television shows. Overall this article is more of a report than an opinion article as it provides more data and qualitative observations rather than opinions and statements.

This article is a great piece of information surrounding the different kinds of behaviors assigned to gender roles. Multiple charts providing statistical data on behaviors specific to each gender are provided throughout the article. In addition, the piece also compares scenes in different TV shows to outline the key differences in behaviors between female and male characters. Overall, this piece is very important to our research because it pays specific attention to differences in gender roles via analysis of behaviors in prime-time television shows.

 

Gender Roles in Children’s Television Annotated Bib

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On September 20, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

CherneyKamala London, Isabelle,D. “Gender-Linked Differences in the Toys, Television shows, Computer Games, and Outdoor Activities of 5- to 13-Year-Old Children.” Sex Roles, vol. 54, no. 9-10, 2006, pp. 717-726. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/225367898?accountid=11107, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9037-8. This article analyzes the preferences of male and female children with regards to their sources of entertainment. It found that female children have a general tendency to watch more television while male children spend more time partaking in other activities. One of the more interesting findings was the opposing trend in the femininity of girls’ television shows and other forms of childhood entertainment. Girls’ choice of television tended to become more feminine as they grew older, while their other forms of entertainment tended to become less feminine over time. There was an noteable preference for entertainment within a child’s gender. However, this was more present in boys than girls. This article is relevant, because it shows the rapidity of the formation of gendered opinions in a child’s mind. While this focuses on a variety of forms of entertainment, the most relevant focus for our research is on television. One issue with the relevance of this source is that rather than focus on the effect entertainment has on a child’s gender stereotypes it focuses on the gender-stereotype’s effect on a child’s choice in entertainment.

Childs, Nancy M., and Jill K. Maher. “Gender in Food Advertising to Children: Boys Eat First.” British Food Journal, vol. 105, no. 6, 2003, pp. 408-419. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/224679133?accountid=11107. This article focuses on food advertisements and the roles of the genders within them. Based off certain categories such as main characters, primary product users, and voice overs, the study managed to quantify the bias. Despite the foods being advertised to both genders, the study found that there was a statistically significant gender bias within the advertisements – more so than for non food advertisements. Boys played a more dominant role in these commercials than females did. This therefore reinforces the idea of male superiority and dominance in a child’s mind. Furthermore, it might begin to instill the dangerous concept that females should consume less food, because food advertisements are not targeted for her. This article is important, because it shows how things that are not normally thought of as gendered could have a large impact on a child. Children spend an increasing amount of time watching advertisements, so it is important to be made aware of the effects on a child’s mind. While this is relevant to our research, because of its presence on television, it may be flawed because its focus is not on television shows.

Meyer, Michaela D.E., and Megan M. Wood. “Sexuality and teen television: emerging adults respond to representations of queer identity on Glee.” Sexuality and Culture, vol. 17, no. 3, 2013, p. 434+. Gender Studies Collection, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A343054749/PPGB?u=gainstoftech&sid=PPGB&xid=5342f42b. This particular study focused on adolescent responses to sexuality in the popular teen show Glee. In terms of the sexuality, teens were much more prone to notice the queer sexuality rather than the heterosexual. This is despite the shows major plot lines and main character focus on heterosexual relationship. This reveals teen tendency to relate sexuality with a nonhetersexual outlook. Many of the male participants in particular mentioned that they were ashamed to say they watched the show, because of their heteronormativity. The show involves song and theater which are normally associated with queer stereotypes, therefore the men were scared to be identified as nonheterosexual for their enjoyment of the show. The show was commonly viewed as progressive for its high population of queer characters. This study truly highlights a teens view on sexuality and the development of it through shows. It is relevant to our research, because teen audiences are still developing their minds based off the television they watch, yet it is clear that by the time they reach their teen years significant biases have already been formed.

