English 1102: Television and Feminism

Dr. Casey Alane Wilson • Georgia Institute of Technology

Tag: #annotatedbibliography

Nelson’s Annotated Biblography

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On September 22, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

Works Cited

Vancil-leap, Ashley. “Resistance and Adherence to the Gendered Representations of School Lunch Ladies.” Gender Issues, vol. 34, no. 1, 2017, pp. 67-85. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login? url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1867885669?accountid=11107,  doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12147-016-9170-9.

This article talks about the portrayal of lunch ladies in popular culture as “the witch” or “the mother” and how that hinders our understanding of the position of lunch lady. Lunch lady is often a low status, low paying occupation with female workers in need of finances. In the article, it’s mentioned how over the last two decades popular culture of lunch lady didn’t change very much and doesn’t show the fostering relationship lunch ladies often have with the kids that they serve the food to. The research seem to show that the negative image many lunch lady receive on television is used to justify the subpar pay and benefits they receive in the real world. This article has some value as it is a peer review source that had collected data across 20 years of popular media along with a year and a half of field research including working as a lunch lady and interviews. However, this article does not serve to have direct purpose as it talks of their portrayal across general media and not specifically Saturday Night Live, but could still serve to a useful resource.

Reincheld, Aaron. “”Saturday Night Live” and Weekend Update: The Formative Years of Comedy News Dissemination.” Journalism History, vol. 31, no. 4, 2006, pp. 190-197. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/205356448?accountid=11107.

The article argues that Saturday Night Live has been pivotal in creating a culture of American television satire. In the past thirty years, SNL has mainly targeted politics and politicians allowing for an evening of the political field. The SNL news parody segment, Weekend Update, helped to expand restrictions from censors by offering two different point of views of an event that week; which slowly started to restarted to look like a real newsroom overtime. The article intends to illustrate the impact that SNL had on the lives of its average 30 million viewers per week. The article has a good bit of value studying the inner workings of Saturday Night Live. They examine the development of the newscast over the first five years with the use of interviews as primary sources. The source is peer reviewed and seeks to understand the impact that Saturday Night Live and it’s Weekend Update segment has on not only the lives of its viewers, but also on the media and political landscapes. However the mistrust in the article does arrive, as the article seems to attempt to promote a point throughout the article.

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.

Women for a long while were considered unfunny in the world of comedy. This is because of the feminine ideal of the twentieth-century. That women are naturally delicate, morale, spiritual, and passive. And thus they are unsuited for the rough world of comedy. This cause women, that enter the comedy world, to have to adapt with one such way as downplaying their femininity and appearing more masculine. This also lead to the development of “feminine” comedy; which is considered to be more sensitive and emotional. It argues that women are very capable of comedy with several examples of successful female comedians. The old idea of the ideal woman not fit for comedy is outdated. The article holds some value as it’s written by Dr. Wagner, with PhD in critical studies, and copyrighted and upheld by University of Texas in Austin and seems to be providing a good bit of history. The article does not directly provide insight into women in SNL, but does give a history of women in comedy.

SHEFFIELD, ROB. “Saturday Night Live. 40 Years. 141 Cast Members. We Rank Them All. (Cover Story).” Rolling Stone, no. 1229, 26 Feb. 2015, pp. 30-43. EBSCOhost, prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=100950742&site=ehost-live.

This a compiled ranking list of all SNL cast members in the last forty years; the authors rank them based on who they believed were the best to the worst. The entire list is as they describe it. “A passionate, definitive, opinionated, subjective, irresponsible and indefensible breakdown of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players.”  They ranked them purely based on their onscreen acts, both actresses and actors alike. They rank big names to even some small names in hopes of being inclusive, but the ranking only values their onscreen impact and not any of the offscreen effort they may of had to put in. I believe this will be a valuable resource, as although it’s on the opinionated side, it lists all the cast members which will allow us to sort out the male and female cast members of SNL over the 4 decades that they have aired. The article is, however, 3 and a half years old, so it may not list any recently new cast members. It does give us a fairly extensive list of who can be considered as a cast member of SNL.

Meadows, Susannah. “LADIES of the NIGHT.” Newsweek, vol. 139, no. 14, Apr. 2002, p. 54. EBSCOhost, prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=6416808&site=ehost-live.

More women deserve to be on the staff of Saturday Night Live. It argues that the good ratings from about 2000 to 2002 for SNL were mainly achieved by three funny women in the SNL writing room. Saturday Night Live started out with equal opportunity with about 3 women to 3 men in 1975, but that changed as time went on, by  1993, the ratio changed to 3 women to 8 men. By 2002, the ratio was around 3 women for 19 men. Though as SNL Michaels said, it isn’t because of a quota system, but rather the reason is due to the fact that SNL performs parody and the news is filled with more men it would lead to a system that required more male staff. The article though trending on pushing a point does provide insight to the ratio of men to women at SNL if for nothing else then for writers. It may not prove to useful being so short.

Leano, Jessica. “The Agenda-Setting Power of Saturday Night Live.” Www.elon.edu, Elon University, 2014, www.elon.edu/u/academics/communications/journal/wp-content/uploads/sites/153/2017/06/09LeanoEJSpring14.pdf.

The article is effectively peered reviewed via two doctorates: Dr. George Padgett and Dr. Byung Lee. The article involves great value on Saturday Night Live relying on a historical perspective in order to avoid bias. It tries to study the effect that SNL has on its audience and their actions in politics. It attempts to analyzes the political power of SNL. It attempts to answer the questions: “How, and to what extent, did Saturday Night Live set the political agenda?” Even though SNL uses jokes and makes light of reality, it does have a heavy influence on the political world, especially through its political satire, by influencing the thoughts and perspectives of its viewers. The influence on people’s opinions and perceptions, termed “SNL Effect,” is expected to increase as time continues. The articles makes use of previously acquired data and research to bolster itself and attempts to include both sides of the argument to increase its reliably. The article can be made of use to double check facts on other articles that have received less review.

Annotated Bibliography (Women in Sports Media)

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On September 21, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

  1. Harrison, Guy. “‘You Have to Have Thick Skin’: Embracing the Affective Turn as an Approach to Investigating the Treatment of Women Working in Sports Media.” Feminist Media Studies, vol. 18, no. 5, Oct. 2018, pp. 952–955. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/14680777.2018.1498123.

 

This article looks at the currently quantitative approach to examining women’s representation in sports media and sports journalism, and suggests the addition of a qualitative aspect that takes into account the emotional toll that working in the sports industry has on female reporters. Harrison suggests taking this affective approach as a result of what has been found to be a near requirement that women in sports media have to add to their work a component of affective labor, that is, they have to control their own emotions in order to succeed. Harrison states that this requirement comes from the pervasive sexist attitudes in sports media, as well as existing double standards, and through interviews with ten female sportscasters, has concluded that having this extra burden can cause women to either quit or not fully invest in the sports industry, keeping representation down. As this article looks at the ways in which studies related to women’s representation in sports media are conducted and how conclusions are drawn, it will be integral in understanding all of the following sources, which are studies related to women’s representation in sports media.

 

  1. Gretel Kauffman. “How Far Have Women in Sports Media Really Come?” Christian Science Monitor, 6 Oct. 2016, p. N.PAG. EBSCOhost, library.gatech.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=118571800&site=ehost-live.

 

This article from Christian Science Monitor is a qualitative, somewhat surface-level analysis of the progress made in terms of women’s representation in sports media. It finds that despite an increase in the number of women entering the field of sports journalism both in the classroom and in the field, sportscasting remains a male-dominated field with women having made progress in numbers but not up the ranks or with treatment. One of the female anchors interviewed for the piece also attributed it to the fact that the job is highly demanding with few benefits, as well as to the fact that sports in general is viewed as a masculine culture. The majority of this article is comprised of statements from female sportscasters who were interviewed, so the article serves as a good source of first hand accounts from women who have worked as sports journalists and have seen the progress that has been made, or the lack thereof, directly.

 

  1. Schmidt, Hans C. “Forgotten Athletes and Token Reporters: Analyzing the Gender Bias in Sports Journalism.” Atlantic Journal of Communication, vol. 26, no. 1, Jan. 2018, pp. 59–74. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/15456870.2018.1398014.

 

This is a mostly quantitative study of both the coverage of women’s sports and the representation of women in sports journalism. Schmidt conducted a study of various sports-related newspaper articles in three English-speaking countries, collecting data on both the subject matter of the article and on the authors of the articles and the environment in which those authors worked. Most data in the study was collected through analysis of the selected newspaper articles, which meant that there was an element of subjectivity in the study, for example, it had to be decided whether an article was respectful towards women or not. The rest of the data was gathered through surveys of both male and female sports journalists. It was found that the vast majority of articles were about men, and a significant number of those about women referred to them in a domestic role. It was also found that older male journalists were less open to increasing the number of women in the field. The author attributes these findings to the “masculine hegemony” of sports culture. This study provides hard data about the representation of women in sports print media.

 

  1. MILNE-TYTE, ASHLEY. “Getting Women in the Game.” Quill, vol. 103, no. 1, Jan. 2015, pp. 16–21. EBSCOhost, library.gatech.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=100812095&site=ehost-live.

 

This article addresses certain trends that point to an increase in women’s interest in sports and sports media, specifically that there are more female sports fans and more female journalism majors interested in sports, and draws the distinction between that and the stagnant rate at which women are actually entering the field and the role that they have once they do enter. The article claims multiple reasons for this observation, such as harassment faced on the job, a lack of importance placed on hiring women from corporations, the difficulty of the job, and the prevailing role of the female TV reporter as a “token” reporter. Another reason given is the decline of the journalism industry in recent years, specifically in print media. Multiple viewpoints are provided in this article, from both male and female reporters and executives, regarding situations related to hiring practices and the treatment of women in the industry.

