Today in media we talked more about women and mens statistics in films and television shows. By This I mean the statistics of having a gender balanced cast, the amount of women wearing more sexual clothes etc... The statistics are really quite eye opening.

- This shows that women 'should be seen and not heard'

- In modern family Gloria is so fit and beautiful and Jay is overweight and old.

- People would accuse Gloria and call her in that relationship as a stereotype "Gold digger" but no one would say Jay was a "creepy old man"

- At the start of modern family Claire and Gloria are fighting about Gloria being a gold digger and being beautiful and young and marrying her dad. 

- Joe's character is a dumb actor, he is a playaaaa, his catch phrase was "how you doing?" 

- Monique she was a chef who was fat

- Ross was a steretypical nerd who was obsessed with dinosaurs. 

- Rachel: In the beginning she was dumb rich and spoilt and then learned how to get a job. Her best job was working at Ralph Lauren

- Chandler was awkward and no one knew what his job was because his job was always changing

- Women are easier to sexualise.

- The percentage of men wearing sexy attire is smaller they seem to be able to get away with it more.

- Why do you need a male narrator? Because they know everything?

- They are strong and easy to listen to

- More authoritive

- This isn't good as you grow up with a false representation of men and women and with the idea of women being inferior/or not as relevant as men

- When the women are in these they often just need to get rescued.

- Men are often shown to be more dominant and superior. 

All these statistics tell us

- Women are insignificant compared to men

- They do not know as much

- They are dumb

- They are spoiled

- They are easier to sexualise (and are objects for men)

- They are less relevant 

See more at http://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/11/geena-davis-institute-women-girls-are-stereotyped-sexualized-hollywood

men in the media

Today we discussed some stereotypes that often effect men in media today and we talked and worked out how men are misrepresented in certain commercials, films and advertisements.


The old spice ad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLTIowBF0kE&list=PLB9F260CE56D04E73&index=3

he is basically saying I am what you want to be but you’re never going to be me so just have this old spice body wash and you can be something like me. 

Its telling men that they need to step up their game 

The guy is strong buff tuff, he has abs, he is tan

He is saying that men need to be adventurous 

He walks on water which states that if he uses old spice he can be godly 

he states he built the kitchen with his bare hands stating than men need to be able to build things.

He lands in a spa which is a symbol for wealth and relaxation

The spa breaks an he is on a motorcycle 

It is not a realistic expectation of men and this is a totally stereotyped man 

It mis represents every male ever

The solo guy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV3Rma_9J3w

• No one can do that except (possibly) a very minimal number of men
• Hardly any men look as good as this guy he is setting unrealistic representations in the media
• If you drink solo it will make you strong and powerful like this guy
• Males need to be adventurous and strong and able to defend themselves and survive in the jungle 

The diet coke guy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwYCvTpYMCA

• If you drink diet coke you will look like that gardener because it has zero sugar and calories
• Men are supposed to be adored by woman
• The male is usually in control of the situation
• The ‘sex symbol’ athletic strong tan six pack image of the guy misrepresents men
• The man was objectified
• What happens in this ad is okay for men but not for women

Lynx Angels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G1j-SY8YLc

• The guy is attractive but not supposed to look like a supermodel, he does not have a fancy apartment and doesn’t have a six pack but the fact he is using lynx body spray represents, because of the angel that fall from the sky who are beautiful, that he can get any woman he wants by using lynx body spray. 
• The idea of the average guy relates and connects to the majority. 
• Men are supposed to always be looking for a woman.

Calvin Klein ad

(look at him though)

• He looks chiseled and has an amazing jawline he is a little hairy which shows masculinity. He is in a light that shows off his AMAZING abs and he looks sweaty which makes you think he has been doing some kind of physical activity. This is misrepresenting men as they don’t all look like this. 

Azzaro men's fragrance

The man in this has a perfect face and perfect jawline. AS Libby would say “he is an exquisite specimen.” 

The problem is only the smallest percentage of men actually look like this so he is seriously mis representing men

The woman holding onto him is meant to say that women will want you if you wear this fragrance. 