Powell, Kimberly A., and Lori Abels. “Sex-Role Stereotypes in TV Programs Aimed at the Preschool Audience: An Analysis of Teletubbies and Barney & Friends.”Women and Language, vol. 25, no. 1, 2002, pp. 14. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/198879860?accountid=11107. This article is arguing that gender stereotypes begin to be enforced on children starting at very young ages thorugh popular television shows such as Barney and Friends and the Teletubbies. Through analysis of the roles of males and females on the show, this study found that males tend to be leaders while females just follow within both television shows. They also found that the traditional roles of mother and father were reinforced as caretaker and working man respectively. This is relevant, because it shows a lot about what standards modern society is pushing through to further generations. These shows are some of the first introductions children get about gender roles. Therefore, it is worth noting so that stereotypes can be corrected for further generations. This is exceptionally relevant in our research on gender stereotypes in children’s tv shows, because while it covers that topic, it narrows in on the very youngest audience. These are the first impressions youth have to form opinions on the matter.

Preston, Elizabeth, and Cindy L. White. “Commodifying Kids: Branded Identities and the Selling of Adspace on Kids’ Networks.” Communication Quarterly, vol. 52, no. 2, 2004, pp. 115-128. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/216483170?accountid=11107. This article focuses on the new role of children as consumers and how  children’s television networks are using this to sell adspace. Theses advertisers are branding children in a way that it is already idealizing what a child should look like and the kind of lifestyle they should live. When the child realizes they do not have that they proceed to asking their parent to buy them the product. This quickly brings the idea into a child’s mind that their worth is defined by the brands they use. This materialistic consumerism is being introduced to children at a very young age and they going to be influenced by these ideas as they become active citizens. This is relevant to our research for its mention of gender in these ads and how some brands are throwing away gender neutrality in order to target a smaller group better. This however is a minor point in the article and therefore might not be entirely relevant.

Schooler, Deborah, Janna L. Kim, and Lynn Sorsoli. “Setting Rules Or Sitting Down: Parental Mediation of Television Consumption and Adolescent Self-Esteem, Body Image, and Sexuality.” Sexuality Research & Social Policy, vol. 3, no. 4, 2006, pp. 49-62. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/858939798?accountid=11107, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/srsp.2006.3.4.49. This article studies the implications of parental involvement on a child’s self esteem and self acceptance. According to the results of the study, children whose parents simply sat with them to watch television experience higher self-esteems when they grow up. The higher the parental involvement in the child’s television, the higher the self-esteem. For girls, parental involvement was also correlated with positive body image. This is because for girls self esteem has a much higher correlation with body image than it does for boys. This journal seemed to show a particular bias against sexuality, because of its constant recommendations about how to remedy and avoid adolescent discovery of their sexuality. This is quite relevant to our research. Not only does it discuss the effect of gender in television on children, but it also describes certain effects of some of this television being filtered out. It is worth reading to find out the different effects television can have on young girls versus boys.

Women and the News (Bibliography)

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On September 20, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

Representing Women? Leadership Roles and Women in Canadian Broadcast News.

Cukier, Wendy, et al. “Representing Women? Leadership Roles and Women in Canadian Broadcast News.” Gender Management” An International Journal, vol. 31, no. 5/6, 18 Apr. 2016, pp. 374–395., doi:10.1108/GM-04-2015-0035.

 

This study mainly focused on four major Canadian news broadcasting companies to study the representation of women on Canadian media. The study mainly took into account of: how women appear on media, whether women are portrayed positively or negatively, and women’s roles on media. The results showed that although the percentage of appearance is similar, there were different expectations of appearances for women, women are under-represented as leaders and experts, portrayed more negatively, and more likely to be quoted. An interesting difference in the statistics is that the one private broadcaster that was in the study showed better results than the three public broadcasters. The statistics and findings are compared to previously done research in the same field and showed similar results. The research were done on four major news broadcasters in a major city in Canada, providing us with credible statistics and information. This study is useful for our research as it provides a view of women on media from a different country, showing that the under-representation of women is a global issue.

 

Women and News: A Long and Winding Road.