 

  1. Greer, Jennifer D., and Amy H. Jones. “A Level Playing Field?: Audience Perceptions of Male and Female Sports Analysts.” International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, vol. 6, no. 8, June 2012, pp. 67–79. EBSCOhost, library.gatech.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=91821599&site=ehost-live.

 

This article is about a two-factor study that was conducted in which the perceived competency, agreeability, and likability of a male or female reporter covering both a “male” or “female” sport (football and volleyball, respectively. This was determined from previous studies). There was found to be partial congruency with relation to gender, that is, women were perceived as being better at covering at the female sport, while there was typically no difference in the perception of the coverage of the masculine sport. The study did hypothesize full congruency with gender, and reasoned that the difference was either due to limitations in the study (one sport being much more popular than the other, which leads to participants in the study having their own opinions about it), or due to an increased openness and acceptance of women covering sports, or at least more “feminine” sports. This study is of interest as it relates the gender of the reporter to that of the athletes being covered, and it also is based off of a quantitative survey.

 

  1. MAHLER, JONATHAN. “In Coverage of N. F. L. Scandals, Female Voices Puncture the Din.” New York Times, vol. 164, no. 56632, 22 Sept. 2014, pp. D1–D6. EBSCOhost, prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=98392968&site=ehost-live.

 

This article discusses some of the positive aspects of women being represented adequately in sports media. The specific example Mahler provides is that of the Ray Rice domestic abuse scandal that occurred during the start of the 2014 NFL season, and how the opinions of prominent female sportscasters took center stage and were an important part of the conversation surrounding it. However, it also talks about how these opinions, while their importance is increasingly recognized, have not been integrated into the mainstream and are still separated from the rest of sports coverage. This article was written during the height of the Ray Rice scandal, and as a result it is an immediate review of the effect that women can have in sports media, and how this effect can be reduced by the fact that there is a lack of representation and that women’s opinions are not made audible.

Women in Crime TV works cited

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On September 21, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography, Uncategorized

Works Cited

Cavender, Gray, et al. “The construction of gender in reality crime TV.” Gender & Society, vol. 13, no. 5, 1999, p. 643+. Gender Studies Collection, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A56460855/PPGB?u=gainstoftech&sid=PPGB&xid=2305cd53. Accessed 20 Sept. 2018.

This article talks about how women are often depicted as the victims of crime. The article also analysis that these shows may also help women talk about their experiences as victims. This article shows that men ultimately made the narrative and spoke for often than the women. An important note about this article is that it is very old. The article truly offers a new perspective on whether women are actually empowered by crime television or just made out to be victims. The source appears to be trustworthy and uses a lot of other research to back up its argument. This was published in the SAGE Journals. I think I will be using this article a lot in my research paper.

 

Crampton, Caroline. “Why Crime Dramas are Hooked on Rape.” New Statesman 143.5192 (2014): 19. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Aug. 2014.

This article explores why crime drama often explores the topic of rape.  The article specifically targets CSI and NCIS. This article mentions how it is hard to get through one episode of crime television without hearing about rape. This article further expands its scope by talking about Game of Thrones and how it also references rape often. The article then talks about a Danish movie that has a rape scene in the first few minutes of the movie. This article is not peer-reviewed. This article was clearly written by someone who upset about the frequent reference of women getting rapes in crime television. This article was published in NewStatesmanAmerica magazine.

Jurik, Nancy C., and Gray Cavender. “Feminist Themes in Television Crime Dramas.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology.  June 28, 2017. Oxford University Press,. Date of access 20 Sep. 2018, <http://criminology.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.001.0001/acrefore-9780190264079-e-17>

This article focused mostly on fictional crime television. This article explained how men were more likely to be shown as the criminal than women. Women were much more likely to be the victim of violence. This article was published in a reputable journal and was peer-reviewed. I felt that the article really tied to race and gender because it mentioned how white men and women were more likely to be the victim of crimes than minorities. The article also explains what a large impact television has on people’s perspectives. I felt that the article took a very scientific approach and was very unbiased. The article was also published in 2015, which is recent compared to some of my other sources. I feel that this article would be very useful in citing how Crime Television may create the narrative that women tend to be the victims of crimes.

Karen. “Gender Portrayals in Crime Dramas through the History of Television.” Karenlovestv, 18 June 2017, karenlovestv.com/2017/06/18/gender-portrayals-in-crime-dramas-through-the-history-of-television/.

This article is very informal and is a blog. The author does not mention her real name and only goes by the name Karenlovestv. The article was very informative and entertaining and included many sources, despite this I find this blog to be untrustworthy because the author has no credibility because she chooses to remain anonymous. This blog mentions that some of the issues in crime television stem from the fact that there are not enough women working backstage. She mentions that in the world of crime television older women are obsolete, and women often tend to be the victim of crimes. She also mentions that how that in crime television, there is a prevalent belief that both men have to be cops. I did feel that the author was a bit biased and maybe sacrificed accuracy for humor.

Nolan, Justin M., and Gery W. Ryan. “Fear and Loathing at the Cineplex: Gender Differences in Descriptions and Perceptions of Slasher Films.” Sex Roles, vol. 42, no. 1, 2000, pp. 39-56. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/225376458?accountid=11107. This article analyzes research on gender differences in perception of slasher films.

This article is peer reviewed and is published on a trustworthy website. I will most likely not use much from this source because it talks about movies, not television shows. The article also talks about how different genders perceive slasher films. The article mentioned how women were more likely to fear reactions, while the men were more likely to have reactions of anger and frustration. However, this article could be used to give my research paper more context outside the realm of violent television shows. I personally don’t think the article will be very useful because it did not really mention much about how men and women are stereotyped on television. I do, however, feel that the approach used to do the study in the research paper was a good method of seeing the differences in gender when they viewed horror slasher films.

“Reality Crime TV: Perpetuating ‘Women-as-Victim’ Fears.” Media Report to Women, vol. 28, no. 3, 2000, pp. 4-5. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/210169431?accountid=11107. This article looks at the show Cops.

This article deals with intersectionality and mentioned how race also affected who the criminals and victims were. The article mentioned how the cops were almost always white males.  I felt that the article took a very scientific approach and was very unbiased. The article mentioned how no minority women were given important roles in the show. This article shows how crime-based reality television further enforces people’s gender and racial stereotypes. I really found this sources useful and will felt that it did an excellent job of dissecting the show Cops. I felt that the article really tied in race and gender. This article could be used to compare the portrayal of women in crime television to the portrayal of other minorities. This article was published in a reputable journal and was peer-reviewed.

 

The Effects of Television Programming on Children’s Perceptions of Gender Norms

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On September 20, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

1. GENDER AND RACIAL REPRESENTATION IN CHILDREN’S TELEVISION PROGRAMMING IN KUWAIT: IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION

Al-Shehab, Ali. “GENDER AND RACIAL REPRESENTATION IN CHILDREN’S TELEVISION PROGRAMMING IN KUWAIT: IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION.”Social Behavior and Personality, vol. 36, no. 1, 2008, pp. 49-63. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/209925892?accountid=11107.

This source explores the effects of gender stereotypes in Egyptian satellite television and Kuwait national television on children. The study found that the Kuwait national channel tended to under represent minorities in the country, along with women. Likewise, portrayals of these characters tended to confirm to traditional stereotypes. The study argues that since children are so susceptible to conforming to the gender stereotypes seen on television, that children should be educated earlier on about the fact that what is demonstrated on television is not an accurate representation of gender roles. This source is relevant to us because it explores the effects of demonstrated gender stereotypes on children. While this study was performed on television channels in other nations, the fact that children are easily influenced means its effects can be compared to those of shows in the United States. It can allow us to demonstrate how gender roles influences children.

2. Gender Representation on Gender-Targeted Television Channels: A Comparison of Female- and Male-Targeted TV Channels in the Netherlands

Daalmans, Serena, Mariska Kleemans, and Anne Sadza. “Gender Representation on Gender-Targeted Television Channels: A Comparison of Female- and Male-Targeted TV Channels in the Netherlands.” Sex Roles, vol. 77, no. 5-6, 2017, pp. 366-378. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1927952499?accountid=11107, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0727-6.

This study analyzed gender representation in two kinds of television shows: those which targeted female viewers and those which targeted male viewers. It evaluated how opposite genders were demonstrated in each of these two scenarios, and the respectfulness of these portrayals. The location of this study was the Netherlands, and the shows analyzed were Dutch. It was found that, regardless of genre as well as the country of origin, women were underrepresented on men’s channels more so than men on women’s channels. Furthermore, women were more stereotypically represented on men’s channels than they were on women’s. On the contrary, men were more often represented in non-stereotypical ways on women’s channels. The source also argues that, because of the increased societal status of women in the modern day, male shows have felt more pressure to highlight masculinity. This source could be of use because, while it appears to highlight gender roles in adult shows, its implications could be traced down to children’s shows. Since there are certainly many shows which are tailored to specific genders on children’s televisions, the portrayal of gender stereotypes on these shows is important to analyze. This source can provide some insight into these trends in show writing.

3. Television Cartoons: Do Children Notice It’s a Boy’s World?

Thompson, T.L. & Zerbinos, E. Sex Roles (1997) 37: 415. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025657508010

This study analyzed how gender stereotypes affected children aged four to nine years old by conducting interviews with these children. The children were asked questions which allowed the researchers to infer what opinions the children had regarding female and male cartoon characters. It was found that children often considered male characters to be more violent and active, whereas girls were portrayed as being more domestic and appealing to boys. It was also noted that the children correlated expectations of genders and job preferences, with what they observed on television. The article mentions that parental intervention could have an impact on whether or not children draw these conclusions from cartoons or television in general. This article could be a valuable source to us as it provides information about the effects of television on children and their interpretation of gender roles. More significantly, this article allows us to directly correlate television with children’s perceptions of their gender roles in society, such as how it influences their desires to enter certain careers or act in certain ways.