Omega watches

• The guy from the James bond movies is in this ad and he looks seriously attractive and sophisticated.
• Basically this ad is saying this watch is a symbol of sophistication and success and if you have it you will be both these things. 

Twilight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2HIda5wSVU&feature=player_embedded

• The men in these seem solely concerned with the well being of the completely useless heroine Bella Swan. In the film this is all the two male protagonists are concerned with.
• This seriously mis represents men as they don’t often float through life trying to only focus on controlling and taking care of ‘their girl’
• As well as this the two characters are very very attractive and not exactly an accurate representation of the entire male population in either looks or behaviour
• (side note most of the male population are not werewolf nor do they sparkle.)

The overall representation of men in all of these advertisements are definitely not realistic as men are often not as attractive, not as showy or attentive or as seductive or over protective as the men in all of these different mediums of media therefore men have been severely misrepresented or over sexualised and it is often overlooked in a way that over sexualisation of women is not. 

I feel that men and boys may feel inadequate to these perfect media images in the same way that women do They may feel that they are not buff, strong, tall tan or attractive enough or feel that they are not enough for the person they are with and should be more mach, more strong and more attentive. But really the media just misrepresents men. 

Today in class

Today in class we had a great chat about the stereotypes surrounding women and used to often define women and degrade them in popular culture and everyday life. It would be ideal to abolish stereotypes as women are different and unique and while some may have some of the qualities on the stereotype list it does not define them.

Woman stereotypes
Attractive -- wears makeup -- Skinny--Elegant

Being a bitch-- emotional fighting-- Relationships by women are not driven by logic they ae driven by emotion

Domesticated

Stereotypically women need a man

weak- physically--Bad at sports (play like a girl)

Emotional-- Cries a lot-- "She's just hormonal"-- mood swings 

Stupid --dumb and airy-- Twirl their hair-- Incapable--Co dependant -- useless-- Can't drive-- can't read a map-- careless-- they get emotionally attached

High pitched voice

obsessed with material things (materialistic --- Only cares about clothes and shoes and high fashion-- break a nail--loves money

Gender in media

How are these objects in media portraying females?

• There is a really well known name “Carl Largafeild” and there is a fancy bottle 
• The photo seems to say if you drink coke light then you will be beautiful and thin like the model and the boy is staring at her as if this is saying boys will look at you
• The colours of pink and white white is a symbol for innocence and pink is a symbol for femininity 

Dior advertisement

• The girl in this add looks very ‘sexy’ and ‘sultry’ it is as if she is the hypnotic poison
• She is in a seductive pose
• Saying women must look curvy like the girl

Cup A soup

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17yt6tlQxzM&feature=player_embe

• The girl in this add is pretty for an office worker
• She looks dumb she has got a blank gaze and is twirling her hair and doesn't realise there is a fire next to her
• She is the stereotypical dumb receptionist
• She is only worth working in the office
• She was stupid
• she is only in the office cause she's a pretty face and the eye candy for the guys
• She cant even make a Cup A soup which a man hands her

Twilight

- It seems like Bella always needs someone and can't be alone
- She is always hugging or holding on to someone whether that be Edward, her mum, her dad etc
- She is very co dependant.
- She is a bit pathetic she needs someone to look after her.
- She isn't very strong or independent
- She is very fearful all the time.

- I don't think this is a negative depiction of Paris Hilton, she looks quite nice and well put together.

- I think her outfit is probably a little over the top but thats just em Im sure its very high fashion. 

- I guess the fact that she looks very well put together conveys the message that women have to look all put together at all times even when being mobbed by the paparazzi. 

- This is a very negative depiction of Lindsey Lohan
- She looks emotionally unstable, exhausted and upset.
- She looks a bit like she is throwing a tantrum or going through some sort of drama
- She looks spoiled and looks to be over reacting.
- This is probably not the case at all but its how she has been depicted.

- This is not a great depiction of women, n some ways and in others it is. 