Ross, Karen, and Cynthia Carter. “Women and News: A Long and Winding Road.” Media, Culture & Society, vol. 33, no. 8, 22 Nov. 2011, pp. 1148–1165., doi:10.1177/0163443711418272.

 

With data from the 2010 Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP), this study examines the improvements in women’s representation in the media. There has been a steady but slow increase in women’s visibility in the news; however, the statistics from GMMP shows that following the same progress, it will take another 43 years to achieve gender parity. The statistics show that political topics are often covered by men and women are left with “softe” topics. These statistics are improved in Asia and the Middle East as 43% and 48% of political stories are written by women, respectively; whereas the percentages are 32% for Europe and 27% for America. Female reporters often encounter problems when they are paired with an older man and loses the opportunities to present “serious” material; they also face the dilemma of “ageism,” which does not seem to affect male announcers as much. Though there are steadily more women journalists, it is still extremely difficult for them to rise to higher positions as the journalist field remains based on “masculine news values.” This study provided similar statistics showing that the women are gaining more recognition but many problems and obstacles still remain. It is useful for our research as it included interesting statistics that contrasted the different regions, showing that female reporters from the Middle East and Asia have slightly more access to political news than reporters from Europe and America. It is also worthwhile to note the problem of ageism, as it proposes a major difference of expectation from male and female reporters.

 

Journalist and Source Gender in Australian Television News.

Cann, David J., and Philip B. Mohr. “Journalist and Source Gender in Australian Television News.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, vol. 45, no. 1, 7 June 2010, pp. 162–174., doi:10.1207/s15506878jobem4501_10.

 

Analyzing the prime-time news broadcasts, Australian researchers have concluded that despite the rise of female journalists, gender remains an essential factor in Australian news broadcasting. The balance of female and male anchors/announcers are slowly becoming equal; however, the main problem remains that the categories of news given to female announcers are drastically different from those given to male broadcasters. The study has shown that male reporters dominated in Politics (76.3%) and Male Sports (92.8%) while female reporters were dominant in Health topics (83.3%). These statistics relates to the concept of “soft news,” general events, and “hard news,” specific events. This issue has been addressed in other studies and continues to be prevalent as female reporters are unable to gain equal opportunities as male reporters. The researchers acknowledged that the statistics may not be representative of the entire Australian news broadcasting system, but the prime-time broadcasts studied are the major broadcasts in Australia. This study is useful for our research as it suggests the problem with female journalist isn’t simply the number of jobs offered to them but also their responsibilities and opportunities as a news anchor/announcer.

 

Why Can’t Hollywood Get Female Journalists Right?

Cogan, Marin. “Why Can’t Hollywood Get Female Journalists Right?” Daily Intelligencer, 16 Jan. 2015, nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/01/hollywood-female-journalists.html.

 

This article from the New York Magazine comments and critiques on Hollywood’s portrayal of female reporters. Starting with a personal anecdote, author Marine Cogan recalls an incident where two teenagers joked that she would sleep with a football player to write a profile for the ESPN. This incident made Cogan question how female reporters are represented in popular media. The misrepresentation in popular TV shows such as House of Cards, where two female reporters were willing to do anything for a story, and Thank You for Smoking, where the reporter seduced “an ethically challenged tobacco lobbyist,” female reporters are often given the depiction of someone who sleeps with the sources. Rather than being a purely fictional problem, Cogan writes that many of her co-workers have experienced incidents where their professional interests were mistaken as personal ones. Since media is a dominant and influential factor in our society, it is crucial to realize that female reports are poorly represented and to fix the stereotypes. This article contributes to our research as it may offer a potential reason for the discrepancy between female and male roles on the news. How does the misrepresentation of female reporters in the media affect opportunities in the journalism field for women in real life?

What We Lose When We Lose Female Reporters.

Fong, Mei. “What We Lose When We Lose Female Reporters.” The New York Times, 11 Jan. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/01/11/opinion/female-pay-carrie-gracie.html.

