Sex: the biological characteristics that define men and women.
Gender: refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.
This boy's magazine includes superheroes, gaming and football. It uses a lot of dark blues and bright reds, which are stereotypically associated with boys. This contrasts against the girl's magazine which has lots of pinks and yellows on the front cover and mainly focusses on displaying female celebrities such as Ariana Grande.
Are gender representations deeply engrained in the cultural psyche?
Yes, representations are engrained in culture as we are taught these stereotypical roles and behaviour from a young age - when we are easily manipulated.
Can gender representations change over time?
I believe that representations can change over time if there is more awareness made and enough people decide to change their points of view.
Feminine
- Beauty (within narrow conventions).
- Size/Physique (within narrow conventions).
- Sexuality (as expressed by the above).
- Emotional (as opposed to intellectual) dealings.
- Relationships (as opposed to independence/freedom).
- Often represented as being part of a contact and working/thinking as part of a team. In drama, they tend to take the role of the helper (Propp) or passive rather than active (Mulvey).
- Men are represented as TV drama characters up to 3 times more frequently than women, and tend to be the focus of news stories.
- Women are often linked to the domestic situation - women as housewives or mothers and women as sex objects represented to entertain the male.
- In advertising and magazines, women are shown as young, slim, overwhelmingly white and conforming to our image of the ideal beauty.
- In non-fictional media, womens roles tend to be smaller and fewer than their male counterparts. Due to the patriarchal nature of our society, women are less likely to be the source of leading news stories.
Masculine
- Strength - physical and intellectual.
- Power
- Sexual Attractiveness - may be based on the above.
- Physique
- Independence - thought, action, finances.
- Isolated - not needing to rely on others (the lone hero).
- Male physique is becoming more important.
- Earp and Katz (1999) - a widespread and disturbing equation of masculinity and pathological control and violence. The media is responsible for a steady stream of images that define 'manhood' as connected with violence, dominance and control.
- The Meterosexual - e.g, a young single man with a high disposable income, living in the city as it is near to the best shops. Meterosexual is not gay but is often confused with homosexuality. He is objectified and sexualised which goes against traditional representations of masculinity.
- The Fool/Buffon - the bundling father in TV ads and sitcoms. Usually well intentioned and light hearted, these characters usually range from slightly inept and completely hopeless in work or parenting and domestic situations.
How does society treat people who do not conform to gender norms?
Whilst some people still exclude and alienate people who do not conform to gender norms, there is more acceptance now. For example, Ru Paul is a drag queen who hosts a show 'Drag Race' - this show has just won an Emmy.
What is our society's dominant ideology about gender?
Many people in society believe that gender is directly linked to your sex, but it is more diverse than this. Although, there is more knowledge about different genders today.
Vern & Bonnie Bullough
Gender roles are equated with masculinity and femininity - the male as the provide and the female as a nurturer. These two concepts can help us understand how gender is a social construct directly linked to heterosexual roles.
Gender identity - self conceived.
Gender role - as it is perceived by others.
Gender Bending
Gender bending refers to a person who dresses and behaves in a way characteristic of the opposite sex.
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