Miss Representation

10 Questions:

1. “You can’t be what you can’t see.” What does this quote suggest about how representations of powerful women are, largely, absent from the mass media?

• This quote implies that the only forms of women that we see in mass media are the unrealistic stereotypes. This means that young girls have only these stereotypes to look up to and gain an incorrect representation of what women are capable of

2. What does Miss Representation suggest about the way women are represented in the media?

• Women are over sexualised, made to look unrealistically artificial 
• All the models are being photoshopped to be made look more flawless and it gives an incorrect representation of the realistic woman in society

3. What is a stereotype? Which gender stereotypes are being repeated again and again in the media?

• A stereotype is defined as a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.
• Ditsy dumb blonde with a super hot body
• Spoiled bitch that gets everything she wants

4. In terms of representation of women, what is the problem with mainstream Hollywood films?

• Women aren't presented with different body types, whereas men are of all sizes.
• Women will watch films with men in them but men won't watch films with women in them. 

5. What sort of stereotypes are used to represent female leaders?

• Bossy, arrogant, must be attractive, domesticated
• "When a man is assertive, a woman is bossy"

6. What does Caroline Heldman argue about representations of women like Lara Croft which, on the surface, may appear empowering?

• Caroline Heldman argues that no matter how empowering and strong they are, they wear sexy and revealing attire.
• This still proves that women are being objectified

7. What, according to Gloria Steinem, is the side effect of representations created in a patriarchal system?

• Boys, from a very young age, who watch Television Shows or play video games that involve violence, can be highly influenced into believing that it is normal and that it is okay to hurt others and demote and abuse women
• There have been numerous amounts of studies to prove this and yet no action has been taken

8. During prime time television, what age group do the majority of female characters belong to?

• 20-35 years old
• Apparently, once you hit the age of 35, you don't exist anymore

9. What does Jennifer Pozner claim about the representation of women on reality television?

• They are quite over dramatic, very irrational
• Would cause a lot of drama over a broken nail
• Bitchy, would fight over anything (including men)
• Emotional

Ellen DeGeneres

Why her show was important-culturally (between when she had her sitcom & when she had her talk show) How she was alienated in hollywood.

Career History (IMBd):
Ellen DeGeneres held a wide variety of jobs until she turned to stand-up comedy, making her bones at small clubs and coffeehouses before working her way up to emcee Clyde's Comedy Club by 1981. Her comedy was described as a distaff version of Bob Newhart. Beginning in the early 1980s, she toured nationally and was named the funniest person in America after winning a competition sponsored by the cable network Showtime. This led to better gigs, including her first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) in 1986. Though DeGeneres's early forays into series television were not successful (she appeared as a supporting player in two short-lived TV situation comedies in the period 1989-92, Open House (1989) and Laurie Hill (1992)), she scored a hit headlining her own 1994 sitcom on ABC "These Friends of Mine" (later renamed Ellen (1994) after its first season). She made TV history in April 1997 when her character, and DeGeneres herself personally, revealed that she was a lesbian. However, the show was canceled the following season due to declining ratings, after which DeGeneres returned to the stand-up circuit. In 2001, DeGeneres launched a new series, The Ellen Show (2001), on CBS, but it suffered from poor ratings and was canceled.

Notes:

• When she came out as a lesbian, Ellen was discriminated against in the industry and in the public.
• This had a big affect on her career as a comedian and talk show host.
• She eventually "redeemed herself" to society because despite all of this that she has been through she charged through and was determined to be successful.

Geena Davis "Gender In Media News"

This weekend, I read 2 of Geena Davis' linked articles on her Institute of Gender in Media website. It is very interesting to scroll through the articles, and to learn more about gender in the media today.


Article: 'I was being paid ten per cent of what my male co-star was getting:' Amanda Seyfried speaks out about huge gap between what male and female stars earn in Hollywood

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3157994/I-paid-10-cent-male-star-getting-Amanda-Seyfried-speaks-huge-gap-male-female-stars-earn-Hollywood.html

• Amanda Seyfried is a very successful actress in Hollywood (appearing in movies such as Les Misérables, Ted 2, Mean Girls, and Mama Mia!), yet she is unfortunately a victim of the gender pay gap.
• "A few years ago, on one of my big budget films, I found I was being paid 10 per cent of what my male co-star was getting, and we were pretty even in status," she told the newspaper.
• I think this fact is quite horrendous, especially considering the fact that she and her male co-star were basically equal. Receiving only 10% of his pay is a ridiculously huge pay gap - ALL BECAUSE SHE IS A WOMAN
• "I think people think that just because I'm easy going and game to do things, I'll just take as little as they offer," she said.
• However, in reaction, Amanda says she has found the courage to walk away from job offers that just aren't good enough. A very brave move for any film star, given the cut-throat nature of the industry. I really look up to Amanda after learning this.
• Before each role, she weighs up what it'll do for both her reputation as a movie star and her career long-term, and if it doesn't fit with her plan, then she's not afraid to turn it down. She says "It's not about how much you get, it's about how fair it is. You have to decide if you're willing to walk away from something, especially as a woman."
• I think it is very courageous for Amanda to make these decisions no matter what. It really makes a statement to the movie industry and if she keeps it up, she may make a big change.