 

This article from the Guardian is written on BBC’s attempt to improve the lack of women in journalism. The Lords committee in the UK has recently provided evidence that there are three times as many male reporters as there are female ones. The facts show that women are underrepresented as staff and experts in the field of news and current affairs broadcasting and that discriminatory problems still exist for women. Reports has shown that barriers such as ageism is still prevalent as there the over-50 male workforce is significantly larger than the female workforce in channels such as ITV News and Channel 4. BBC has taken measures such as the Expert Women training program and support for women presenters on local radio to improve the situation. Other solutions include more transparent recruitment and pay, flexible hours, and better gender balance. The problems pointed out in this article is also mentioned in other sources, confirming the validity of the concerns and the need for change. This article is useful as it provides some potential measures news broadcasters can take to ensure equal opportunities for women.  

 

BBC Told to Tackle Lack of Women in News Broadcasting.

Conlan, Tara. “BBC Told to Tackle Lack of Women in News Broadcasting.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 16 Jan. 2015, www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jan/16/bbc-told-tackle-lack-women-news.

 

When the British government asked BBC to release the salaries for their top on-air announcers, Carrie Gracie quit as she discovered that BBC paid their male editors 50% more than female editors. This “gross inequality” reflects the pay gap and the barriers for women to earn equal pay. Report has shown that Dow Jones, an American publishing company, pays the male employees on average 15% more than the female employees. The pay gap is especially unfair as the employees would hold the same job title and worked a similar amount of time; their age and work location is also taken into consideration. The pay gap has caused many women to quit their jobs, leaving the field of journalism with a more male-dominant perspective. This is troubling as having a balance of male and female reporters will introduce different perspectives and presentations of current events. Since the media is such a predominant part of our society, having a male-dominated viewpoint could be detrimental to how the world perceive events. This article is useful as it provides a concrete example of an experienced female reporter’s struggles. It offers another reason as to why women struggle in the field of journalism, on top of the barriers of ageism.

I annotated the bibliography

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On September 18, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

There were indentations in my Google doc. I can not figure out how to fix that on here, but I hope it is fine!

Desmond, Roger and Anna Danilewicz. “Women Are On, but Not In, the News: Gender Roles in Local Television News.” Sex Roles, vol. 62, no. 11-12, June 2010, pp. 822-829. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s11199-009-9686-5.

This peer reviewed source argues that women that appear on TV news are used differently than their male counterparts. It found that women were on TV less, and women were less likely to present political stories and more likely to present health and human interest stories than men. Male experts were also used more often than female experts. The source provides evidence across 580 news stories that women have a different role on screen at news agencies than men. It displays that the way women are represented in news is less authoritative than men, extending women’s gender roles to the jobs of on-screen televised news members. It provides recent evidence of a disparity between men and women’s roles on TV in the United States, as well as touching on women’s roles behind the scenes in news, less likely to hold most positions compared to men. The data charts may also be useful in an infographic about women in the news.

Emeksiz, Gulcin I. “THE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN ON TV NEWS.” International Journal of Arts & Sciences, vol. 6, no. 2, 2013, pp. 715-730. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1496695623?accountid=11107.

This peer reviewed source reinforces some of the same points that the source about local news made while looking through a more historical lense. Women appear less on television news and especially less where men traditionally dominate the field or does not involve certain subject areas: social news, art, crime and violence. It includes statistics on representation in Turkey and internationally as these trends of women’s gendered participation in news pervades borders. This provides important context as women’s limited role in news and society pertains to a larger systemic patriarchal system. In Turkey, it even found that women appeared more on TV at times where a traditional homemaking wife would be cleaning, waiting for her husband to come home, and kids would be at school. This is a glaring point as those at the top of news agencies are aware of this lack of participation and are manipulating women’s air time to suffice the bare minimum to continue at such a low amount.

Freeman, Hadley. “Why Do All the Women on Fox News Look and Dress Alike? Republicans Prefer Blondes.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 20 Feb. 2017, www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/feb/20/women-fox-news-dress-alike-republicans-blondes-pundits-ann-coulter-kellyanne-conway-rightwingers.