4. Children’s construction of fantasy stories: Gender differences in conflict resolution strategies

Peirce, K. & Edwards, E.D. Sex Roles (1988) 18: 393. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288391

This source argues that, due to the influence of media and literature on children’s perceptions of gender roles, children’s creation of fantasy stories tends to mold into the conformities of gender stereotypes. Stories written by children tended to portray male characters as being more violent with more diverse careers, while female characters were more passive in conflict resolution. The article also mentions how the progressive and changing workforce (as in, women taking less traditional roles) had no effect on how female and male characters were portrayed in these children’s stories. In the boys’ stories, endings and conflicts were more likely to be resolved with violence, with conflicts more likely to be present in the stories in general. Overall, this source is worth analyzing because it provides insight into how the media (such as television) affects children’s imagination. The way these children write their fantasy stories can be directly correlated to the effects the media has on them. This would allow our research to prove a correlation between gender portrayal on television and its future effects on children.

5. The Gender-Role Content of Children’s Favorite Television Programs and Its Links to Their Gender-Related Perceptions

Jennifer Stevens Aubrey & Kristen Harrison (2004) The Gender-Role Content of Children’s Favorite Television Programs and Its Links to Their Gender-Related Perceptions, Media Psychology, 6:2, 111-146, DOI: 10.1207/s1532785xmep0602_1

This article sought to demonstrate the connections between first and second graders’ favorite television shows and their effects on children’s perception of the television characters. Upon studying the shows further, it was found that there was still a larger tendency for male characters to answer questions, be leaders, be ingenious, eat, or achieve a goal. Interestingly enough, it was also found that girls preferences for male stereotypical characters negatively impacted their perceptions of the female characters. It was found that children did not specifically seek out programming which was gender stereotypical, however, when they did observe these kinds of television shows, they tended to conform to those norms. This source is valuable to use because it provides insight into children’s perceptions of television programming. This source also provides a large amount of data which we can use to aid in our research of the effects of this programming on children. The study itself seems to further prove our argument, that children’s programming can have an effect on how children perceive their own gender norms.

6.  Appraising gender role portrayals in TV commercials

Kolbe, R.H. & Langefeld, C.D. Sex Roles (1993) 28: 393. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00289604

This study looked into the effects of television commercials on people’s perceptions of gender roles. The study examined hundreds of college students to see how different television commercials affected their perceptions of gender roles. While it was addressing college students, its implications extend beyond only young adults. It implies how commercials, which are designed to manipulate an audience’s opinion, can have even greater effects on people’s perceptions of gender when they incorporate extensive gender stereotypes. This research could be quite useful to us as commercial have wide effects on television audiences. This can be especially true for children, as commercials which are more conforming to gender stereotypes can help propagate these stereotypes in children. For example, if a child were to be watching television programming and see a toy commercial advertising towards a specific gender, then they could associate that toy as being for that gender. This study could allow us to explore these effects more, as commercials are just as much a part of the television experience as the shows themselves.

Annotated Bibliography: To what extent do portrayals of gender and violence on television crime dramas perpetuate popular crime myths?

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On September 20, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

Britto, Sarah, et al. “Does ‘Special’ Mean Young, White and Female? Deconstructing the Meaning of ‘Special’ in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture, vol. 14, no. 1, 2007, pp. 39–57.

This source is valuable for three reasons. First, it provides an overview in the common ways that crime dramas skew audience perspectives of a reality that few have experienced themselves. It takes a particularly close look at Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, as a case study for crime dramas with a particular theme. The article uses content-analysis to generate characteristics about the way that sexual crimes are portrayed in the fictional television show, and it compares these to real statistics from New York City, where the show is set. Britto et al examine the way that Law and Order SVU depicts, not only perpetrators of crimes, but the victims themselves. Using the statistics gathered, the authors create a characterization of what the show considers “special” victims. The show stresses age as a determining factor to separate innocent (young) victims from evil (old) perpetrators. White victims are also dramatically overrepresented, while minority victims are downplayed. Additionally, the authors note that frequently episodes would center around the murder of males and assaults carried out on males, and they stress that this is an overrepresentation of the prevalence of female sex-offenders. This serves to “de-gender” the issue of rape.

Epinger, Ebonie. Visual and Narrative Aspects of Front-Page Crime Stories for Male and Female Offenders: Does Race and Ethnicity Matter?, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Ann Arbor, 2016. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1830439473?accountid=11107.

This source is valuable because it provides some contrast to the other papers about portrayals of violence and violent offenders in dramatic television by studying the way that actual news broadcasts shift public perception about crime demographics. The source builds on the assumption that the public’s perceptions of crime are affected by what they are exposed to via the media. Epinger et al show how news channels report stories differently depending on the race, gender, and class of the people involved. For instance, mug shots are shown more often for nonwhite offenders than for white offenders. Wealthy offenders are often given the opportunity to speak for themselves while poor offenders are often spoken for by police officers. In general, news outlets are responsible for creating narratives that perpetuate the public’s preconceived ideas about crime, who commits it, and who it is committed against. News outlets emphasize stories that victimize white females, while offering more insight into mitigating factors for the guilt of white criminals.

Fernández-Villanueva, Concepción, et al. “Gender Differences in the Representation of Violence on Spanish Television: Should Women be More Violent?” Sex Roles, vol. 61, no. 1-2, 2009, pp. 85-100. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/225369844?accountid=11107, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9613-9.

This article takes a valuable look at the way that the gender of perpetrators and victims of violence in Spanish television shows affects viewers’ attitudes and understandings of gender roles. It took a quantitative look at instances of violence in Spanish television shows, and it examined how these instances portray the people involved. The paper finds that women in Spanish television have a “minimal presence” in scenes involving acts of violence. It also finds that women tend to suffer from more serious acts of violence. Those who perpetrate acts of violence against women tend to have more positive outcomes, all while having their actions viewed as less legitimate in the eyes of the show’s narrative. This reveals an inconsistency in the way that shows portray violence. Hurting women is highly frowned upon, yet it is often portrayed as bringing positive outcomes to those who do it. Additionally, the fact the women are almost always in positions of victimhood, perpetuates the stereotypes that women are fundamentally vulnerable.

Lee, Moon J., et al. “Effects of Violence Against Women in Popular Crime Dramas on Viewers’ Attitudes Related to Sexual Violence.” Mass Communication & Society, vol. 14, no. 1, 2011, pp. 25. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/856980802?accountid=11107.

This source takes a very interesting look at how thoughtful portrayals of sexual and physical violence in television dramas can be used to combat rape myths. The study had 176 college undergraduates watch clips television crime dramas that featured sexual or physical violence against women and rate them on a number of scales. The source identifies sexual violence as a major public health issue in the United States and it introduces and examines ways that popular crime dramas can affect public attitudes and understandings of sexual violence. For instance, the source found that prime time television crime dramas often show sexual violence, and several have scenes that explain the importance of consent, or clear up common ambiguities or misconceptions about consent when drugs are involved. The source finds that in men who viewed clips of sexual violence, support for traditional gender roles dropped, and that scenes of sexual violence were much less enjoyable than those of physical violence. This lead Lee et al to conclude that accurate portrayals of sexual violence and its effects can help turn men away from potentially violent actions in real life.

Meyer, Michaela D., and E. “The “Other” Woman in Contemporary Television Drama: Analyzing Intersectional Representation on Bones.” Sexuality & Culture, vol. 19, no. 4, 2015, pp. 900-915. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1720398060?accountid=11107, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12119-015-9296-z.

This source is useful for examining another aspect of women’s involvement in television crime dramas. It investigates how intersectionality affects the portrayals of women in the television show Bones. Rather than taking the stance that intersectionality is a positive thing that brings additional diversity to a show, Meyer et al demonstrate how, using a single intersectional character to focus all issues of identity politics, shows can section off such issues and separate them from the main narrative of the show. The result, it is argued, is that audiences continue to see these issues and those that they affect as “other” and do not have to confront them with the same seriousness that they would have to bring to a white character’s problems. This source takes a step away from the issue of violence and victimhood, and instead explores the other ways that modern crime dramas influence our views of the world through “quirky” token intersectional characters.

Parrott, Scott, and Caroline T. Parrott. “U.S. Television’s “Mean World” for White Women: The Portrayal of Gender and Race on Fictional Crime Dramas.” Sex Roles, vol. 73, no. 1-2, 2015, pp. 70-82. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1695352054?accountid=11107, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-015-0505-x.

The source is valuable because it takes a very analytical approach to evaluating instances of violence in television shows. Using content analysis, the paper gathered information of 983 characters across 65 episodes of crime television, breaking down aggressors and victims by race and gender. The source analyzed these statistics with the hypothesis that males would be most likely to commit violent crimes, while females would be more likely to be the victims of these crimes. The study found that these hypotheses were supported by the data, and that white female characters were by far the most common victims in crime television. They were the most common targets of violent crime and sexual assault, as well as the most likely demographic to die or be attacked by a stranger. The study discusses how these portrayals can support a myth that overplays the frequency of attacks targeting white women, and disregards violence against other demographics.

Annotated Bibliography: The Victimization of Women on TV

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On September 20, 2018

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Annotated Bibliography

Philippe Lamarche

 

Callanan, Valerie J. “Media Consumption, Perceptions of Crime Risk and Fear of Crime: Examining Race/Ethnic Differences.” Sociological Perspectives 55.1 (2012): 93-115. ProQuest. Web. 20 Sep. 2018.

