Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Prime-Time Representations of Women and Victimization

Response to "Television's 'New' Feminism: Prime-Time Representations of Women and Victimization" by Lisa M. Cuklanz and Sujata Moorti

Cuklanz and Moorti: "This ecumenical presentation of sexual assault criminals echoes the feminist slogan that rape is not sex but is the assertion of power" (310).

GP: I found this theory very interesting and also very true. Over the years rape has always been portrayed as a violation of one's body, however in reality it has nothing to do with sex. Rape and sexual violence is all about power over another individual. A person wants to gain control or power and as a result they can violate a person sexually to make the victim completely vulnerable and thus the rapist can have total power over them. The motivation in sexual crimes has always been to gain power. This is incredibly true and could be a reason why victims feel so powerless afterwards and are often scared to report the crime or seek help.

Cuklanz and Moorti: "We find that Law and Order: SVU's representation of violent women present in female power in the domestic sphere as not only dangerous, but as a cause of crime in general" (311).

GP: As I stated before, rape and sexual violence is all about power and the only place where many women have power is in the domestic sphere. Violent crimes where the women is the criminal often take place in the home. However, when depicted in television this can be a major problem and could cause the audience to develop a stereotype against women. This stereotype being that it is dangerous for a women to have too much power in the home because she can use that power and manipulate it to become violent towards her family, even her children, in the home. This danger of a woman having too much power in the home was referred to in the article as the "monstrous maternal." 



Cuklanz, Lisa M. and Moorti, Sujata. (2006). Television's "New" Feminism: Prime-Time Representations of Women and Victimization. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 23:4, 302-321.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Mediating Hillary Rodhman Clinton

Response to "Mediating Hillary Rodham Clinton: Television News Practices and Image-Making in the Postmodern Age" by Shawn J. Parry-Giles

According to Shawn Parry-Giles, "politics in the postmodern media age is a struggle over images" (Parry-Giles, 375). I completely agree with him; whether the candidate is male or female the media always scrutinizes them based on their images and visual appearances. This statement is especially true for women. What was especially interesting to me is that Hillary Clinton is "depicted as a career woman turned feminist, a sometimes all-powerful First Lady who becomes a more traditional 'good mother,' and a 'stand by your man' wife who is victimized by a cheating husband. As Hillary Clinton's image shifts from a strong, independent feminist to a good mother and sympathetic wife/victim, her public opinion ratings improved" (Parry-Giles, 376). I don't understand why the media and society treat women in this manner. In a political candidate I would expect most Americans would want to elect a strong, intelligent, independent individual. However, this is apparently only true for male candidates. When a women is in the public eye and is portrayed as an independent feminist she is scrutinized, strongly disliked by the public, and even considered a "bitch." When the media began to portray Hillary Clinton as a good mother and a victim of her husband's extramarital activities, society began to love her and approve of her. They even went all the way as to support her when she decided to run for president this past year. But once again the media began to portray her as a strong, independent woman, with a mind of her own. The people would just not accept this image in a female candidate, however it is something they look for and even admire in a male candidate. Giles even stated that news networks such as CNN, ABC, and MSNBC promoted the stereotype that "we are to fear women with power, yet admire women with the status of victim, [such] images reward women who do not challenge the vows of marriage regardless of the circumstance while sending an ominous message to women who aspire to a position of power" (Parry-Giles, 387). I found this very disturbing and it made me begin to think: could the reason that Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign was due to the fact that Americans feared a woman in power and that the media was portraying her in a negative image because she was an independent, opinionated, strong woman? Americans were not very fond of Hillary Clinton when she first became the First Lady in 1992 since she was a very powerful First Lady and was portrayed as a feminist by the media. However after the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal and the media began to portray Hillary Clinton as a good and loving mother and a wife who "stands by her man," Americans began to love her and her approval ratings shot through the roof. This is true not just for Hillary Clinton, but I think for all woman that are under the limelight. The news media has a tendency to follow this stereotypical portrayal of woman and this stereotype has made a huge impact on how Americans view the candidates and their opinions on them in this 2008 Presidential election. 


