women and media

Post on 21-Jun-2015

303 Views

Category:

Education

1 Downloads

Preview:

Click to see full reader

DESCRIPTION

This presentation is part of online session for Foundation Course for SNDTWU college students which will be delivered from WizIQ platform in few hours from now.

TRANSCRIPT

Portrayals of Women in Media- Indian Context

Mira K Desai, PhD

Associate Professor and I/C Head

University Department of Extension EducationSNDT Women’s University

Juhu Campus, Mumbai

30th September 2014

Outline for the Day

• Society- Men and Women and third Gender• Women in Indian society• What and Which of Media?• Women and Media• How are women portrayed in media?• Role-Qualities-Behaviour-Valuation of Sexes =

Social construction of Gender• What happens because of such portrayals?• Conclusion

SOCIETYW

OMEN

MEN

Third Gender-

LGBT

INDIAN WOMEN

Audio Media

Visual Media

Media & Entertainment Industry…??!!

• Advertising {OOH, Direct marketing, PR…}• Broadcast, Cable, DTH, IPTV• Filmed Entertainment• Print- Newspapers, Magazines• Publishing- Books• Radio• Upcoming convergent platforms- Mobile

and telecom, Gaming, Internet & Social networking….

Indian Media Journey in NumbersMEDIA THEN NOW

Newspapers and Periodicals

3000 in 1947 including 300 dailies

93,985 registered publications by Dec 2012

Television Two-hour/day transmission on ONE channel and 41 TV Sets in 1962

850 channels with 24X7 telecast and from 127 million in 2008 to 253 million households in 2010

Films 280 films in 1947 and had 150 theatres in 1921

1250 productions in 2010 having 13000 Cinema halls

Radio 1 AM radio channel in 1947

Multiple Stations: AM , FM, Community, Campus

Internet Inception in 1995, 4.55 million users in 2004

160 ISPs, 71 million ‘claimed’ users

Women - Media

• Women who work in Media (professionals)• Women who use Media (as audiences) • Women as shown in Media (subjects)• Women’s media ( media created by

women)• Women who work for those who work in

media (Support services- makeup, hair, catering, stylists, etc.)

Women in Audio Visual Media

• ACTRESSES: Who are TV/Films characters• NEWS-PRESENTERS: Those who are anchors,

read/write news, interviews people on screen• PRODUCERS & DIRECTORS: Women who

make TV/Film/Newspaper content• TECHNICIANS: Women camerapersons,

sound-engineers, assistants, workers• NEWS SUBJECTS: Any woman shown as news

subject (who can be any woman)

Women as News Subjects

GMMP- Gender Media Monitoring Project (www.whomakesnews.org)

• FOUR: 1995, 2000, 2005, 2009/10• GMMP 2009/10 on 10 November 2009 • Volunteer groups in 130 countries across the

world monitored national newspapers, listened to radio newscasts and watched local television

• Findings of the representation and portrayal of women and men in news media around the world across cultures/languages/countries

WOMEN in NEWS….as

News Providers/

Sources

Media Professionals

News Subjects

Portrayal in news

GMMP 2009/10• Sample: 6,902 news items and 14,044 news subjects,

including people interviewed in the news.• Themes: Politics/government dominate the biggest chunk

of coverage (27% of the total number of stories), crime/violence comes second at 20%, and the economy third at 18%.

• People: 24% of the people interviewed, heard, seen or read about in mainstream broadcast and print news are female; only 16% of all stories focus specifically on women.

• Change: GMMP 1995 recorded only 17% of the people in the news were women which became 24%. ONLY 7% rise in visibility of women in last 15 years.

Global – Local….GMMP 2010 GMMP Global

GMMP India

GMMP Mumbai

News subjects Women Males

24% 76%

22% 78%

20% 74%

Women news reporters 37% 34% 14%Women central stories 13% 12% 8%Gender policy reference 10% 9% 6%Highlighting G. equality 6% 5% 8%

ROLES attached to SEX

WOMEN• Mother• Wife• Sister• Daughter• Daughter-in-law• Mother-in-law• Sister-in-law

MEN• Father• Husband• Brother• Son• Son-in-law• Father-in-law• Brother-in-law

Behaviour expected from SEX

WOMEN• Agree with what

others say• Behave as

expected in a given role

• Defined boundaries of movement

MEN• Take control of

situation• Lead others and

given discounts to women as stupid

• Can do anything

Valuation attached to SEX

WOMEN• What they do in

house is not of much value

• If she is working outside and independent she is ignoring family

MEN• IF they do any

work in house they are obliging women

• If he is working from home, helping wife, he is good husband

Why difference in these women!!!