This peer-reviewed article aims to answer two main questions: 1) how do different types of crime-related media affect fear of crime, and 2) does media-related fear of crime differ for different ethnic and racial groups? The study used well-researched assessments to determine perception of neighborhood crime risk and the fear of crime, and then looked to see if there were trends regarding race/ethnicity. The survey’s results determined that fear of crime is higher in victims, women, blacks, and Latinos, and that it is negatively associated with education, age, and income. It also, however, concluded that crime drama television had little to no impact on fear of crime. This source is meaningful to our research because it goes in depth on how the portrayal of violence and crime on television can affect society, thus emphasizing the importance of the portrayal of women on television. However, it is inconclusive as to whether victimization of women in crime dramas actually influences their fear of crime.

 

Cavender, Gray, and Nancy C. Jurik. “Policing Race and Gender: An Analysis of “Prime Suspect 2″.” Women’s Studies Quarterly 32.3 (2004): 211-30. ProQuest. Web. 20 Sep. 2018.

This article dives into a particular episode of the television series called Prime Suspect, a crime drama featuring a London policewoman Jane Tennison, with the objective of discussing how it handles race and gender. The show first aired in 1991 and was taken off air in 2006, placing it during third wave feminism. After 3 in-depth observations of Prime Suspect 2, the researchers concluded that although this film features a prominent female protagonist, it fails in promoting ideals of gender and racial equality. This article introduces us to and dissects a good example of a show that attempts to take a feminist stance by including a female lead in a male-dominated profession. Despite this, the show errs more on the side of post-feminist depictions of women; Jane Tennison’s strength and determination leave her alone and unlikable.  Despite its failure at promoting feminism, this show also serves as an exception to prove the rule: crime dramas with female leads are few and far in between, and even those that exist don’t always uphold feminist values.

 

Sommers, Zach. “MISSING WHITE WOMAN SYNDROME: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF RACE AND GENDER DISPARITIES IN ONLINE NEWS COVERAGE OF MISSING PERSONS.” Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 106.2 (2016): 275-314. ProQuest. Web.           20 Sep. 2018.

This article is an attempt at measuring the accurateness of the Missing White Woman Syndrome. Missing White Woman Syndrome is the cultural phenomenon where white women and girls are reported missing more than any other group of Americans. The authors discovered that the disparity in coverage is indeed true, and this was accomplished by looking at FBI data and data from 4 online news sources. Statistical analysis was used to prove that both women and white persons were overrepresented as missing, thus it was concluded that white women were overrepresented as well. Although the article does not dive into why this is the case, we can hypothesize that this is the case because women are often portrayed as needing saving (i.e. damsel in distress). Regardless of the reason, it reinforces the idea that women on television are heavily associated with being victims. Even in the news, women are disproportionately shown as victims when compared to men, spurring the belief that women are more helpless and in need of defending.

 

Costanza, Justine Ashley. “Sexist Portrayals Of Women Still Dominate Prime Time TV: Study.” International Business Times. IBT Media Inc, 15 Nov. 2012. Web. 21 Sept. 2018.

This article comes from an online newspaper, and it discusses the rampant sexism still present in the entertainment industry. It brings up the fact that even though things are improving and women are getting more and more involved in the production of television, there are clear inequalities. Costanza argues that we still see a lot of stereotypes on television that we think have been left in the past, like a female character’s worth being tied completely to her relation to a man. She also strongly emphasizes that objectification and sexualization of women is very present and negatively affects general female audiences. Although this article doesn’t specifically talk to women being portrayed as victims, it can be implied that this portrayal is also a result of sexism in the industry. Adding to this source’s value is that it speaks to the current state of the television industry and suggests that unless women become more empowered in the television industry, female characters will continue to be victimized and portrayed negatively.

 

Hains, Rebecca C. “The Problematics of Reclaiming the Girlish: The Powerpuff Girls and Girl      Power.” Femspec 5.1 (2004): 1. ProQuest. Web. 20 Sep. 2018.

First, this article introduces “girl power” as a part of the contemporary movement and discusses the idea behind the movement: women and strong are not mutually exclusive. It also argues, on the other hand, that embracing “girl power” is to shift focus back on femininity and to a toxic obsession over looks. The author here looks at the Powerpuff Girls and analyzes its themes of girl power versus feminism. She argues that the show has a complicated tendency to portray women both progressively and regressively. The show embraces the idea that girls can be both cute and strong at the same time; that women and girls aren’t restricted to being just one or the other. However, this message ends up being very specific to race, class, and size. The message that girls can be anything ends up being represented only by white, middle class, attractive girls. Consequently, the show suggests that if you are not these things, you cannot be a powerful girl. This article can be used as an example of a television show with strong, female protagonists but who unsuccessfully try to empower girls as a whole. It supports the observation that lack of victimization of women does not necessarily mean that it upholds feminist ideals.

Park, Jaeyoon. “The Unruly Woman in FX’s Justified.” Americana : The Journal of American         Popular Culture, 1900 to Present 13.2 (2014)ProQuest. Web. 20 Sep. 2018.

This article focuses on the FX Series Justified, and like a few others, looks in-depth at a show with complicated pre-feminist and pro-feminist ideals. The author focuses on two central female characters who exhibit pro-feminist qualities but are limited by their pre-feminist conditions in an isolated society where the patriarchy is prominent. This setting can be explained by the show’s plot taking place in the heart of the Appalachia, assumed to be a culturally backward region. One of the main female characters is an unruly working-class woman who kills her repeatedly abusive husband, and typically lives as she wants, without falling into the usual female tropes. She refuses to be treated unfairly by men, and she is untamable. The other character however, despite being the leader of a marijuana ring and exercising power of many people, is held back by her vulnerability and motherhood. This show, and the author’s analysis of it, depict a different kind of victimization: these two women who embody many pro-feminist ideals, are essentially victims of the pre-feminist culture they live in. This victimization may not look the same as victimization in the face of physical violence, but the effect is the same: they are restricted as women and as people. To add to this show’s credit and relevance, Justified also succeeds in representing working-class women, who are usually neglected in favor of middle-class women.

The Female Companions of Doctor Who and Their Reflections of Feminist Trends: Annotated Bibliography

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  1. Perryman, Neil. “Doctor Who and the Convergence of Media.” Convergence, Sage Publications. 1 Feb 2008. Web. 20 Sep 2018.

 

This source argues that while Doctor Who has crossed over multiple television shows successfully and in a way that enriches the world of Doctor Who, it is ultimately impossible to truly combine all three Doctor Who universe shows (Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures), particularly because of their differences in maturity level of content. This article is valuable because in its description of The Sarah Jane Adventures (which focuses on a former female companion of the Doctor) are revealing as to how her character was treated on the original show, and it will provide useful evidence when discussing how the figure of the female companion has changed over the years of Doctor Who.

 

  1. Jowett, Lorna. “The Girls Who Waited? Female Companions and Gender in Doctor Who.” Manchester University Press, Sage Journals. 1 Apr 2014. Web. 20 Sep 2018.

 

This article argues that while the role of the female companion in Doctor Who has always had sexist notes and stories, the last few years of Doctor Who have especially unempowered the women in that role in comparison to earlier companions, despite the fact that the most recent female companions are bolder and more confident (classic “strong woman” traits) than before. This source is valuable because it gives an overview of the series’ lineup of female companions and gives a deep analysis of how seemingly modern and empowered women characters can fall into sexist tropes just as easily as women characters from fifty years ago.

 

  1. Pool, Landon Garrett. “”Girls” in Time and Space: A Feminist Analysis of the Companions of “Doctor Who” from 1963–1975.” Tarleton State University, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. Aug 2015. Web. 20 Sep 2018.

 

This source argues that, because of Doctor Who’s record-breaking longevity, the show functions as a viewing point for feminism through the years and its interactions with pop culture through analysis of the female companions. This article is valuable because its use of the female companions as reflections of contemporary feminist trends matches exactly with my group’s research topic, and it includes detail about early companions, which is difficult to find. It is also very useful because it is written in a more understandable and less esoteric style, which is more accessible to me and my group and will help us more than an article filled with technical jargon.

 

  1. McCullagh, Cassie. “The Doctor’s Leading Ladies.” Australian Broadcasting Corporation, n.p. 18 Nov 2013. Web. 20 Sep 2018.

 

This article argues that Sarah Jane Smith was the first truly feminist female companion of the Doctor, and that the earlier Doctors’ lack of sexuality was what allowed his companions to be empowered women as compared the contemporary Bond Girls who were given no agency or allowed to be anything outside of their relationship with Bond. This source is valuable because it provides a look into how the early female companions functioned as mirrors of the flow and ebb of the feminist movement in Western culture, and what exactly allowed them to reflect feminist trends when so many other female characters could not.

 

  1. “Susan Foreman (Carol Ann Ford).” British Broadcasting Corporation, n.p. 24 Sep 2014. Web. 20 Sep 2018.

 

This article provides a short biography of the character Susan Foreman, the first female companion on Doctor Who. This source is useful because it mentions Susan’s more feminist traits (like her unusual intelligence that she took no pains to hide), but also describes her sadly trite ending of being abandoned by the Doctor so that she could pursue a relationship with a man. This article is a great representation of the feminist and sexist writing that coexisted in early Doctor Who, and will act as a way to connect the show and feminist trends of the time at which her character was airing.

 

  1. Moreland, Alex. “Doctor Who Explainer – Who is Susan Foreman, and is She Coming Back to the Show?.” Yahoo! News, n.p. 7 May 2017.