This enjoyable fashion piece by Hadley Freeman disguises itself as looking into why Fox News hosts and those in the right wing media that are women all dress in the same style and have long blonde hair, while harpooning the conservatism it is based in. It suggests that the look is both because that is what appeals to Republicans and that it is a backlash to feminism and liberal women. Also pointed out is the diverse looks among liberal women on TV in both race, hairstyle, and fashion. While being an enjoyable, light read, it also discusses the problems of representation in right-wing media, perhaps at the expense of looking at the flaws in representation in left-wing and neutral media. Nevertheless, it points at a problem, and Hadley gives her reasoning, aiding in research on representation of women in the media as it can even factor in their hair color.

Meyers, Marian. “African American Women and Violence: Gender, Race, and Class in the News.” Critical Studies in Media Communication, vol. 21, no. 2, June 2004, pp. 95-118. EBSCOhost, prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=13308007&site=ehost-live.

This peer reviewed source discusses how violence against non-student African American women was represented differently on the news than violence against students. It uses a black feminist perspective to analyze the intersectionality in the wrongful verbal absolving of criminals who committed crimes against African American women. The news allowed women of color to be looked down upon and blamed for their situation as they would normally be in conversation and other dynamics. With little representation of women of color on the news during this time, the narrative was able to continue. Lack of representation of women of color in news writing rooms and television personalities is harmful to the fair portrayal of news stories and narratives that involve the depiction or experiences of women of color. This aids the argument that women and women of color not being equally represented in newsrooms has harmful consequences not only socially but also in the quality and nature of the news produced by the newsroom.

Moniz, Tracy. “A Woman’s Place is in the News.” Journalism History, vol. 42, no. 2, 2016, pp. 81-90. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1812628062?accountid=11107.

Aptly named, the non-peer reviewed source argues that women should be covered in regular news stories and not just the women targeted articles or magazines. In a historical view of Canada during WWII, women were not being mentioned as much as they should have been when they constituted such a strong percentage of the labor force. This article serves as evidence that it is not just TV news that does not include and talk about women enough, but news sources as a whole struggle and have had struggled with this issue through a feminist lense. While it is not TV news, it does beg the question that all news must be fixed, and it displays that the problem of representation and stories from the female perspective historically have not been heard and that that is not a uniquity of the American or any other TV news system. It strengthens the argument that this is one particular field that needs fixing, but it is part of and a result of a larger problem

Price, Cindy J., and Shaun S. Wulff. “Does Sex make a Difference? Job Satisfaction of Television Network News Correspondents.” Women’s Studies in Communication, vol. 28, no. 2, 2005, pp. 207-234. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/198297768?accountid=11107.

This non-peer reviewed source argues that women are less satisfied with their jobs than men as television news network correspondents. Even as women tended to be significantly younger and less experienced, when controlled for years worked at the network, the result remained true. The lack of experience also meant that women earned less as a result. As older women seem to get pushed off TV, the result is lower paying jobs with less earning potential than men. The source also contains data sheets which provide valuable data and visuals for an infographic. Understanding that women are less happy about their jobs and work environments at TV networks should be a concern and it should be acknowledged so that as a society we can attack that problem as clearly with people like Matt Lauer and Bill O’Rielly in powerful positions in the past, there is very good reason for the trend of women being less satisfied with their jobs than men when they are subjected to such an environment.

Ellen: A Comedian or A Lesbian Comedian?

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On September 18, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

Wagner, Kristen A. “”Have Women a Sense of Humor?” Comedy and Femininity in Early Twentieth-Century Film.” Velvet Light Trap, no. 68, 2011, pp. 35-46. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/896625651?accountid=11107.

