Republic of the Philippines

Laguna State Polytechnic University

Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
GENDER AND SOCIETY
LESSON 9: Representation of Women in Media and Masculinity and Femininity

Learning Objectives:
✓ State the influence of mass media in shaping the current objectification in women
✓ State why the concept of masculinity can be oppressive to men
✓ Articulate ways to prevent violence against the different gender
✓ State why the concept of femininity can be oppressive to women
✓ Give solutions to resolve toxic masculinity and femininity
✓ Uphold gender responsive to the topic

Lecture Guide

What is Representation?
✓ Representation is the construction of ideas surrounding reality.
✓ The problem with representation is it is just that, a re-presentation of someone else's
view of reality not reality itself.
✓ At times an audience may misinterpret this. -In some examples, representation can
also be our desires of reality, but is very far away from actually representing reality
✓ Some texts may contain obviously unrealistic representations of reality, but over
saturation of any common representation could affect and influence a passive
audience.
✓ It could also be argued the representations media texts contain are commonly
stereotypes.
View of Women as to:
• Women who work in Media (professionals)
Only about 5% of television writers, executives, and producers are women
(Lichter, Lichter, & Rothman, 1986). Ironically, while two thirds of journalism
graduates are women, they make up less than 2% of those papers and in corporate
management of news only about 5% of newspaper publishers (“Women in Media,”
1988). Female film directors are even more scarce, as are executives in charge of MTV
Media analysts (Mills 1988) believe that if more women had positions;
authority at executive levels, media would offer more positive portrayals of women.
• Women who use Media (as audiences)
• Women as shown in Media (subjects)
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
Women are portrayed as significantly younger and thinner than women in the
population as a whole, and most are depicted as passive, dependent on men, and
enmeshed in relationships or housework (Davis, 1990).
The requirements of youth and beauty in women even influence news shows,
where female newscasters are expected to be younger, more physically attractive, and
less outspoken than males (Craft, 1988; Sanders & Rock, 1988)
• Women’s media (media created by women)
Media have created two images of women: good women and bad ones. These
polar opposites are often juxtaposed against each other to dramatize differences in
the consequences that befall good and bad women. Good women are pretty,
deferential, and focused on home, family and caring for others. Subordinate to men,
they are usually cast as victims, angels, martyrs, and loyal wives and helpmates.
Occasionally, women who depart from traditional roles are portrayed positively, but
this is done either by making their career lives invisible, as with.
The other image of women the media offer us is the evil sister of the good
homebody Versions of this image are the witch, bitch, whore, or nonwoman, who is
represented as hard, cold, aggressive-all of the things a good woman is not supposed
to be.
• Women who work for those who work in media (Support services- makeup, hair,
catering, stylists, etc.)
In general, some media platforms continue to present both women and men in
stereotyped ways that limit our perceptions of human possibilities. Typically, men are
portrayed as active, adventurous, powerful, sexually aggressive and largely uninvolved in
human relationships. Just as’ consistent with cultural views of gender are depictions of
women as sex objects who are usually young, thin beautiful, passive, dependent, and often
incompetent and dumb. Female characters devote their primary energies to improving their
appearances and taking care of homes and people.
Masculinity and Femininity
The study of masculinity and femininity provides one method for investigating the
underlying sociocultural context of the ideal body image.
Masculinity and femininity have been conceptualized as multidimensional constructs
which include gender role stereotypes, adherence to traditional gender role norms, gender
role conflict, and gender role stress.
These constructs reflect stereotypes about the beliefs and behaviors typically attributed
to males and females, which are acquired as they learn about the world and their roles in it.
They also contain social norms that “prescribe and proscribe what males and females
should feel and do.”
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
Hofstede: Masculinity / Femininity
Masculinity is seen to be the trait which emphasizes ambition, acquisition of wealth, and
differentiated gender roles. Femininity is seen to be the trait which stress caring and
nurturing behaviors, sexuality equality, environmental awareness, and more fluid gender
roles.
Masculinity stands for a society in which social gender roles are clearly distinct: Men are
supposed to be assertive, tough, and focused on material success; women are supposed to
be more modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life.”
“Femininity stands for a society in which social gender roles overlap: Both men and women
are supposed to be modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life.”
What makes a Man a Man?
What is that traditional ideology of masculinity? In the mid- I 970s, an American psychologist
offered what he called the four basic rules of masculinity:
1. No Sissy Stuff: Masculinity is based on the relentless repudiation of the feminine.
Masculinity is never being a sissy.
2. Be a Big Wheel: Measure Masculinity by the size of a pay check. Wealth, Power and
status are all markers of Masculinity.
3. Be a Sturdy Oak: What makes a man a man is that he is reliable in a crisis. And what
makes him reliable in a crisis is that he resembles an inanimate object. A rock, a pillar
or a tree.
4. Give ‘em Hell: Exude an aura of daring and aggression. Take risks; live life on the edge.
While these factors may have changed, some remain true until today but in different
forms. Joseph Vandello and Jeniffere Bosson, two psychologist who study manhood, added
that there are various forms of masculinities; although at a given time, only one masculinity
dominates the gender hierarchy above all the femininities and other masculinities. This is
known as “hegemonic masculinity”. It explains why some men who act a certain way feel as
though they can dominate women and men.
✓ Hegemonic masculinity refers to a societal pattern in which stereotypically male traits
are idealized as the masculine cultural ideal, explaining how and why men maintain
dominant social roles over women and other groups considered to be feminine
(Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005).
According to these researchers, men's masculinity is something that is elusive (it must be
earned) and tenuous (it must continually be proven). Put differently, men can easily lose their
sense of masculinity and, in turn, when it is challenged, they respond to restore it. One
prominent way males try to restore their masculinity is through aggression.
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
Proving Masculinity
The constant need to prove one’s masculinity along with the notion that it is hard to win and
easy to lose makes one wonder: Who do men need to prove themselves to? One myth of
manhood is that men act to probe themselves to women. But the fact that masculinity is so
strongly connected to a shared gender identity shows that men must constantly prove their
masculinity to other men.
As stated by Vandello and Boson, first, manhood is hard to win. While no actual rituals signal
the transition of a boy into manhood, various subcultures devise ways to initiate a boy into a
male adulthood.
It arises some cultures that makes man to pinpoint how they prove their masculinity. Here
are some of the examples
1. Lad Culture
2. Raunch Culture
3. Hookup Culture
Man as a power
The Western cultural view of masculinity and the masculine gender roles prescribed for
males are very clear. Males need to be powerful, strong, and efficacious. The sporting context
is one of the main forums that Western males have for demonstrating the various aspects of
masculinity that are closely aligned with the pursuit of muscularity. These include athletic
strength and superiority, competitiveness, toughness, endurance, leadership, status, power,
and authority.
✓ Toxic masculinity involves cultural pressures for men to behave in a certain way. And
it’s likely this affects all boys and men in some fashion.
✓ Toxic masculinity refers to the notion that some people’s idea of “manliness”
perpetuates domination, homophobia, and aggression.
Some researchers have come to agree that toxic masculinity has three core components:
1. Toughness: This is the notion that men should be physically strong, emotionally
callous, and behaviorally aggressive.
2. Anti-feminist: This involves the idea that men should reject anything that is
considered to be feminine, such as showing emotion or accepting help.
3. Power: This is the assumption that men must work toward obtaining power and status
(social and financial) so they can gain the respect of others.
Overemphasis of these traits may lead to harmful imbalances in someone trying to live up to
these expectations. Some examples include:
✓ aggression
✓ sexual aggression or control
✓ showing no emotion or suppressing emotions
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
✓ hyper-competitiveness
✓ needing to dominate or control others
✓ a tendency towards or glorification of violence
✓ isolation
✓ low empathy
✓ entitlement
✓ chauvinism and sexism
How to facilitate change
Eliminating or changing toxic masculinity will not happen overnight. However, as more
people begin to define their own version of masculinity and include other human experiences
within that definition, gender roles will continue to change on a larger scale.
On a personal level, it may be simple enough for an individual to educate themselves about
their attitudes towards masculinity and hold space for others to help change their definitions.
Inviting a friend to share their emotions or feelings about the topic, and openly discussing
them without judgment or criticism can be a good way to move forward.
Femininity
They may equate femininity with being a woman who embodies characteristics like being
nurturing, sensitive, demure, or sweet. But femininity cannot be understood as a fixed set of
essential traits that characterize all women. As a scholarly concept, femininity can carry
diverse meanings with numerous interpretations.
Toxic femininity is a way for women to sabotage others by using traditionally feminine
qualities. This can take the form of gossip, disapproval and social exclusion.
✓ Traditional femininity deems motherhood, marriage, flawless beauty, cooking skills,
silence on suppression and submission to male counterparts necessary for a woman
to be socially accepted. These ideologies are so deeply engraved in the society that it
becomes the yardsticks of measuring who is a good or a bad woman.
✓ Devon Price put it best when they said, “Sexism is focused on robbing women of status
and rights; toxic femininity is about defining womanhood so shallowly that a woman
feels de-gendered by basic human acts or neutral preferences.”