 

This article argues that, due to a few hints strewn through the new series, there is a strong possibility of Susan Foreman’s character returning to Doctor Who. This article is useful because it goes more into depth about her relationship with the Doctor than the previous article, revealing the more paternalistic approach the Doctor had with his earlier companions and how they functioned more as his pupils than his equals.

 

Women in Sports media the Hard Truth (sources)

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On September 20, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

Works Cited

Hardin, Marie, and Jennifer D. Greer. “The Influence of Gender-Role Socialization, Media useand Sports Participation on Perceptions of Gender-Appropriate Sports.” Journal of Sport Behavior, vol. 32, no. 2, 2009, pp. 207-226. ProQuest,http://prx.library.gatech.edu /loginurl=https://search.proquest.com/ docview/215875384?accountid=11107.

This study attempts to understand how sports in U.S. society are viewed taking into consideration  gender norms. This study examines the relationship between media, sports participation, and ‘gender role socialization’ with the typing of sports as masculine or feminine by utilizing a survey of 340 college students. The study also brings in outside research to provide a statistical representation on sports media coverage, in particular during the Olympics. It argues that although these factors impact ‘typing’ for some sports to an extent the overall findings demonstrate that ‘traditional gender-typing’ of sports is inelastic. Although this source is not directly studying women in the media it is valuable because it looks at the psychological aspect of social learning theory and gender norms- within media- on its viewers. This is important to our research because it conveys implications of gender representation in sports media on its audience and society in general, allowing us to show how our research itself is important.

“INDIANA UNIVERSITY, ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN IN SPORTS MEDIA,ASSOCIATED PRESS SPORTS EDITORS AND NATIONAL SPORTSCASTERSAND SPORTSWRITERS HOSTING SPECIAL PANEL ON WOMEN IN SPORTSMEDIA.” US Fed News Service, Including US State News, Mar 29, 2011. ProQuest,http://prx.library.gatech.edu/loginurl=https:// search .proquest .com/docview/858895477?accountid=11107.

This source is a newspaper article from the US Fed News Service. It describes a panel discussion at the University of Indiana made in order to discuss issues of gender in sports media. In particular, the discussion is aimed to look into the changing roles of women in sports media careers as well as the challenges they face. The panel includes Shelly Smith who works for ESPN and is able to attest to the gender specific controversies from the network. The discussion also covers the very publicized sexual harassment of Ines Sainz, a reporter for Mexico’s TV Azteca. This source is valuable to my groups research because it gives descriptive first person insight into the challenges and scandal’s faced by women in sports media careers  This newspaper source gives an important if not the most important perspective on these issues, women in the field themselves. The article will allow us to point at specific examples of harassment and analyze with other sources what this means for women in sports media and women in general.

 

Hardin, Marie, and Stacie Shain. “Female Sports Journalists: Are we there Yet? ‘no’.” Newspaper Research Journal, vol. 26, no. 4, 2005, pp. 22-35. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/loginurl=https://search.proquest.com/docview/200695998?accountid=11107

This source is a newspaper research journal from 2005 investigating on the job discrimination and lack of reward felt by women in sport media. The source includes information on the still small amount of women in the field even 30 years after Title IX opened doors for women to ‘write sports’. The journal also discusses how not only are their not a lot of women but most never see higher up or management positions even after long periods of time in the field. The journal is a literature review which includes analysis of several surveys about discrimination and harassment in the sports media field that took place over the 90’s. Even though this source is not extremely recent, it is valuable because it will show us insight into how the discrimination and harassment has or has not changed over the recent decades when compared to more recent statistics and sources.

 

6, 2017 March. “Women in Sports Media Cite Progress, Obstacles.” Sports Business Journal, 6 Mar. 2017,www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2017/03/06/ Opinion/From-The- Executive-Editor.aspx.

This source is a journal article from Sports Business Journal that discusses the still-evident challenges that women face in sports media. The article is from the perspective of a man, Abraham Madkour, and gives a look into the more recent statistics of women in sports media as well as commending the job of many ESPN women sportscasters. The article brings the audience’s attention towards to underrepresentation of women in sport media careers as well as making claims toward the validity of their opinions. The fact that a white man has to establish these thoughts in order for them to gain attention and validation in the year 2017 portrays a lot of how we still see women in these fields despite what the author is trying to point out. This source is valuable because it gives more recent statistics and can be used to analyze the current social dynamic surrounding the issue.

 

Dicardo, Julie. “Ugly Truth about Women in Sports and Social Media.” Sports Illustrated, 27 Sept. 2015,www.si.com/cauldron/2015/09/27/twitter-threats- vile-remarks-women-sports-journalists.

This source is a Sports Illustrated article written by a female sports newscaster about the harassment she recieves on social media, specifically Twitter. She discusses the hyper-masculine culture of sports online that causes many men to become extremely defensive on social media platforms where they feel they can voice their offensive opinions with no repercussions. She gives specific examples of instincts where she received vulgar tweets towards herself for simply doing her job. This article also gives great first hand insight into the social dynamic surrounding women in sports media and the heat they get which men do not. This article is valuable because it is written by a female sports journalist about her struggles specifically while giving good examples on the harassment she faces. Likewise, it can be used to draw conclusions about the masculine culture of sports based on how they treat women in the field, showing the repercussions of the masculine sports culture on women.

 

Spain, Sarah. “Women in Sports Media Shouldn’t Have to ‘Ignore’ Abuse.” ESPN, ESPN InternetVentures, 28 Apr. 2016, www.espn.com/espnw/voices/ article/15412369/women-sports-media-ignore-abuse.

This source is an ESPN article that also delves into the treatment of women sportscasters on social media. The article is written by a Sarah Spain, an ESPN sports columnist with experience into the harassment that women face in sports media careers. The online article also includes a video that includes men reading harsh and vulgar tweets to the women sportscasters they are directed at. The video is a powerful social experiment that emphasizes how the social media can enhance the effects of verbal abuse towards women in general and in sports media. When the men read the tweets out loud it is very emotional and conveys just how much abuse women have to overcome to do their job. This source is valuable because it demonstrates how discrimination to women in this field have faced discrimination ongoing for decades with little end in sight. It also can be used to analyze the culture surrounding gender and sports.

Sierra Villarreal

Gender Representations in Childrens TV: Annotated Bib

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On September 20, 2018

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Source 1:

Rousseau, Ann, et al. “A Short-Term Longitudinal Exploration of the Impact of TV Exposure on Objectifying Attitudes Toward Women in Early Adolescent Boys.” Sex Roles, 2018, doi:10.1007/s11199-018-0925-5.

This study examined how television affects the way adolescent boys understand gender stereotypes and whether it leads them to understand men as the dominant role and objectify woman. Following the suggestion that children are more likely to enjoy consuming media that reflects the environment they are raised in, the study also examined how their parents relationship in addition to the tv they watched affected their understanding of gender. The study found that parents did not monitor shows on trusted children’s channels, however, the tween television content did indirectly contribute to the development of stereotypical attitudes toward women and men. It also found that parents have strong influence over whether or not these opinions develop and can buffer them by monitoring the shows or exemplifying a respectful egalitarian relationship.  While this study was conducted in Belgium, it does look to understand western culture and studies channels such as Disney and nickelodeon that american children consume. This is a useful study because the experiment not only speaks to the specific topic being researched but it expands it to include multiple factors that influence the way children’s media affects young boys understandings of gender.

Source 2:

Gerding, Ashton, and Nancy Signorielli. “Gender Roles in Tween Television Programming: A Content Analysis of Two Genres.” Sex Roles, vol. 70, no. 1-2, 2013, pp. 43–56., doi:10.1007/s11199-013-0330-z.

 

This study researched 49 episodes of 40 shows produced with the intended viewership of tweens in the United States. The shows were chosen if they fell into one of two categories which were geared toward the opposite genders: “teen scene” (for girls) and “action-adventure” (for boys). By comparing characters personalities, roles, conversations, and appearances, the study discovered that the action shows were disproportionate in their gender representation, having many more male characters than girls. The teen scene shows, however had equal representation. In the teen scene shows there was little stereotypical behavior and the girl and boy characters had similar personalities. All of the girls in the show were attractive and cared about their appearance whereas the guys had varying levels of attractiveness. The study determined this to mean that the message shows send to kids id that “females can participate in everything that males can, but while doing so they should be attractive and should work to keep up this attractiveness”. This article is very useful because the study was study was well conducted and it speaks directly to the issue we are looking at. It comments on how children’s television has progressed however it still contains flaws.  

Source 3:

Martin, Rebecca. “Gender and Emotion Stereotypes in Children’s Television.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, vol. 61, no. 3, Sept. 2017, pp. 499–517. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/08838151.2017.1344667.

 

This study researched both educational and non educational children’s television shows and examined the prevalence of emotional stereotypes. The study took 4 of each genre and examined the use of anger, sadness, fear, and happiness. It found that overall the shows include more male characters than female, a trend that continues throughout the years studied. The study also found that the male characters exhibited stronger emotions in all of the four categories. This result demonstrates that the shows tend to portray counter-stereotypes, especially in the entertainment shows. This study was not very useful because it looked at only 8 shows over a broad time span, such as Magic School Bus from 1994 and Curious George from 2006. The show also only looked at shows on minor networks, which are viewed by less of the population, and it did not look at how this affects the kids viewing it and whether or not it instilled any beliefs in them.

Source 4:

Campbell, Olivia. “Why Gender Stereotypes In Kids’ Shows Are A REALLY Big Deal.” Refinery29, Refinery29, 5 Dec. 2017, www.refinery29.com/kids-shows-gender-roles-stereotypes.