Parry-Giles, S.J. (2000). Mediating Hillary Rodham Clinton: Television news practices and image-making in the postmodern age. 375-389.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt

Response to "Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt: Advertising and Violence" by Jean Kilbourne

Kilbourne: "Sex in advertising is pornographic because it dehumanizes and objectifies people, especially women, and because it dehumanizes and objectifies people, especially women, and because it fetishizes products, imbues them with an erotic charge... The poses and postures of advertising are often borrowed from pornography, as are many of the themes... pornography can be considered mainstream." (Kilbourne, 456-457)

Gaby P: In advertising, companies often want their product to seem desirable and erotic. They do this by objectifying the models, especially women, in a sexual manner. This is a problem in our society because when you objectify a human, you make her less than human. You make her an object. If a woman becomes a sexual object it can be a serious problem because then men will begin to view her as nothing more than just that. Which can lead to such serious problems as aggression, domestic violence, and even rape. 


Kilbourne: "Jackson Katz, who writes and lectures on male violence, often begins his workshops by asking men to describe the things they do every day to protect themselves from sexual assault. The men are surprised, puzzled, sometimes amused by the question. The women understand the question easily and have no trouble at all coming up with a list of responses." (Kilbourne, 465)

Gaby P: I was very shocked when I read this, but then when I thought about it a little it actually makes a lot of sense. I even asked a male friend of mine this very same question and he chuckled and said nothing. But when I ask myself this question, I find that I give a list of precautions that I take everyday. Although it just "makes sense" that a man is stronger and bigger and can naturally defend himself while statistically a woman is more likely to be attacked. However, when these statistics are enforced by advertisements, there is a serious problem in our society. 



Kilbourne, Jean. "Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt: Advertising and Violence." p. 455-475.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Gender Portrayal in Advertisements

A Response to "Center of Attention: The Gender of Sports Media" by Michael A. Messner

Messner: "A common theme in commercials aimed at boys and men is to depict women as capable either of humiliating men or affirming men's masculine desirability. And women's supposed masculinity-validating power is clearly linked to men's consumption choices: women will ignore or humiliate the man who is incapable of buying the right product or unwilling to, but women  become sexy and accessible 'prizes' for men who are wise enough to make the right consumption choices." (Messner, 480)

Gaby P: Sports media has always been characterized as a man's world. But I was shocked to discover that even the commercials that are aired during a sports program are male dominated. It is very rare for a woman to appear in the commercial and if she does, she is usually accompanied by a male. According to Messner, a male force is present in 96.1% of commercials aired during sports programs. What shocked me even more was that when a women did appear in a commercial she had a very distinct role. She was either used to validate the man or to be the man's prize. So therefore, even when the woman was in the commercial she was still defined in terms of the man. What I want to know is what we are telling the boys and young men, and even the girls, who watch these programs about our culture and our view of women as a society? I hope that these adolescents learn about gender from other sources besides sports programs because there is much more to women than just being the man's prize.


A Response to "Beauty (Re)Discovers the Male Body" by Susan Bordo

Bordo: "Berger discovered what he argued were a set of implicit cultural paradigms of masculinity and femininity, crystallized in a visual 'rule' of both classical paintings and commercial advertisements: 'men act and women appear.' A woman's appearance, Berger argued, has been socially determined to be 'of crucial importance for what is normally thought of as the success of her life.' Even walking on a city street, headed for their high powered executive jobs, women exist to be seen, and they know it. With depictions of men, it's just the opposite. 'A man's presence is dependent upon the promise of power which he embodies...what he is capable of doing to you or for you.' Thus, the classic formula for representing men is always to show them in action, immersed in whatever they are doing, seemingly unaware of anyone who might be looking at them." (Bordo, 190-191)

Gaby P: Art historian, John Berger, describes the classic formula in which males and females are portrayed in advertisements. In other words, the stereotypes of our society. His formula seems to be incredibly accurate because I have seen it in almost all the ads I have studied. All the way from the popular brand Ann Taylor to such expensive and wealthy brands as Michael Kors. Women are most often photographed looking at the camera with her sole purpose being to look good. Whether she's a businesswoman running a multimillion dollar corporation or a housewife waiting on her husband. The women are always in the ad to look good. In comparison, men photographed in ads do just the opposite. They are usually photographed in action, with their eyes away from the camera, completely oblivious to the fact that they look good or that anyone is looking at them. Although I know Berger is right in his analysis of art and commercial advertisements, I do not agree with it. I believe that not all women are that materialistic and narcissistic to be so concerned about their looks. Also, the majority of men, though they won't admit it, care about how they look and what to seem presentable to others whether they are going to work or on a date. 


Bordo, Susan. "Beauty (Re)Discovers the Male Body." Ways of Reading. 8th edition. Eds. David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky, Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 188-205.

Messner, Michael. "Center of Attention: The Gender Role of Sports Media." Introduction. Rereading America. 6th edition. Eds. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's 2004. 477-487.