Harley Davidson: Cultural Impact of Media on Women - Research Paper Example

? Harley Davidson: Cultural Impact of Media on Women Harley Davidson: Cultural Impact of Media on Women Background Media have always produced significant effects upon the behavior and lives of people. Various media have been used to express what people think and feel as those serve as lines for communication. Whether the media are already old or still emerging as ways of communication, they affect the way people view things. Television, radio, newspaper and the internet are just few of the media used and they are also the common ways for opening communication among people in massive scale. People are easily updated with the happenings around them through those media as writers, bloggers, newscasters and columnists relay the information to the viewers. Sometimes those relayed information may not be the whole truth at all as sometimes works of fiction do affect the rituals and culture of people. Massive influence may be achieved through mass media and sometimes those become the avenue for negativities in the society to flourish. The widespread of the influence of the negative practices in the society may be attributed to the media that may be intentional or unintentional. It is considered as intentional when people truly want to influence others with their deeds and beliefs that may pose risks and hazards to the society and considered as crimes. Other activities that may be seen in media but are not considered crimes but may challenge the border that separates the morally acceptable beliefs and immoral ones. The cases that may arise from mass media that are in the boundary of right and wrong are the issues of gender and sexuality, abortion, euthanasia, divorce, no religious affiliation, and roles in the society. In particular, the paper will talk about the effects of media to the lives of women especially in the cultural aspect. Harley Davidson would be the subject for the media effects on women as that company endorses motorcycles and how it blends into the culture of women. Then several questions may have arisen from the motorcycle craze and its influence on the female gender. Does it make women more masculine? Does it encourage violence and other negativities in the society? What are its other impacts? Does motorcycle craze give any positive influence to the society as a whole? Will gender roles be greatly affected? The three previous studies about the effects on women would include “Girl Power” and Participation in Macho Recreation: The Case of Female Harley Riders by Catherine Roster, Subcultures of Consumption: An Ethnography of the New Bikers by John Schouten and James McAlexander, and Examining Gender Images, Expectations, and Competence as Perceived Impediments to Personal, Academic and Career Development by Lorraine Wilgosh. The study of Roster talks about the women empowerment gained from the inclusion of some women in motorcycling sports which is played mainly by men. On the other hand, the study of Schouten and McAlexander goes into the culture of consumerism and an analysis was done on how it brings about the change in the society and behaviors of people especially for bikers. The last study was about the discrimination, stereotyping and societal imaging of what women should be and those effects upon the development of young girls. Other sources that will be used for the study are Older Women, Liberation and Lifestyles: Self-Care and Other Care, Depicting outlaw motorcycle club women using anchored and unanchored research methodologies, and Brand Morphing: Implications for Advertising Theory and Practice. Method The study was done by looking at the previous studies from background, methods to results, analysis and conclusion. It did not utilize primary sources and did not have any actual experimentation and first-hand data gathering as it relied purely on the theories and results laid down by the previous studies and reports. It made use of the six journal articles mentioned in the background section of the paper. Each source had its own contribution through the analysis and findings of each professional who conducted the research. Other sources were also utilized like books for the theories and principles linked to the case of media and its effects upon women in the society. Branding is another issue that was found in the sources and citations used in the study and those sources with the topic on branding, Harley Davidson, society and roles of women were interlinked through the analysis of the paper. The gender roles, women empowerment and lesbianism are the ones linked to the effects of the Harley Davidson and the media on women in the society. Those are related to the gender inequality and the rise of women in the society that may have positive and negative implications. Those are explored further in the next sections. Conclusion then follows based on the results, theories and analysis. It serves as the closure for the findings of the paper. Afterwards, recommendation is given to guide other people when they think of making follow-up studies regarding media, women and culture. Review of Literature Harley Davidson is the company behind a brand of famous motorcycle that is present in the society for more than 100 years and named after its founder. It is also known as Harley for short that started in Wisconsin and a survivor of the Great Depression. It also faced the challenge from tight fight for market share with Japanese counterparts. It became well-known for providing the motorists with durable and heavy motorcycles that can travel at high-speeds getting its popularity as a brand for motorcycle races. The Harleys are also known for custom motorcycles as various styles can be put into the design of those motorcycles. The company also tried to capture a market share for light motorcycles but they were not able to fully penetrate the market so they abandoned the idea (Girdler and Hussey, 2003, p. 10). The company then had various effects on the society. Subcultures are then created from branding and as the business grow like the Harley Davidson motorcycles. Challenges are then faced by brands when it tends to penetrate markets as it requires morphing to adapt to its environment. The acceptance of the brands and the products depend upon the interpretation of the consumers (Kates and Goh, 2003, p. 59). It then changes and impacts people in various ways. The existence of subculture from the consumer-driven economy becomes a target of analytic theory to better understand consumer behavior. They tend to pattern their lives based upon on their experiences and beliefs that are affected by their environment like the images projected by brands in the market. The existence of the subculture of consumer behavior serves as the theory to better appreciate and study