 

This article describes the problems facing childrens TV and how it can cause kids to form stereotypical understandings of gender. It references how many shows have more boys than girls, and that the boy characters are usually the heroes with a purpose and how female characters are often pushed aside and given “weaker” roles. The article argues that parents need to educate their kids that girls and boys are equal and can accomplish anything they want. While this article makes interesting points, it is not usable due to its inflammatory rhetoric and consistent use of logical fallacies. The article uses strong language to upset its readers and get them on its side. The author makes drastic assumptions, which are arguably not entirely false, such as the claim that spousal abuse and sexual assault are caused by sexism in our society and this sexism is in part caused by childrens TV. In short, children’s TV leads to violence.

Source 5:

Sarah Banet‐Weiser (2004) Girls rule!: gender, feminism, and nickelodeon,
Critical Studies in Media Communication, 21:2, 119-139, DOI: 10.1080/07393180410001688038

This piece looks at Nickelodeon children’s shows with female leads to decipher whether or not girl power is treated as a lucrative market strategy or if the shows actually succeed in providing pure feminist ideals. By focusing on a handful of major TV shows, the study finds that the channel urges both girls and boys to question the stereotypical gender narratives. The author argues that the girl power narrative behind these shows is one that parallels Third Wave feminism and that the shows offer a diverse variety of characters that demonstrate that women are contributing and worthwhile members to society. This article is usable because it studies one of the most popularly viewed children’s channel and dissects the controversial way that its feminist message is presented. It would be helpful to know more about how these messages are being understood by children as the piece mainly focuses on adult criticisms.

Source 6:

Bowman, Sabienna. “’Girl Meets World’ Is A Feminist Triumph.” Bustle, Bustle, 25 Apr. 2018, www.bustle.com/articles/175843-how-girl-meets-world-quietly-became-one-of-tvs-most-feminist-shows

One of the strongest feminist shows on television is the children’s show Girl Meets World. The story follows two best friends who come from drastically different homes, Maya and Riley, in their middle school and highschool years. It tackles many subjects that most children shows will not touch such as cultural appropriation, bullying, and STEM not being promoted for girls. The strength in the girls friendship is what makes the show such a feminist inspiration and it does what other shows fail to. The conflict of the second season is that the two girls have a crush on the same boy, however, Disney does not let the show follow stereotypes by going into stereotypical catfights to handle this love triangle. Instead the issue is put aside and friendship is prioritized in a happy resolution. The respect the women of the show have for each other and the effort they put in to help raise each other up is one that is inspiring, especially for developing young viewers. This article is useful because it gives an example of a powerfully feminist show on children’s media and the positive way it addresses social issues, giving direct examples of its strengths.

Citations for Representation in Children’s Television Throughout Generations

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On September 20, 2018

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Thompson, Teresa L., and Eugenia Zerbinos. “Television Cartoons: Do Children Notice it’s a Boy’s World?” Sex Roles, vol. 37, no. 5, 1997, pp. 415-432. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.prx.library.gatech.edu/docview/225382192?accountid=11107.

This study explores how children aged 4-9 see gender in children’s cartoons. 89 children watched cartoons to see how many boys vs girls they see, how often characters spoke, and to see if they recognized stereotypes such as women working “lower class” jobs. This study follows up on a 1970’s study that showed that in 70’s cartoons, women and girls were quiet, less in number, needed to be rescued, and fell in love at first sight. According to the results, in the 90’s, not much has changed. This study is relevant to the generational aspect and the gender representation aspect of the research question. It also takes into account many parts of how children may view tv, such as if mothers work traditional “female” jobs, non traditional jobs, or work at all.

Wilson, Barbara J. “Media and Children’s Aggression, Fear, and Altruism.” The Future of Children, vol. 18, no. 1, 2008. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.prx.library.gatech.edu/docview/1519298615?accountid=11107.

This study explores how children are affected by television and the media. It explores how the media can affect emotional growth and development, including the development of empathy. It then investigates social behavior in children, such as development of morality and a tendency to view the media and develop aggression. The results show that television and media affect every child differently, but some trends were noted. For example, kids who focused on a humorous subplot in a tv show about earthquakes often weren’t affected by the negative emotions that kids who watched the same show without humor were affected by. Socially, a startling result is that many “hard to control” preschoolers in the study were exposed to violent tv and media. While this study doesn’t explore gender representation, it does show how children are affected by different topics in tv; this can add a lot of benefit to our study of children’s television.

Anderson, Kristin J., and Donna Cavallaro. “Parents Or Pop Culture?: Children’s Heroes and Role Models.” Childhood Education, vol. 78, no. 3, 2002, pp. 161-168. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/210386477?accountid=11107.

This study investigates children’s role models and heroes and how television and media influences this. It was conducted on children ages 8-13, and several questions were asked; how do we determine who children want to be like? Does ethnicity and gender influence these role models? How can people guide children to learn about more role models? Typically, children tended to admire the heroes and protagonists, but this can have detrimental effects. “Good” characters are rarely punished for violent actions, so children may see violence as an answer. Also, women and people of color are severely underrepresented in many superhero comics and shows, as well as in the media in general. Also, children tend to pick real-life people as role models too. This study shows an interesting way of viewing children’s role models and how factors such as gender may influence them.

Gerbner, George, PhD. “Children’s Television: A National Disgrace.” Pediatric Annals, vol. 14, no. 12, 1985, pp. 822-823,826-827. ProQuest, http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1023315623?accountid=11107.

This source shows the negative and positive effects of television in children, discussing how television is a huge part of our lives and how rather than getting rid of it, it is possible to change and monitor it. Representation is bad; men outnumber women 3:1, younger people are represented ⅓ less than their population, and seniors over 65 are represented less than ⅕ of their population. Much of the characters in television are law enforcement officers, doctors, lawyers, and judges, of which many enforce rules and laws. The content of television often makes children grow into adults that believe in a mean world, one full of mistrust and bad things. This source gives a glimpse into representation on television, how it affects people, and a few ways to improve children’s television (such as requiring 5 hours a week of educational programs for children.)

Abad-Santos, Alex. “The Fight over She-Ra’s Redesign, Explained.” Vox, Vox, 18 July 2018, www.vox.com/2018/7/18/17585950/she-ra-redesign-controversy-netflix.

This news article explores the controversy of the new Netflix reboot of He-Man, She-Ra and the princess of power. Once the new designs were released in 2018, long time (mostly) male fans were angry about her design. The reboot is made to appeal to a younger audience, and She-Ra is portrayed as a young teenage girl, which she always was in the series. However, her old design is much more womanly and “sexy.” This article explains the controversy, links tweets to both sides of the argument, and offers some opinions. With reboots, the generational aspects of kids’ tv is shown. Those who viewed the original He-man as children have different values and expectations than the children of this generation. Exploring reboots of shows and the changes in representation will give us an important look into the generational changes of children’s television.

*not peer reviewed

Pyun, Sabrina. “The VOLTRON Reboot is Your 2016 Feminist Series.” ComicsVerse, Comicsverse, 26 June 2016, https://comicsverse.com/voltron-reboot-feminist-series/.

This article explores another reboot: Voltron: Legendary Defender. The previously mostly white cast has been replaced with a diverse one in the 2016 reboot. Representation is much better in the new show; it features cuban, asian, white, hispanic, and black characters as well as smart, witty, powerful women. Allura, who was formerly a white woman with blonde hair, is coded as black in the 2016 show. This is monumental. She’s also a fighter, tactician, and support during voltron’s battles. Pidge, who pretended to be a boy to enter the garrison, is a girl. But, there’s no significant gender reveal or drama about it. Before and after the reveal, she’s a hacker and genius and her gender doesn’t make anyone question it. This source is another examination into reboots, but this shows representation in gender and race, making it relevant to intersectional feminism.

*not peer reviewed

The Prevalence of Gender Stereotypes in Australian Television

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On September 20, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

Peer Reviewed:

  1. Gender Stereotypes in Advertising on Children’s Television in the 1990s: A Cross-National Analysis

Beverly A. Browne (1998) Gender Stereotypes in Advertising on Children’s Television in the 1990s: A Cross-National Analysis, Journal of Advertising, 27:1, 83-96, DOI: 10.1080/00913367.1998.10673544

In this journal, the author conducted a study aimed at exploring the presence of sex role stereotypes in children’s television advertisements and media. This study compares the areas of Australia and the United States, and in the past, several studies have shown that gender stereotyping was consistent in television advertisements in the 1990s, however results recently have shown that these specific gender portrayals are less prevalent in current television commercials in both the U.S. and Australia. It was found that although stereotyped body language is equally present in both countries, gender roles, voiceovers, and credibility have higher consistency with traditional stereotypes in United States commercials rather than Australian commercials. Despite this, gender stereotyping was overall found similarly between both countries, it was concluded Australian commercials tended to include more equal male-female ratio in advertisements. Also, Australia less often made girls shy or passive, and boys aggressive or directive. This source is highly useful for the project because it provides evidence for answering our research question and aligns directly with our goal, which is to compare gender stereotypes in television across the world; this source closely compares Australia and the United States.

  1. Journalist and Source Gender in Australian Television News

David J. Cann & Philip B. Mohr (2001) Journalist and Source Gender in Australian Television News, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 45:1, 162-174,DOI: 10.1207/s15506878jobem4501_10

This journal explores the occupation of journalism and its relation to gender in Australian television/news. Throughout history, journalism has been thought of as a mainly male dominated occupation; women who desired to join this field were often discriminated and looked down for trying. Although the ratio now has evened out more and the expectation is no longer that a reporter is always male, a week-long study of five Australian television networks showed that males were overall over-represented in the categories of presenters, reporters, and reliable sources. On the other hand, women were seen dominating the lower-frequency and lower-ranked topics, indicating a clear contrast with gender roles. This showed the author that even though women are increasingly participating in the field of journalism and television, figures of authority still appear to remain men; male reporters usually get the more important and viewed stories to cover. This source is very useful because it gives readers a glimpse of how gender roles are exploited in the news/journalism area of television, and will allow the group members to compare the conclusions and statistics with those of other countries.