In this source by Wagner, the author examines how the attitudes and perceptions of women comedians change through the twentieth century. At the beginning of the twentieth century, many people questioned the lack of inherent humor in women, claiming that humor and femininity were mutually exclusive. However, vaudeville and silent film began to slowly morph the public viewpoint. Not only were the ideas of women changing with many waves of feminism, film gave women a voice in comedy and challenged the idea that women couldn’t be funny. The women comedians played down their femininity but were also seen as unique compared to their male counterparts. Through time, humor has been used to not only create laughs, but as a way to convey societal and cultural ideas. This article provided a solid foundation for the rest of my more specific research, and it helped me understand the culture behind the emergence of women comedians. This background research will provide a useful history and context for my research on a more modern comedian.

Bociurkiw, Marusya. “It’s Not about the Sex: Racialization and Queerness in Ellen and the Ellen Degeneres show.” Canadian Woman Studies, vol. 24, no. 2, 2005, pp. 176-181. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/217464144?accountid=11107.

In this source by Bociurkiw, the author examines Ellen’s story of coming out, and what effect that has on the public’s idea of the queer community. For most of the US at the time, the idea of LGBT culture is associated with being outcast or undesired. Since other qualities of isolation were race and class, people often associated people of the community with African-Americans or people of low socio-economic status. When Ellen came out, it shocked the US because she was a wealthy, white comedian. On the other hand, people were not surprised because her “failures at gestures of heteronormativity” showed on her sitcom. Her coming out was published on Time Magazine and was shown on the “Puppy Episode” of her show, in which she accidentally announced her sexuality to an entire airport. This article allowed me to better understand the idea of intersectionality and how shifts in the perception of one social class can affect the others.

Snyder, Steven. “Ellen’s a Real Crowd Pleaser.” Newsday, Feb 26, 2007, pp. D02. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.prx.library.gatech.edu/docview/280133420?accountid=11107.

In this source by Snyder, the author examines the way in which Ellen is able to capture the attention and please even the toughest of crowds. According to the author, she killed it by “killing [it] softly”. She had no grand entrance, no jarring jokes; she utilized confidence and a natural attitude to express light humor. Additionally, she uses slight self-deprecation as a mechanism to relate to the audience by opening up a little bit and conveying that she isn’t vastly different from everyone else. She plays up her awkwardness and makes it endearing. Ellen’s hosting at the Oscars was not her typical joke after joke sets, but still, many people in the audience were laughing and enjoying her light humor. This article detailing one of Ellen’s performances gave me good insight into the kind of comedian Ellen is and how she has managed to get such a supportive audience.

Scott, Michael. “The Best Medicine: Touring a Showcase of the Essential Ellen DeGeneres — Not the Lesbian Ellen, and Not the Feminist Ellen, but the Comedian Ellen — is a Cure for what Ailed Her.” The Vancouver Sun, Jun 29, 2000, pp. C20. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/242706440?accountid=11107.

In this source by Scott, the audience examines the power of perception and the importance of a balance identity in Ellen. Through my research, I’ve found that most articles about Ellen are about her coming out and the impact it has had on society. However, nobody wants to me defined by only one thing, and Ellen did not want to be Lesbian Ellen, especially after her coming out episode. People were so caught up in arguing about gay and lesbian rights that the meaning of the show, and Ellen’s life, almost faded away. This article is useful in helping me understand Ellen’s desires to be openly gay, yet not defined solely by it, because she has a “gift, that [she] was given… [she] can make people laugh.” She wants other people to appreciate her for the comedy and art she puts out, not as a symbol for social activism because of a sexuality she was born with.

Lewis, Rachel. “Ellen DeGeneres on Coming Out and Sexism in Comedy.” Time, Time, 7 Sept. 2017, www.time.com/4921665/ellen-degeneres-comedy-sexism-homophobia/.

In this source by Lewis for Time, the article and video examine Ellen’s journey of acceptance and how that has led to a different, but better, life for her and her career. This source contrasts the last one because it shows how Ellen’s opinions have changed from 2000 to 2017. Since the chaos about her coming out has died down, along with a more accepting society, she has stepped down from her desire to only be known for her comedy. She understands that she should stand up and be a role model. She wasn’t trying to be political by coming out, but she is so glad she did. She recalls a night doing standup in which the performer before her were homophobic and sexist, which made the crowd extremely rude toward her. Before her coming out on Time, her publicist warned her that this could destroy her career, but she was tired of hiding and went for it. Ellen was awarded the medal of freedom for being fully herself without reservation.