• Media likes to show women as suffering, sacrificing, submissive, silent, subdued, passive individual driven by others.

• Media creates stereotypes of mother-daughter-wife-sister which fits into subordinate roles.

• Media promotes women as body- worker without strength- person without own power.

Social construction of Gender

INSTITUTIONS

• Family• Education• Religion• Caste• State• Media• Market

ISSUES

RoleQualities

BehaviourValuation

CONTROLS

• Fertility• Labour• Mobility• Property• Resources• Sexuality

MEDIA- What does it do?

• MIRRORs the Society…..• Creates MARKET by selling you ideas,

products, services…..• MEDIATES experiences of its audiences….• Provides MYTHs…..Circulates and

sustains them……• CREATES definitions of NORMAL

Portrayals of Women

• Mainly as news subjects• Sensationalisation and objectification• Glorified in certain roles like mothers• Most often as a body rather than a PERSON• Usually to support the sex stereotypes• Usually silent, passive, not important person• Most often shown in house and if shown

outside house than in domesticated roles

Women as Communicators

• Novelists• Journalists• Writers• Directors• Producers• Financers• Painters• Sculpture artists

• Poets• Singers• Dancers• Actresses• Folk Artists• Presenters• Anchors• Photographers

Media to Women

• Media creates definitions about: What women should wear? When and where women should move? How should women behave? • Media stereotypes Gender realities.• Media perpetuates Gender existences.• Media conditions gendered experiences.

Media creates Gender definitions

• Man should be metro-sexual.• Woman should be sexy.• Woman should be size ZERO.• Girls are cute/vulnerable/sweet.• Man can/should control women.• Man is the head of the household.• Woman have to/must marry.

Media stereotypes Gender realities

• Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law always fight, What about Father –Son?

• Women can’t be friends to each other, how many friendships do you have!!

• Husband has a ‘rights’ over the wife, What about rights of the wife?

• Children are mother’s responsibility, are not they joint responsibility?

Media perpetuates Gender existences

• Women are dying to get male attention.• Women need to look ‘beautiful’.• Woman are body and man are brain.• Woman can not survive without man.• When woman say NO it is yes?• Woman has no SAY in decisions of her life!• Woman’s first priority is HOME.

Indian Television….

• More diverse portrayals• Soaps reinforce culture maintenance

responsibilities on women and stereotypes• News objectifies women and highlights

expected roles • Women as victims and women against

women are highlighted

Indian Films…..

• Commodification………..Stereotyping…………..Objectification…….Role setting

• Setting parameters of qualities, behaviour, valuation for men-women

• Lesser proportion of films showing women in ‘control’ of their life

• Women directors did not make much difference but the change is due…..

New Media: Ray of HOPE

• New media- Internet, mobile provides space for women

• Women are voicing, making issues visible, changing direction of discourses

• Newer occupations are emerging- food bloggers, social media specialists, Cross-country researchers, Doctors without borders, Alternate Media reporters…..

What happens because of such Portrayals?

• Invisibility of women• Marginalisation of women’s work• Socialisation of young girls/women• Definitions of ‘NORMal’• Provides public sanction to men• Numbness or Desensitisation of people

towards women and women’s issues

Gender N Media: Resources• Media and Gender: A Scholarly Agenda for the Global Alliance

on Media and Gender, co-edited by IAMCR and UNESCO, 2013 URL: http://iamcr.org/publications/special/media-and-gender

• Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media: Draft Framework of Indicators to Gauge Gender Sensitivity in Media Operations and Content- March 2012, URL: http://www.unesco.org/new/

• Getting the balance right: Gender equality in journalism, 2009, URL: http://portal.unesco.org

• Gender sensitivity: a training manual for sensitizing education managers, curriculum and material developers and media professionals to gender concerns, 2004 URL: www.unesco.org

How should the Portrayal be?

• Women as human being • Women having her aspirations, needs, life• Women as equal partners of civilization• Women respected for ‘what she is’ rather than

‘what she should be’• Society having men and women as equal

partners • Changing not only the media but also the

‘minds’

THANK YOU for your TIME

feel free to connect@drmiradesai@gmail.comsndtmedia@hotmail.com

top related