  1. Gender then, gender now: Surveying women’s participation in australian film and television industries

French, L. (2014). Gender then, gender now: Surveying women’s participation in australian film and television industries. Continuum, 28(2), 188. Retrieved from http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.prx.library.gatech.edu/docview/1509454380?accountid=11107

This article discusses women participation in Australian television and film. According to the author, women are considered minorities in this field(concentrating on creative roles) and statistics have shown decreasing participation, causing under-representation. Gender inequality is seen as a consistent part of Australian employment: women on average earned 16 less cents each week than their male workers in similar fields. The author states that women in Australia have played vital roles in developing the television industry and increasing confidence in creativity for films. However, comparing this survey with a survey done in 1990/1991, women have not made much progress in the feature film area and the percentages indicate an actual decline in women’s participation, presumably discouragement and employment security in the area currently. A conclusive statement made by the article is that women are clearly a potential source of innovation for the film industry, thus this case is worth further investigation because it can lead to companies being more gender-inclusive in the near future. This source is useful for our project because it provides evidence that women are once again, under-represented in the film industry in Australia, and that although improvement over the years is seen, there is still the possibility of women receiving equal opportunity in comparison to men.

  1. Gender role stereotyping in australian radio commercials

Hurtz, W., & Durkin, K. (1997). Gender role stereotyping in australian radio commercials. Sex Roles, 36(1), 103. Retrieved from http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.prx.library.gatech.edu/docview/1308098752?accountid=11107

This article dives into gender role stereotyping in specifically Australian radio commercials. It has been shown multiple times that American television remains to embrace the traditional male and female roles and attributes of each gender. A study was done for Australian commercials: advertisements were randomly recorded from three popular radio stations and were looked into. The results determine that females and males indeed are displayed differently in these radio commercials, and that these differences once again, represent the traditional gender stereotypes that Western commercials embody in American commercials. Males represented 78% of central characters in commercials, while females represented a mere 22%. Males were the central authorities and had most influence and females were shown as dependent figures and users. This study confirms the continuation of gender role stereotyping patterns. It is useful for our research because it explores the gender roles of another area of media in Australia, this time being radio commercials. This source gives us a similar perspective seen in other areas of television, that women are portrayed as less influential roles and under-represented in yet another area of media.

  1. Sex role stereotyping in australian television advertisements

Mazzella, C., Durkin, K., Cerini, E., & Buralli, P. (1992). Sex role stereotyping in australian television advertisements. Sex Roles, 26(7), 243. Retrieved from http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.prx.library.gatech.edu/docview/1308100802?accountid=11107

This article talks about sex role stereotyping in mainly Australian television advertisements. Throughout history, television has been constantly scrutinized for biases in gender roles and including traditional gender role content, with males being intelligent and having most of the power/influence while women are shown as passive and subordinate. The author makes it clear that television is prominent as mass media and can serve as major pervasiveness in both attitude formation and socialization, linking the fact that equal portrayal of gender can change mass views and culture of television. A sample of television advertisements was grabbed from popular television and discussed by the researchers. This study indicated that men and women were clearly portrayed in align with the traditional sex-role stereotypes. 74% of central characters were men and 26% women. It was concluded that Australian television commercials overall conform to the classic criticized patterns of gender stereotypes present in Western television. This article provides support of gender differences in the Australian television industry, not just children’s television, which will help further answer the research question.

Non Peer Reviewed:

  1. Gender equity debate in film and TV divides the industry

Neill, R. (2018). Gender equity debate in film and TV divides the industry. [online] Theaustralian.com.au. Available at: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/gender-equity-debate-in-film-and-tv-divides-the-industry/news-story/1e85312b0ce8fde6b84fdf7d75c7a70f [Accessed 20 Sep. 2018].

This article works at discussing the gender equality debate in film, proposing that it is in fact creating differences within the industry. It talks about one industry being Screen NSW, not providing funding or participation for all-male panels. Several collaborators have secured funding for a recent film Ladies in Black, featuring a female-dominated cast. The author after continues to discuss the history and background of gender discrimination in the film industry, saying that female filmmakers in the past have been hindered by traditional stereotypes ranging from primary caretaker roles to male screenwriters dominating the decision-making process. Neill at the end, concludes that the debate is not necessarily going for separatism in the genders, but rather equal collaboration by both counterparts because gender should not divide workers, but unite them as a whole to create consistently better films. This article is vital for our research because it delves into the background information of gender discrimination and gives many examples of past films that support the argument. Also, it proposes a possible solution of equal collaboration and not female domination in this industry, and creates a foreseeable future if recognition by all filmmakers take place.

Women in International TV Advertisements (East and South Asian Edition)

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On September 20, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

  1. Gender representations in East Asian advertising: Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea (Peer Reviewed)

Prieler, Michael, Ivanov, Alex, and Shigeru Hagiwara. “Gender Representations in East Asian Advertising: Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea.” Communication & Society, vol. 28, no. 1, 2015. Research Library, ProQuest, doi:10.15581/003.28.1.27-41.

As suggested by the title, this source concerns mainly around the differences between female and male representations in approximately 1,694 television advertisements, as stated by the authors, from Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea. However, rather than simply focusing on observable characteristics such as age difference between males and females on average, clothing, beauty appeal, etc. of each advertisement, this source goes into a more in-depth analysis of possible reasons these differences exist and how they came to be. It looks into the Confucian past of the geographical region and how the several ideologies that had separated the genders physically and socially continue to play a role in modern television. In addition, the source also demonstrates relationships between the degree of gender stereotyping in each nation’s advertising and some common gender indices, such as Project Globe’s Gender Egalitarianism Index, Gender-Related Development Index, Hofstede’s Masculinity Index, etc. Overall, I found this source very effective in not only determining many of the ways in which each gender is represented in a part of the Eastern Asian region and how they differ from themselves, but also in explaining these differences through deeper analysis into the past culture and use of popular statistical indices.

  1. Melanin on the Margins: Advertising and the Cultural Politics of Fair/Light/White Beauty in India (Peer Reviewed)

Parameswaran, Radhika, and Kavitha Cardoza. “Melanin on the Margins: Advertising and the Cultural Politics of Fair/Light/White Beauty in India.” Research Library, ProQuest, 2009, search.proquest.com/pqrl/docview/220814710/2623F0A5B15C46EDPQ/1?accountid=11107.

Although this source does not directly talk about gender representation in Indian advertisements, it focuses on a significant underlying concern that plays a large role in many female representations in modern Indian advertisements: the social pressure for women to invest in “fairness cosmetics”, as the authors phrase it. This, in turn, explains why such a large percentage of Indian women’s representation in advertisements revolves around the cosmetics sector over any other areas. Many of the companies involved in cosmetics and beauty products essentially take advantage of this insecurity of skin color derived from colorism’s influence in castes, ethnicities and other aspects of the social landscape of the past, along with rapid economical growth and escalating lifestyle consumerism of the present. Although it was a very complex read, I found this article very interesting and valuable, especially its analysis of the persuasive narratives of commercials for fairness cosmetic products to encourage greater sales, including their choices of advertisements and women’s purpose and representation in them. I also found it interesting how the authors also dissected several advertisements’ linguistic methods of persuasion rather than just visual, such as incorporating modern and traditional science and even some of the past heteronormative ideals.

  1. Chinese Advertising Practitioners’ Conceptualisation of Gender Representation

Shao, Yun, Desmarias, Fabrice, and C. Kay Weaver. “Chinese Advertising Practitioners’ Conceptualisation of Gender Representation.” International Journal of Advertising, vol. 33, no. 2, 7 Jan. 2015, pp. 329–350., doi:10.2501/ija-33-2-329-350.

As stated by the source itself, this source analyzes how Chinese advertising practitioners’ social and cultural perceptions of gender relations influence the types of advertisements and gender representations within them that they help create. In a sense, this source digs deep in the psychological aspects behind each Chinese advertisement’s development, specifically the aspects that help explain the differences in gender representation in many advertisements such as stereotypical depictions of women’s shopping behaviors, use of certain products, lack of women in major roles, etc. However, rather than examining multiple Chinese advertisements and dissecting each to explain differences in gender representations, this source instead examines multiple interviews with creative directors, copywriters, art directors and other staff members of China’s advertising industry to further gauge at their psychological thought process behind the development of some of their advertisements and justifications of gender relations within each. I found this aspect of this source very interesting and informative, along with how this source also lists some of western and other global influences in terms of social, professional and even cultural attributes in advertisements as guides used by many members of the Chinese advertising industry.

  1. Asian-Americans: Television Advertising and the “Model Minority” Stereotype (Peer-Reviewed)

Taylor, Charles R., and Barbara B. Stern. “Asian-Americans: Television Advertising and the ‘Model Minority’ Stereotype.” Research Library, ProQuest, 1997, search.proquest.com/pqrl/docview/236497795/8CF085648FCE48C9PQ/4?accountid=11107.