Article: Watch Out, Wonder Woman, Female Superheroes Are On The Rise

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/watch-out-wonder-woman-female-superheroes-are-on-the-rise_55a167f8e4b0b8145f72e10a

• In 1941, Wonder Woman was born. She wore a mini skirt, strapless top, knee-high boots, with her Lasso of Truth, and some weaponised jewellery. BUT Compared to the men superheroes, she wore decidedly less clothing and more bondage-inspired accessories.
• Marvel, DC and other comic generators were hesitant to give ladies their own comics, mainly because of the fact that comic book readers were believed to be primarily men and boys.
• The comic world has 3 times as many male characters as women (118 vs 38). I think that this is a very interesting and surprising fact, but knowing that the comics were usually aimed at male readers, it is easy to understand.
• Characters who get their own comic: F-35%, M-44%
• Hoever, since 2000 alone, Marel has added 18 women-led titles
• In 1994, 9 male characters entered the canon, compared to only 2 females. Sixteen years later, in 2010, the spread was 6 male characters to 4 female. A small but very significant jump
• Years until a character gets their own comic: F-15y, M-18y
• Writers are acknowledging the existence of misogyny in the industry and have made strides into including women and LGBT characters into their series.
• I find this a very big jump for women in comics and I am so excited to see newly introduced women characters AS WELL as men. Maybe soon, we'll even see women with realistic costumes and realistic body types (and also men).

Geena Davis Stats

Characters in family films wearing sexy attire:
Women: 28.3%
Men: 8%

• Women are easier to sexualise
• Men can get away with wearing sexy attire because there is less circumstances of them
• You wouldn't think twice about a shirtless man, whereas the circumstances for women are different

Characters with thin bodies in Prime-Time shows:
Women: 37.5%
Men: 13.6%

• In Modern family; 

1. Cam is the typical gay guy, likes the dramatic arts. 
2. Gloria is fit and beautiful, Jay is overweight and old (Gloria is stereotyped as a gold digger). 
3. Phil vs Claire, good cop vs bad cop, fun dad vs strict uptight mum.
4. Claire & Gloria, they fought about Gloria being a gold-digger and being more beautiful and young and marrying her dad

• Stereotypes create comedy

Speaking characters in prime-time comedies:
Women: 31.5%
Men: 68.5%

• Shows dominance in society
• "Women should be seen not heard"

Shows with gender balanced casts: 22%

• Friends: 

1. Pheobe; stupid blonde vegetarian
2. Joey; dumb actor "how you doin?" played back player
3. Monica; chef, fat growing up
4. Ross; stereotypical nerd, obsessed with dinosaurs, married lots of times & didn't work out because he was a nerd
5. Rachel; use to be dumb rich spoiled one, learnt to take care of herself, get a job
6. Chandler; awkward, 

• Teen Wolf: mostly males

Ratio of male to female characters in children TV Shows:
2.25:1

• Growing up with a false representation of men and women
• Men are shown to be more dominant and superior
• Girls and women aren't relevant
• Females purpose is just to be rescued
• This ratio should be changing now
• Most Children TV shows follow the heroes journey

Percentage of family films with male narrators: 73.5%

• Because men know the whole story, they know everything
• Morgan Freeman 
• Male voices are to be heard and listened to
• Men are more authoritative
• The Princess Bride

Black characters in prime-time shows:
Women: 45.3%
Men: 54.7%

• Again, men are more dominant than men

These statistic tell us that women are insignificant to the media, they're easier to sexualise, less authoritative than men, are dumb and spoilt.

I do not find these statistics very alarming as it was already known to me that women aren't as highly regarding on television as men. Yet, this is not an excuse to not care about the imbalance of these statistics. As time goes on, I do believe that the industry is slowly equalising the appearances of male and female actresses. 