Roberts, Amy. “Rose McGowan’s Controversial Tweet To Ellen DeGeneres Shows Exactly Why Intersectional Feminism Is So Necessary.” Bustle, Bustle, 18 Oct. 2017, www.bustle.com/p/rose-mcgowans-controversial-tweet-to-ellen-degeneres-shows-exactly-why-intersectional-feminism-is-so-necessary-2940391.

In this source by Roberts, the author examines a specific example of criticism Ellen faces because of her prominent role in social activism. McGowan tweeted a reply to Ellen that criticized her for standing up for LBGT rights in Mississippi because other issues, like birth control and abortion were important as well. Since there are more women in the US than people who identify as LGBT, McGowan believed that with Ellen’s huge platform, she should be speaking on behalf of the larger demographic- women. This article aids in the course’s focus on intersectionality and the importance of equality for anyone, regardless of which minority group one is part of. McGowan’s tweet was interpreted by critics as placing women rights over the rights of the LGBT community, although much of the latter community is comprised on behalf of women. Although women’s rights is an important cause, the article highlights the importance of intersectional feminism, one that incorporates women of all different communities, not erasing others’ experiences or claiming some issues to be more important than others.

Female Representation in the News or Lack Thereof

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On September 17, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

Cochran, B. (2011). WOMEN’S ROLE IN MEDIA: BUILDING TOWARD AN EQUITABLE FUTURE. Medijske Studije = Media Studies, 2(3), 94-99. Retrieved from http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1954227223?accountid=11107

Cochran celebrates the progress that women have made in the media but also stresses the need for improvement for women in media on both the national and international stage. She gathers statistics and presents them in order to support these claims of progress and necessity for improvement. The value of this article lies in its concentration on the advancement of women in the media through showcasing examples of fair representation of women in the media Additionally, the presentation of precise paths through which women can advance their role within the news as well as ways the companies should be facilitating this growth is very worthwhile. Although this source does not contain a specific study, it contains firsthand accounts of Cochran’s experience of being part of the International Women’s Media Foundation from the beginning which has likely expanded her viewpoint and enabled her to give insight into the media’s representation of women in other countries which enriches the conversation of media coverage in the United States through facilitating comparisons between the two.

Desmond, R., & Danilewicz, A. (2010). Women are on, but not in, the news: Gender roles in local television news. Sex Roles, 62(11-12), 822-829. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9686-5

This source aims to reveal gender bias in terms of who gets what type of stories, who gets lead stories, and who gets cited as expert sources. Desmond and Danilewicz hypothesized that in all of these aspects women would get the short stick. This source is arguably the best out of these six sources for several reasons. Desmond and Danilewicz convey the importance and implications of their study for young women: if young women only see women presenting certain types of stories, it will affirm gender roles and possibly limit these female viewers’ idea of what they are capable of. The source goes to great depth to draw comparisons between their research and past studies as well as bringing in both statistical and personable details to further ground their research in. In addition to an in depth description of the methodology, the study’s results are explained very clearly, and any hypothesis not completely supported is readily rejected. The study’s results express that female and male anchors and reporters are equally represented in terms of their numbers, but females are pigeon-holed into almost exclusively reporting stories about health and human interest whereas men get the meatier, tougher topics like politics. Additionally, male experts are more likely to be cited than females. This is a highly efficient source for depicting both the successes and failures of gender representation in local television news.

Engstrom, Erika, and Anthony J. Ferri. “From Barriers to Challenges: Career Perceptions of Women TV News Anchors.” Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, vol. 75, no. 4, 1998, pp. 789-802. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/216926995?accountid=11107.