Despite focusing primarily on social and gender representation of Asian-Americans in US advertisements, this source points out a similar trend to that of the first source: Asian women are rarely depicted in major roles and, in most advertisements, appear under the shadow of Asian males, even though both genders are slightly overrepresented based on their population. In a sense, this source delves into the observation that even within a minority group usually described here as affluent, high in education and partake strict work ethic, there still exists some unequal gender representations in advertisements. In addition to that, Asian women, whether in advertisements or the ones viewing them, also have to contend with similar stereotype experienced by their male counterparts of being portrayed as overly concerned with aspects mentioned above, more so that other aspects of their lives seldom appear in television advertising. Although it was rather short for the amount of depth it covered, I found this article to be valuable in the sense that it analyzed gender and social portrayals of a minority group in US television and explained how over-representing some positive aspects eventually forms a stereotype for the minority group to deal with.

  1. This Amazing Hair Commercial Portrays Gender Labels Effectively

Tulshyan, Ruchika. “This Amazing Hair Commercial Portrays Gender Labels Effectively.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 6 Dec. 2013, www.forbes.com/sites/ruchikatulshyan/2013/12/06/this-amazing-hair-commercial-portrays-sexist-labels/#1ebc4ba48cfb.

This source analyzes a hair commercial from Philippines as “Simple. To the point. Effective”, to say the least. The commercial begins with a man leading a meeting with the word “Boss” behind him and a woman in another room with “Bossy” behind her, followed by each one performing identical actions but with different labels, such as “Persuasive” for man and “Pushy” for woman, and so on. It ends with the words: “Don’t let labels hold you back. Be strong and shine.” I found this source’s analysis of this advertisement very interesting and informative at the same time, especially when it focuses on the fact that even though the advertisement was only for a shampoo company, it can be applied universally for the message it delivers of women’s increasing prevalence in the workforce and yet their continued battle against societal traditions to get the office and even during their work. I also found it interesting when the source explained that that advertisement still succeeds in convincing consumers to buy the product since, rather than focusing on “selling the product”, it instead appeals to their values and emotions and allows them to make informed choices after weighing multiple options.

  1. 6 Indian Ads that Broke Gender Stereotypes Over the Years

“6 Indian Ads That Broke Gender Stereotypes over the Years – #Breakingstereotypes.” The Economic Times, 8 Mar. 2017, economictimes.indiatimes.com/slideshows/advertising-marketing/6-indian-ads-that-broke-gender-stereotypes-over-the-years/airtel-boss/slideshow/57538927.cms.

This source, unlike the others, includes some visuals of six Indian television advertisements in addition to a brief description of the events that occur in each advertisement. It then explains how each advertisement is helping “break gender stereotypes” in not only Indian television, but the society as a whole through the messages each advertisement delivers. I share the same view as the writers of the web source about many of the advertisements the source mentions, having lived in India for ten years myself: they particularly effective in helping achieve the goal of breaking gender stereotypes. The first advertisement features a couple sitting at a registrar’s office, with the husband announcing that he will be taking his wife’s last name; a brief scene that displays a large shift from the cultural norm in a densely populated country. Other advertisements display similar shifts from the social norms of the past, such as a female executive leader of a company who handles her work till late in the evening, then comes back home to prepare food for her husband who is still at his workplace, and many more. Although descriptions for many of the advertisements were short, each one was well chosen.

 

 

Gender Representation Within Children’s Television Annotated Bibliography

By

On September 20, 2018

In Annotated Bibliography

Boboltz, Sara. “TV Still Perpetuates A Whole Mess of Gender Stereotypes.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 September 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tvgender stereotypes-boxed-in-report-2017_us_59b814cce4b02da0e13cac47.

        This source offers basic insight on the ways in which women’s activities are portrayed on television. By analyzing over 4000 characters across a wide, diverse range of television shows, the author discovered that women are still disproportionately overrepresented in personal roles, such as being wives or mothers. Thus, male characters are left to fill the work-oriented roles. One counterpoint the author addressed is within “The Handmaid’s Tale”, where women’s lack of workplace jobs is hyperbolically used to emphasize the lack of women’s rights. However, she argued that this representation, even when the aim is to ridicule the current treatment of women, is still perpetuating and reinforcing gender roles. Furthermore, the author attributed the high frequency of stereotypically gendered jobs on television to the lack of women working on these shows behind the scenes. When women are employed in the creative teams behind the shows, the representation of women increases to equal the actual proportion of women in the US. This source offers insightful, albeit superficial, analysis on women’s jobs on television shows. The source only focuses on television as a whole, and thus misses the potential discrepancies across networks or genres. This source is beneficial for its confirmation of the suspicion that television shows generally rely on harmful gender stereotypes when creating characters.

 

Durkin, Kevin, and Bradley Nugent. “Kindergarten Children’s Gender-Role Expectations for Television Actors.” Sex Roles, vol. 38, no. 5, 1998, pp. 387-402. ProQuest http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/225373743?accountid=11107.

        This research confirms that kindergarten aged children are already aware of gender stereotyping and can guess the gender of a television character based on the type of activity being performed. The children answered with strong correlations to traditional stereotypes for both male and female activities and as they age, their responses align more strongly towards stereotypical gender roles. This study found that both young boys and girls found their gender roles to be rigid. This demonstrates that from an early age, children are aware of social expectations and internalize them, which then affects how they view their own competence within the world. As for where these expectations stem from, the authors argue that television is a strong contributor as children watch such a high amount of television that it forms a portion of their own reality. However, there are weakness associated with this data: this only covered a special case for the children and may not be reflective of their general viewing attitudes. Given the source’s focus on how children’s gender expectations affect their television viewing and the high-quality composition of the source, it offers helpful insight on how children can be socially conditioned by television.

 

Faniyi, Oluwakemi. “Gender Roles in Children’s Television.” The Odyssey Online, 28 August 2017,www.theodysseyonline.com/gender-roles-in-childrens-television.

This source argues that due to the high amount of time children spending watching television, especially during their formative brain development years, television grooms children to align themselves with specific gender roles. Through constant reinforcement, children learn to accept gender stereotypes are they are portrayed in the media, specifically television. This creates many adverse effects for children; lack of gender representation may give children the idea that female stories are not important, furthermore, stereotypical gender representation can affect opinions about occupations or interpersonal relationships. Although this source specifically focuses on the skewed representation of gender in the media and the adverse effects on children, the analysis in terms of the effect on children is weak. It contends that children are negatively affected by these gender roles on television, but it never explicitly clarifies what these expectations are. However, it offers apt analysis that explains how children are affected by gender stereotypes in the world around them, including television.

 

Jennifer, Aubrey, and Kristen Harrison. (2004). “The Gender-Role Content of Children’s Favorite Television Programs and its Links to their Gender-Related Perceptions.” Media Psychology, 6(2), 111-146. http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/230043335?accountid=11107.

This study discovered that in 1st and 2nd grader’s favorite television shows, male lead characters far outnumber female leads and female characters were far more likely to exhibit stereotypical characteristics (defined here as “attractive” and “frail”). This creates a circular problem with representation, as girls see more male characters, so they choose male characters as role models, but boys do not see female characters, thus they are unable to pick female role models. This encourages network executives to continue making shows with primarily male leads as they are more popular. From the analysis based on cartoons, it was most common for programs to create gender-neutral or gender counter-stereotypical programing, this includes having male characters more likely to cry or follow orders. Although female characters conformed to gender stereotypes based on appearance, their general actions and plot importance was about equivalent to the male characters. This source offers insightful analysis that specifically focuses on gender stereotyping in children’s television through multiple approaches. However, there are still limitations with the data itself, as it only analyzed six television shows, from two networks, so the sample was not representative of all television watched by children. The analysis is invaluable because of its multiple approaches to the problem of gender representation – emotional attitudes, numerical representation and appearance, which will be useful lenses for future analysis.

 

Johnson, Fern, and Karren Young. (2002). “Gendered Voices in Children’s Television Advertising.” Critical Studies in Media Communication, 19(4), 461-480. http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/220423928?accountid=11107.

This source argues that children’s advertisements are geared to the gender stereotype that they envelop – “boy” toys are accompanied with an aggressive male voice, and the voiceover for “girl” toys is a sing-song female voice. These voices are clearly caricatures to adults, but to children they can be directly interpreted, leading to a rigid understanding of gender roles. Furthermore, when the language used in these ads is analyzed, the verbs utilized with young girl audiences are associated with emotions, and the verbs for boys are linked to destruction and action. In particular, the portrayal of the genders is different within the television ads – girls are seen in bright colors and in groups, engaging in trivial activities like gossip; the boys are in black and white, and are generally doing something active. These television commercials continue to rely on polarizing gender stereotypes because they have been effective in selling products and allow an acclimation to the gendered world of adult products. This research gives strong evidence for the total immersion of children into gender roles, as commercials, generally thought of as background entertainment, are enlisting the same stereotypes present within regular programming. This source offers apt analysis about how language, images, and voices are used to promote gender stereotypes. Even though commercials is not a primary focus for this research, it still offers high quality, well-thought out criteria and analysis for where gender stereotypes can be identified in the media.

 

Witt, Susan. (2000). “The Influence of Television on Children’s Gender Role Socialization.” Childhood Education, 76(5), 322-324. http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/210380519?accountid=11107.

Television is one of the strongest social influences that children experience, and they mirror the behavior and expectations that are portrayed on television. Perceptions and biases are established over time through constant reinforcement, so if children only see women nurses on television, this can become a steadfast, stereotypical belief in the minds of children. When children see males portrayed as decisive and assertive, and females portrayed as passive or subordinate, children begin to believe these are appropriate behaviors for the genders. This is especially problematic when television does not mirror the real world; an unequal workforce, an intense emphasis on relationships for women, and a majority of young, attractive women, establishes expectations that are not reflective of real life. This article is a great example of the power of television in regard to children’s socialization and alignment with gender stereotypes. It is important to understand the implications of what children watch and how that creates a worldview which will eventually lead to biases and prejudices.

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