the consumers in general (Schouten and McAlexander, 1995, p. 43). One good example is the effects of the projected images by the brands in media toward the development of young girls to women. The projected images that may become standards in the eyes of the younger generations affect the abilities, skills and learning preferences of young girls as they think of popularity and outside beauty as the measurements of success in life. They discriminate science careers for those popular things in life (Wilgosh, 2002, p. 239). It happens in the case of females participating in motorcycle sports. The market share for female motorcyclists increase as a result of the campaigns and advertising of motorcycle companies like Harley Davidson (Schouten and McAlexander, 1995, p. 44). The prevailing images projected result to the subculture development and encouraged more women to be part of the motorcycle craze. As women engage in the racing of motorcycle, they tend to learn more about the meaning of motorcycle racing in life as leisure and knowing the factors that affect its existence as leisure. It was also found out to be a way for women to forward the empowerment of their gender and reduce the discriminations they face in the society in terms of image, standards and choices. The women empowerment is then undermined by the view of women on motorcycles as macho and more masculine (Roster, 2007). Another problem faced by women as motorcycles and media affected their culture is the existence of violence as women took part in gangs and outlaw motorcycle clubs. Despite of that, they still showed advancement within the subculture as they showed their greater involvement than before. They are not confined in terms of stereotypes like sexual and economic values as they fought for equality within their clubs (Eynde and Veno, 2007, p. 96). The increase participation may be towards the fight for equality, but in general it affected the society negatively as the gangs with increasing female participation were involved in crimes and illegal money-making (Hopper and Moore, 1990, p. 364). The case of struggles for equality then affected women even in the older age in terms of their constructed lifestyles (Heycox and Wearing, 200, p. 23). Analysis The proliferation of the advertisements, businesses and promotions affect the culture especially the motorcycle and the way women respond in the society today. Researchers then made various efforts to systematically and deeply study the subculture widespread of the motorcycle craze of women through the media. One technique used by the researchers is through immersion and interview of the female members of outlaw motorcycle clubs. The technique is called Insider-Outsider to pertain to the immersion to the outlaws. The method proved a change in the view on women from sexist towards a more objective viewpoint. Various guidelines were used to form the method such as consideration regarding social equality, adaptation and projection of inoffensive images toward all members of the underground culture, maintenance of systematic, rigid and organized research methodology, and the immersion of the researcher while maintaining his professionalism (Eynde and Veno, 2007, pp.96-97). It is important for the method to be duplicable to verify its validity and accuracy and having a set of guidelines show how the study may be clearly valuable for the society at large. Another method is the ground-theory approach as five factors were identified regarding the participation of females in motorcycle sports. The importance of the sport as a leisure gave way to discovery and learning for the women involve. The culture of women empowerment became important and came into existence through the efforts of the facilitators. Also the images of traditional women may negatively affect the progress on women empowerment and the women involve tend to show how the female roles can be redefined and be in par with the opposite gender (Roster, 2007). Another method that came out is the ethnographic method which studied the culture, activities, behaviors and conflicts going on in the subculture of consumerism and motorcycle craze that affected women. The framework created allow people to objectively understand the behaviors and arising problems brought about women empowerment and the motorcycle craze that is once dominated by the male gender (Schouten and McAlexander, 1995, p. 45). Conclusion It was then found out that various systematic and theoretical frameworks helped in understanding the effects of media and advertising upon the culture of women. It contributed to the women empowerment but has hurt the gender negatively as motorcycle craze is not only popular as a sport among women but it also became part of those outlaws involved in crimes. Further studies may be done to address the motorcycle craze and other forms of popular things in media as those affect the culture and lives of women. The method to be done in the future may be through first-hand utilization of data gathered. References Eynde, J. and Veno, A. (2007). Depicting outlaw motorcycle club women using anchored and unanchored research methodologies. The Australian Community Psychologist 19(1), 96-111. Retrieved from http://www.groups.psychology.org.au/assets/files/vandeneynde_19(1).pdf Girdler, A. and Hussey, R. (2003). Harley Davidson: The American motorcycle. USA: MBI Publishing. Heycox, K. and Wearing, B. (2000). Older women, liberation and lifestyles: Self care and other care. Women in Welfare Education, 4(1), 23-34. Retrieved from http://www.aaswwe.asn.au/download/WIWE_04_2000.pdf#page=27 Hopper, C. and Moore, J. (1990). Women in outlaw motorcycle gangs. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 19(4), 363-387. Retrieved from http://jce.sagepub.com/content/18/4/363.short Kates, S. and Goh, C. (2003). Brand morphing: Implications for advertising theory and practice. Journal of Advertising, 32(1), 59-68. Retrieved from http://data.adic.co.kr/lit/publication/tmp/A9001146/A9001146.pdf Roster, C. (2007). “Girl power” and participation in macho recreation: The case of female Harley riders. Leisure Sciences: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 29(5), 443-461. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01490400701544626?tab=permissions#ta Schouton, J. and McAlexander, J. (1995). Subcultures of consumption: An ethnography of the new bikers. Journal of Consumer Research, 22(1), 43-61. Retrieved from http://classes.bus.oregonstate.edu/winter-07/ba492/Subcultures%20of%20Consumption.pdf Wilgosh, L. (2002). Examining gender images, expectations, and competence as perceived impediments to personal, academic and career development. International Journal for the Advancement of Counseling, 24(4). Retrieved from http://www.springerlink.com/content/r67021822144p24t/?MUD=MP Read More