Semantic Web

Girls and Women Stereotypes

WEAK
Emotionally weak:

• Periods - "Is it your time of the month?" "She's just hormonal"
• Women cry more than men
• Mood-swings
• Careless
• Attached easily
• "OMG I just broke a nail"
• Bitchy
• Dependant on relationships
• Driven by emotion

Physically weak:

• Not "manly enough"
• "You run/play like a girl!!"

SEXY
Attractive:

• Makeup
• Model
• Beautiful face

Good body:

• Thin
• Slim
• Has curves
• Thigh Gap

DOMESTICATED
Stays in the kitchen:

• Cooks
• Washes dishes

Cleans the house
Washes clothes

ELEGANT
Well-mannered

• Respectful to everyone especially men
• Speaks elegantly

Graceful:

• Walks nicely
• Eats nicely

STUPID
Not smart

• Twirl their hair

Incapable
Useless:

• Co-dependant
• Can't drive
• Can't read maps

TALENTED

Does girly activities:

• Dance
• Sing
• Reads books

Stereotypes

A stereotype is an oversimplified generalisation about a person or group of people without regard for individual differences

Activity:

Think about a time when somebody had made a assumption about you based on an aspect of your perceived identity. Consider, gender, race, age, physical ability or appearance, economic status or something else.

Stereotype	Why	Assumptions	How it made me feel
Snobby rich girl	Attending St. Hilda’s	They think there are lots of snobs at the school They assume we’re lesbians	I know that the girls at St. Hilda’s are not
Quiet nerd	In primary school I worked hard and had a small amount of friends	They think I have no friends and am really really smart	Because I was quite young, I was confused and self-conscious as to what other people actually thought of me
Dumb Filipino	I am half Filipino, half Australian	I can’t speak English	I was quite offended because being Filipino is apart of me and i can’t change that
Emo	I wear black nail polish and like to wear black all the time	They think that because I like the colour black I am emo	Pretty offended as I don’t consider myself as emo
Tan surfer chick	I am Australian	They think because I am Australian, I fight crocodiles and surf every single day	I laugh

Male Stereotypes in the Media

Old Spice Man:

• Stereotypical abs, muscles, handsome
• Tells men they need to step up their game
• Men need to be able to build things for their wife
• Walks on water like Jesus does
• No one can look like him, BUT they can smell like him
• Tells men that they need to step up their game
• Spa represents wealth, and relaxation
• Selling an unrealistic expectation of men

Solo Man:

• Buff, strong man who is adventurous and tan
• Men need to be strong and athletic
• Has the ability to wrestle a crocodile/alligator
• If they have the solo, they will be strong like that man
• Can survive in the wilderness on his own
• Successfully takes on tough situations 
• Willing to take control of a situation
• Sloppy and messy when he drinks the solo
• Men should be intimidating as he looked at the crocodile with a death stare

Coca-Cola AD:

• Man does all of the handy work; mowing the lawn
• Women always stick together in groups to gossip and 
• The man is confident in his body, showing off to the women
• He was objectified
• Abs, Muscles, Confidence, Hotttnnnessssss
• "Everyday is a perfect day if you drink coke"
• The lawn mower had a hypnosis wheel on it symbolises how he hypnotised the women into falling into a 'love trans'

Lynx AD:

• The only thing men care about is getting the beautiful women 
• Men don't have to have brains, just lynx
• Women are angels, innocent, beautiful, attracts attention all the time
• The man isn't a sexualised as he is just a normal guy
• He isn't buff or ripped implies that they don't have to be as attractive as women "as long as you use this product you attract all the girls"
• All the other women other than the angels are not conventionally attractive
• Men are willing to drop what they're doing to stare at the women

Calvin Klein Underwear:

• He's buff, and fit, STRONG
• Attractive face
• Positioned to show all of his muscles
• He's sweaty which implies he's been doing physical work
• Raw
• Tattoo implies the bad boy appeal
• Male stereotype to have hairy armpits
• Teasing the viewers by revealing some "lower-area" skin
• Red background represents romance and lust 

Azarro Men's Fragrance:

• The only purpose of men is to attract women
• Man is fully clothed, conservative and classy
• Rather a pretty boy than a buff and strong man
• Targets almost feminine and classy men
• Use of celebrities to attract more people
• Men are supposed to be womanisers 

Omega Watches Watches:

• James Bond; famous movie character
• Dark mysterious and black - negative space
• Sells class, also fully clothed, rather than sexiness
• Serious face, men are to be serious
• James Bond is smart, good-looking, gets all of the women, classy

Twilight Trailer:

• Men are always pining for the female character
• The female is the object of their affection, Bella is all they care about
• They fight over the woman
• Dominant, strong and protecting 
• "I'll protect you, I'll fight for you"
• Brave, attractive and tall