- The photographer has got a pretty unflattering first angles shot of Miley in the outfit which makes her look very unfashionable, and the face she is pulling isn't a nice face.

- It is a nice photo (the second one) As she seems to be emotionally stable she seems to be happy and content and talking to someone who is making her smile.

- This photo may have been taken to start rumours that she has a new boyfriend or something though because of the way she is talking on the phone and smiling. Its best not to start those rumours as it is really her business and her business only but, when you are in the public eye this can happen. 

- This is a photo that depicts women in a positive light. 

- the camera is a good angle and the lighting is flattering, she looks extremely confident and beautiful in her dress and she looks strong and happy. 

- She also doesn't look exceptionally airbrushed and quite realistic which is very good.

- Women are depicted well in this image as well as they all look strong beautiful and confident and they are not being objectified, or (as far as this picture shows) disrespected so I think it shows these women in a very positive light. 

- This is an interesting representation of women. 

- Some people in class said it was a negative representation as she is a high fashion model and only a small percent of the population look like her.

- They said that if this was published in a magazine it could make girls feel bad that they don't look like this. 

- But I think this image doesn't look manipulated or photoshopped too much.

- I think is she looks like this good for her and we should be tearing her down saying she is a bad representation of women just because she is slim and attractive. 

- I do not think she is being over sexualised either, yes her dress is short but it is covering what it needs to over quite well she isn't exposing huge amounts of cleavage and frankly she looks exceptionally strong and confidant. 

- I think that the woman in this image look strong confident and are at a healthy weight. This is a great representation of women in society. 

Snow white questions

1. After reading the story, make a list of all the qualities that the story is suggesting are important in women. When making your list, think about physical qualities and the personality qualities that appear to be important.
- Pretty
- Sweet
- Kind
- Able to cook and clean
- Quiet
- Marriage
- Submissive 
- No depth to her

2. Next, make a second list that identifies traits/qualities in women that appear to be undesirable in the story. When making this list, you can think about what the opposite qualities would be to the ones you listed in question one and you can also consider the wicked Queen. Like your first list, consider physical characteristics and personality.
- Loud
- Outspoken
- Unattractive
- Ugly
- Average looking 
- Being dominated
- Being opinionated
- Being single
- Old
- Messy 

3. Now, see if you can make a third list that identifies traits/characteristics (both physical and personality based) that appear to be important in the male characters of the story.
- Dominance
- Wealth
- Attractiveness
- powerful
- Handsome and manly
- Controlling
- Manipulative
- A position of power
- Unable to look after yourself
- You have to save the day
- Men have to be tall strong and handsome
- Opinionated and free to speak their mind
- The men work while the women clean the home


4. After looking over the three lists, are there any conclusions that you can make about what the story is trying to teach its audience about the roles of men and women? Explain in as much detail as you can.

Women: This story seems to state that women should be seen and not heard and their only value lies in how physically attractive they are. This story seems to state that girls should be sweet, good a cooking a cleaning and be submissive enough to fall 'in love' with a man if he is wealthy and attractive.

Men: This story states that men should be firm on what they want and not give up till they get it. They should be wealthy, in a position of power, and attractive, otherwise they are considered peasants. 


5. How would you describe Snow White's relationships with: *The wicked 
Queen
Terrible! The queen is extremely jealous of snow white but why!? She is a seven year old! Most seven year olds are beautiful, but for all we know she could have started to get really ugly through puberty and turned out not very pretty you never know. This relationship is messed up considering that the queen tries to cut out her heart and eat it and tries to kill her three times. Also she is meant to be her step mum! she's terrifying! That would be traumatising for me if I was a seven year old. 
- poisonous relationship Snow White didn't hate the queen but the queen hated Snow White. 
- Competitive because the queen always wants to be better.
- Snow White is very submissive towards the queen. 

