GEC E5-Gender and Society

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MODULE 6-Gender, Media and Education

Name: TARROZA, LORRAINE S. Program: BSED-SOCIAL

Activity:

Short Self-Reflection on the following questions. (5 points each)

1. How does media create gender stereotypes? Explain your answer with examples from
television.

Gender stereotypes evolve based on culture's belief systems regarding the attitudes, behaviors
and other characteristics that seem to differentiate the two sexes. Media play important roles
in society. They report on current events, provide frameworks for interpretation, mobilise
citizens with regard to various issues, reproduce predominant culture and society and lastly to
entertain.

Fair gender portrayal in the media should be a professional and ethical aspiration similar to
respect for accuracy, fairness and honesty. Yet, unbalanced gender portrayal is widespread
throughout the world. The Global Media Monitoring Project finds that women are more likely
than men to be featured in the world's news headlines and to be relied upon as 'spokespeople'
or as 'experts'. Certain categories of women such as poor, older women or those belonging to
ethnic minorities are even less visible. Stereotypes are also prevalent in every day media.
Women are often portrayed solely as homemakers and carers of the family, dependent on men
or as objects of male attention. Gender role biases in all forms of entertainment media have
served to reinforce and even enhance the degradation of women in society. Several content
analysis studies have reported that women are portrayed as victims, caretakers, and sex objects
while men are presented as masters, doers, and intellectuals. Fiction based dramas reinforce
the sex role stereotypes of men as decisive, assertive, dominant, and career oriented, and those
of women as emotionally dependent, eager to please, sentimental, and primarily concerned
with family relationships. Female characters in these series are most often house- wives,
secretaries, teachers, or nurses. Though women are featured more often than men in Indian
commercials, yet they are shown performing stereotyped female activities such as shopping,
preparing meals, and dressing to obtain the approval of men. This sex role stereotyping in the
media is not only derogatory, but is seriously impeding the struggles of women to achieve
economic and political autonomy. The changes that have occurred in women’s roles in society

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have been nothing short of phenomenal. Yet media representations of women remain
worryingly constant. In media platforms, such as telivision and video games, women tend to
portrayed in an underrepresented way. Women in video games are often depicted as
characters in need assistance or in positions that are either submissive or helpful.

Men are also subjected to stereotyping in the media. They are typically characterised as
powerful and dominant. There is little room for alternative visions of masculinity. The media
tends to demean men in caring or domestic roles or those who oppose violence. Such
portrayals can influence perceptions in terms of what society may expect from men and women
but also what they may expect from themselves. Attention needs to be paid to indentifying and
addressing these various gender imbalances and gaps in the media.

2. Is it possible to challenge stereotypes? If yes, in what ways?

Yes, there is a possible ways to challenge stereotypes. For example, stories which made by
female reporters are more likely to challenge stereotypes than those filed by male reporters.
Female reporters could cover female characteristics in order to show what women can do
beyond. This could serve as women empowerment and through the help of these, stereotyping
in womens can be challenge and change the way they view it is. Female journalists also can do
their part to challenge and changed the degradation of women in the society. A woman
journalist can show more sensitivity to women-centric issues and lend meaningful insights and
perspective. Film, movies and cartoons which shows women's skills, capabilities and powers can
challenge stereotyping too. For example, how Princess Jasmine in "Aladdin Movie" and Moana
in the Cartoons of "Moana" shown their own strength, intelligence, bravery and power, that
not just men can do leadership nor serve and protect their own people but also women too. In
terms of education, teacher educators can challenge and fostering change the media
stereotyping through effectively enhance to be rational thinking among students by enabling
them to critically analyse media projections and the information that is disseminated.

3. New Media offer a better scope for women to participate. Justify your answer with at least
two examples.

New media broadly speaking conceptualizes the implications of digital technologies, from the
novel sociopolitical configurations fostered by computer-mediated communocation to the
aesthetic and cultural significance of digital culture. It is the advanced means of communication

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like internet, mobile phones, community radio interactive video, etc. New media has made the
process of receiving information interactive, which means that everyone involved and
participating makes a difference in defining the content of messages or even benefitting from
the process of message creation and broadcasting. There exists a lot of potential in such media
to make a far greater contribution to the advancement of women. Using new ICT as knowledge
and networking tools provides important economic and development opportunities. In Gujarat,
women dairy producers use the Dairy Information System Kiosk (DISK), which manages a
database of all milk cattle, provides information about veterinary services, and other practical
information about the dairy sector. This information helps women producers maximize
productivity and earnings. The use of ICT devices like PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) and
financial software applications in micro-credit activity is also being explored by development
agencies and NGOs, to enhance women’s economic opportunities.

‘Khabar Lahariya’ is a local newspaper. A group of eight women belonging to the backward class
brings out this paper from the Bundelkhand region. This paper is being funded by an NGO and
was started with the aim to encourage women to fight for their own rights. Such initiatives are
required in every nook and corner of our country so as to empower women at the grass root
level. Thus, increasingly more and more opportunities are available for women to participate in
media and create more positive images and for women to be the role models. In a developing
country like ours, media offers tremendous potential to be used for bringing women into the
mainstream by giving information for their larger participation in development activities and to
augment their family resources. The new generation of girls and their gender sensitive teachers
can make a huge difference in what future girls will aspire for.

4. ‘Code of Ethics for media is necessary’. Why?

The code of ethics in media was created by suggestion from the 1947 Hutchins Commission.
They suggested that newspaper, broadcasters and journalists had started to become more
responsible for journalism and thought they should be held accountable. Ethics represent the
ability to understand right and wrong, morality is the standard of good behavior. The code of
ethics for media set a standard or act as a guide for ethical decision making. Every country has
laws and regulatory authorities that place some obligations or restrictions on the way media
operates. In addition, the way media works is influenced by the society in which it
operates.Codes of Ethics may be regional, national, or specific to the institution. Gender has
hardly featured as a consideration in these codes of ethics. Since the gender perceptions and
stereotypes are deeply ingrained in the socialization of every media practitioner, ethical codes

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are mechanisms to put this in order. Code of ethics for media is necessary because it lends to
gender sensitivity and prevent to create gender stereotyping in media.

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