Gender Equality and Media
The media significantly impacts our culture, including our political discourse. A big issue in American politics is gender inequality, particularly the mistreatment of women. While the media can be an effective tool to achieve gender equality, it is currently doing the opposite.
Many trends in media reinforce gender stereotypes and the dehumanization of women. Data shows that women make up only 24% of people heard, read about, or seen in TV, radio, and news. Even more concerning is the fact that 46% of news stories reinforce gender norms. In entertainment, women are often either ignored (especially if they are a WOC, disabled, or LGBT+) or hypersexualized. In the past 10 years, 40% of women shown in top Hollywood films were dressed in "sexy attire", and 35% were shown nude. Compare that to the percentage of men dressed in sexy attire (10.2%) and shown with nudity (14.1%). Young female characters are also less likely than their male counterparts to be shown in an academic setting or participating in STEM activities.
On top of poor representation, those in power are overwhelmingly male. 73% of media management jobs are men, compared to only 27% women.
Social media is relatively new to the game. In general, do you think social media has overall helped the fight against gender inequality, or stalled it?
This was a pleasure to read. I really appreciate the perspectives that you brought to the table. As a whole, mass media still has a long way to go, at least in accurately portraying identities outside of society's heteronormative and patriarchal masculine framework. This doesn't apply to just white, cis women either; there's a wide array of intersecting identities that aren't covered fairly. For instance, we've seen a lot of anti-trans rhetoric recently that primarily centers around protecting the patriarchal family and reinforcing traditional (and binary) gender norms. This is even more so in the case of trans-woman, who "threaten" the hyper-masculine worldview that bigots (MRAs, MGTOW, etc.) rigidly adhere to. For Black women, mass media often promotes the "angry Black woman" trope, a concept most notable in a wide array of movies and TV shows that feature Black women. As you pointed out, 73% of media management jobs are comprised of predominantly white, cis men, leaving out various cultural perspectives that cause the media to reinforce pervasive stereotypes that harm marginalized groups and communities. This is also true of journalist newsrooms as well and various other forms of multimedia content. Thus, it's unsurprising that the media still contains cultural blind-spots that intentionally (or unintentionally) cover minorities in an unfair light. However, to answer your question, we still have a long way to go until gender equality is fully achieved. This requires an end to sexism, the family, patriarchy, and other intersection forms of domination that the media refuses to address. Therefore, we must work primarily outside the confines of social media (although social media can be a useful tool) to raise the consciousness of the masses and directly challenge these forms of oppression where they are at.
ReplyDeleteHello, exciting topic; I enjoyed reading your post because, as a woman, I can relate to this. I believe that many stereotypes bring down women. We have experienced how much women have grown despite stereotypical barriers. I think that modern social media trends, such as those on apps like TikTok, have helped empower women and their worth. I believe that this idea of women being stereotyped comes from older generations. I feel that more men support women and admire when women are indecent in today's age. So many women have spoken their minds out, all thanks to social media. However, some struggles still exist, as you mentioned. Good post.
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