Engstrom and Ferri focus on discerning what local female anchors identify as their greatest career barriers based on a well-developed survey that received 128 responses. The article also compares the results of this 1990s survey to a similar survey conducted in the previous decade. Engstrom and Ferri conclude that the main obstacle females anchors face within their careers is the focus on their physical experience as well as the difficultly of balancing work and family life. This peer-reviewed source is valuable because it goes into great depth to establish the history of female news anchors and what they struggled with in order to compare that with what current female anchors face. The article meticulously explais how the survey was constructed and  affirms that the survey was conducted by random sampling. Additionally, the authors are very transparent in pointing out that the results cannot necessarily be generalized to the larger population due to its small sample size. Despite the small sample size, the article is beneficial in the way that it presents both the assenters and dissenters viewpoints equally, and the personal quotes given even if just anecdotal, give life and insight to how real women feel about gender representation and equality (or lack thereof) in their industry.

Grubb, M. V., & Billiot, T. (2010). Women sportscasters: Navigating a masculine domain. Journal of Gender Studies, 19(1), 87-93. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09589230903525460

This article is an assemblage of quotes and stories from a collection of interviews in order to expose the harsh, unwelcoming environment that female sportscasters much traverse in order to be a part of the field. This exposure is supposed to serve as a call to action to change the culture surrounding sports and the treatment of women. The article briefly accounts the tales of the groundbreaking women who first made a space for women in sportscasting. The value of this study cannot be found in statistics or an in-depth experiment; it is found instead in the worth of personal and genuine accounts of female sportscasters vocalizing the struggles, the mistreatment, the injustice they face on a daily basis. Because of its lack of concrete facts, this source cannot stand alone, but it definitely has the potential to be a powerful piece when paired with statistical data that proves the lack of representation of females in this industry along with a wide-spread analysis of how women sportscasters feel about their jobs. In other words, due to its anecdotal nature, all the points made in the source cannot necessarily be generalized to the entire industry, but it can make for a great supplemental piece and possibly provide a face for the facts.

Mudrick, M., Burton, L. J., Sauder, M. H., & Lin, C. A. (2018). Sportscasting success: Varying standards may apply. Journal of Sports Media, 13(1), 49-73. Retrieved from http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/2056814931?accountid=11107

The argument of this article is that female sportscasters face double-standards and are limited by gender roles that influence the audience’s perception of them. The article supports its claim by citing examples of the social role theory and then expounding on how these persistent gender roles and stereotyping specifically affect female sportscasters. The value of this article is not so much found in the actual study it conducts (analyzing comments made during a sports debate between a female and male broadcaster), but more so in its explanation of gender roles and its analysis of how they shape the way audiences think. However, one very beneficial element of the study is how it illustrates the way that viewers will comment that a man is more knowledgeable without having any examples to support that assumption. Some commentators explicitly say they find men more trustworthy in this realm which all just goes to exemplify the stagnant presence of gender typing in society. This article does well at specifying the lack of women represented in sports media along with their unique struggles. Within the article, the limitations of the study are acknowledged which strengthens its sense of reliability.

Price, C. J., & Wulff, S. S. (2005). Does sex make a difference? job satisfaction of television network news correspondents. Women’s Studies in Communication, 28(2), 207-234. Retrieved from http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/198297768?accountid=11107

The article makes a subdued argument of the need for “improvement of women’s roles in network television” through its quantification of the differences between job satisfaction of males and females in network television. After measurements based on several different factors (age, salary, amount of experience), the article concludes that overall women are less satisfied than men with their jobs. Despite looking for differences between males and females, the article speaks to the fact that on many aspects of the survey women and men have very similar responses. The value of this article can be found in its extensive detail of the history of the dynamic between men and women in national news networks, its multitude of references to other studies and analyses to bolster its own findings, and the statistical presentation of the data. This article is a great supplement to Engstrom and Ferri’s article because it can better highlight the significant differences between sexes in the workplace due to its comparison of both male and female responses. Although this article provides a bountiful amount of statistical data along with some qualitative material, gender representation seems to only play a minor portion.

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