Discussion sample

Watch Jean Kilbourne:  The Dangerous Ways Ads See Women. (Jean Kilbourne, 2014), which examines the portrayal of women in advertising and the resulting effects on feminine identity, and Tough Guise:  Violence, Media & the Crisis in Masculinity. (ChallengingMedia, 2006), which examines the portrayal of men in the media and the resulting effects on masculine identity.

Locate a scholarly article examining a relevant phenomenon in relation to media and gender (e.g., when considering women in advertising, self-esteem, objectification, body shame, or perceptions of attractiveness might be particularly relevant; when considering men in the media, aggression might be particularly relevant; for both, attitudes and gender roles are relevant themes).  See the recommended articles for this week for some options.

-Focus on women or men for your discussion, depending on the relevant phenomenon you considered in your research above.  (You will address the opposite in your replies.).

Sexual violence and intimate partner violence are ways through which women bodies have been harmed through sexual objectification (Davidson, & Gervais, 2015). Bissell and Rask (2010) investigated the effect of media on women’s beliefs regarding beauty. The researchers identified media portrayal of thinness as being influential in the desire to be thin for most women. The findings corroborate those of American Psychological Association (2007), which suggested that women and girls have been objectified sexually. In contrast, Morrison and Halton (2009) pointed out that media portrays masculinity with higher levels of aggression and more positive outcomes.

-Examine the implications of media portrayals of women or men, given the videos you watched and the article you read.  In your discussion, include the following:

Violent media have a negative effect on children’s aggressiveness (Bushman, Gollwitzer, & Cruz, 2015). Therefore, media portrayal of gender, sexuality, and masculinity has great implications for the wellbeing of human beings.

-Explain how stereotypes, prejudice, and/or discrimination are impacted by media portrayals of women or men.

ChallengingMedia (2006) identifies some of the stereotypes among women and men based on masculinity and femininity. Some of these stereotypes lead to prejudice and body shaming, which are negative aspects of sociology. The media are at the forefront of driving these stereotypes through inappropriate advertising and manipulated messages regarding body odor, weight, hair beauty, and others (Kilbourne, 2014). Therefore, media portrayals of men and women contribute to stereotypes and prejudices arising from masculinity, sexuality, and body beauty.

Interpret the implications:

-How might the portrayal of gender impact behavior and/or mental processes? For example, does seeing scantily clad women or "macho" men have positive or negative effects on men? How does it affect women? Support your points with examples and/or credible evidence.

Media portrayal of gender has positive and negative social and psychological implications. Positive implications include raising confidence and encouraging productivity in both men and women. However, most of the effects are negative. BBC (2014) notes that the human mind consists of various aspects such as intelligence, personality, and memory. These aspects of human nature can be negatively impacted by media and advertising.  Negative implications of media portrayal of gender include low self-esteem, advancement of toxic gender stereotypes, and discrimination in workplaces as well as other sociological venues.

Relate additional phenomena in American culture that that may be especially relevant to a discussion of social attitudes regarding gender.

Careers and professional activities tend to align people based on their gender differences. LeFrancois (2016) notes that gender roles in North America are evident in traditional male and female careers. Therefore, employment and careers are American phenomena that relate directly to social attitudes regarding gender.

Give an example of an advertisement or media program (other than one presented in the required videos) that you believe might impact attitudes. Explain the relevance and point out specific elements that illustrate.

Vaseline aired a worldwide media campaign on YouTube to support Vaseline healing project, which exploited gender and age differences to pass its message. The images shown in the advert highlight skin wrinkles in older women and some children of color. I believe that using older women and black children to promote advert messages advances traditional stereotypes and prejudices against people.

References:

American Psychological Association, Task force on the sexualization of girls. (2007). Report of the APA Task Force on the sexualization of girls. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report-full.pdf

BBC. (September 17, 2014). Science:  Human body & mind. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/

Bissell, K., & Rask, A. (2010). Real women on real beauty: Self-discrepancy, internalization of the thin ideal, and perceptions of attractiveness and thinness in Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty. International Journal of Advertising, 29(4), 643-668. doi:10.2501/S026S048710201385

Bushman, B. J., Gollwitzer, M., & Cruz, C. (2015). There is broad consensus: Media researchers agree that violent media increase aggression in children, and pediatricians and parents concur. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 4(3), 200-214. doi:10.1037/ppm0000046

ChallengingMedia. (2006, October 4). Tough Guise:  Violence, media & the crisis in masculinity. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3exzMPT4nGI

Davidson, M. M., & Gervais, S. J. (2015). Violence against women through the lens of objectification theory. Violence Against Women, 21(3), 330-354. doi:10.1177/1077801214568031

Kilbourne, J. (2014, May 8). Jean Kilbourne: The dangerous ways ads see women. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy8yLaoWybk

LeFrancois, G. (2016). Psychology: The human puzzle (2nd ed.). [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

Morrison, T. G., & Halton, M. (2009). Buff, tough, and rough: Representations of muscularity in action motion pictures.  The Journal of Men’s Studies, 17(1),57-74.