*The dwarfs
I think that they would think of Snow White as a bit of a server but someone they love as they think she is lovely and sweet and allow her to live with them and don't get angry at her for practically breaking and entering. I think she likes them because they are kind to her and obviously concerned with her well being because the tell her (repeatedly) to not answer the door because the queen is trying to kill her, but she keep doing it! She's a bit stupid in my opinion but then again she is seven. 
- They show a lot of concern for Snow White because they save her many times
- It is a very trusting relationship as they don't know each other. 

*The Prince
I don't even know where to begin with this one. The prince see's the seven year old snow white in her transparent coffin and says he can't go a day without seeing her and will buy her from the dwarfs and she will be his most prised possession  I know this is a fairy tale but seriously I wouldn't sell her to the prince either now matter how rich he is. But in the end they give her to the prince so he can take her back with him and then the poison apple unlodges from her throat and they get married. Hello she is seven! And the fact that she is a 'possession' to him is extremely creepy. But she seems to like him so I would hope that they have a nice relationship. 

6. Considering this story is still most often read to little boys and girls, do you think it provides a realistic view of men and women? Why/why not?
No way. Usually step mothers are not complete psychopaths so I think this is not really an accurate representation of stepmothers or a good way to present them to children frankly. I don't think its healthy for young children to see beauty as being to only real asset of Snow Whites and I know that little girls are loud and often crazy and talkative so this is not an accurate representation. As for the prince Im not even sure what to say. He is completely not normal and I think in the real world you will find that most men you meet will not be super wealthy or weird like him. 

7. Can you think of any modern stories (film/TV shows/books) that you know of that promote similar messages about men and women as Snow White? 

A lot of reality shows like the bachelor promote messages that girls should be beautiful, men should be amazing and romantic and set them up in a completely unnatural enviroment. Its almost funny how quickly their relationship fails in real life. 

The show on TLC Toddlers and Tiaras (though it is very entertaining) also promotes that beauty is the main value in little girls

Any TV show or movie with stereotypical "dumb blond" girls sort of portrays this message that girls are pretty air heads and its neither cute or accurate. 

Day two of Sleeping beauty

Yeah Aurora's personality didn't change much. I have to say this disney film was exceptionally cliche. And honestly who cries like this?

http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/File:Sleeping_Beauty_Crying.gif

http://rebloggy.com/post/my-gif-gif-sad-1950s-50s-crying-disney-gif-aurora-sleeping-beauty-1959-princess/74976453908


Now onto the questions

The gender stereotypes I have identified about Aurora are:
- Gentle
- Kind
- Pretty
- Slim
- Graceful
- Reserved
- Polite
(Bit of a doormat really)

The gender stereotypes I have identified about prince Phillip are:
- Daring
- Kind
- Confident
- Charming
- Romantic
- Brave
- Skilled (you could say, even though the fairies do pretty much everything for him in the battle)
- Good looking
- His father barely questioned Prince Phillip getting out of his arranged marriage
- He has no depth and no real personality

The gender stereotypes I have identified for the King Stephan are:
- Regal
- Manly man
- Seen and speaks much more than his wife who shows he is in power
- Likes to do things regally
- Civil
- Kind
- Powerful and loved

The gender stereotypes I have identified for the villain (Maleficent) are:
- Pure evil
- Wants bad outcomes
- doesn't care for happiness or feelings of others
- Cold hearted
- Determined
- She does not escape excuses
(I think she's awesome. At least she knows who she is and has a personality)

Sleeping beauty

This term in media we are exploring gender stereotypes in fairy tales and we started off this great exploration by watching a Disney classic: Beauty and the Beast.

One thing that I have to say about Disney is that I really don't like it. *Holds up bullet proof shield* The thing is people get really touchy and sensitive about Disney. They say stuff like: Don't diss Disney! It's my childhood blah blah blah, but honestly I think it is really cliche. Especially in the old Disney films! Seriously! These Princesses hardly talk. We watched the start of sleeping beauty today. (This is the first time I've ever seen it) and I have to say princess Aurora seems pretty useless. Yeah she's really pretty but she doesn't seem to have much personality. I am however exceptionally jealous of her hair. Right now its just confirming my beliefs that Disney is Cliche. We will see how it goes.