Issues Of Femininity

✓ Restricted freedom: women are not allowed to avail much freedom in society. The
inflow of foreign invaders affecting the safety of women.
✓ Underestimation of women Capacity: underestimation of women’s capacity and
capability lead to internal negative self –perception and doubt of their abilities that
may be on offer, an active encouragement and support is needed to challenge
internalized social norms and thus move to resolve those issues.
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
✓ Lack of family health provider: comparatively there is shortage of family health
providers to look into women’s special needs.
✓ Right to education: though governments have made provision under the constitution
yet a large no. of children. and those who are in the school, they fail to get proper
facilities of toilets, transport, health checkup, and medical facilities.
A new definition of what it means to be is might include overall human experiences, such as:
✓ openly experiencing a wide range of emotions
✓ interdependence
✓ vulnerability
✓ cooperation
✓ kindness
✓ softness

References:

L.A. Ricciardelli, in Encyclopedia of Body Image and Human Appearance, 2012

E.H. Thompson, J.H. Pleck. The structure of male role norms. American Behavioral Scientist.
1986; 29: 531-543. doi.org/ 10.1177/000276486029005003
What Is Toxic Masculinity? By Amy Morin, LCSW
Medically reviewed by Akeem Marsh, MD on November 26, 2020
What to know about toxic masculinity Medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, Ph.D.,
CRNP — Written by Jon Johnson on June 21, 2020
A Presentation by: Amaninder Sandhu
Hofstede (2001), Culture’s Consequences, 2nd ed. p 297.

Gendered Media: The Influence of Media on Views of Gender; Julia T. Wood

Just Like Toxic Masculinity, Toxic Femininity Is A Threat To Gender Equality BY AILUN SHI, UC
BERKELE