A Continuation of Chauvinist - Essay Example

A Continuation of Chauvinist Since time immemorial, the of equality of gender hasbeen there. Women have always been subjugated in the society. The extent of the subjugation that they encounter goes to the family setting, places of work and leadership positions. There have been various movements such as feminist movements all over the world and others like the American Civil Liberties Union in America to ensure that women get equal treatment and opportunities just like the male in the society. Despite the fact that there have been some improvements in the positions that women get in the society, there is still much that needs to be done. One of the most influential areas of the society, the media, has not been helpful; this is in consideration of their portrayal and male and female characters in various productions that they make. This research will focus on the media’s continual portrayal of men as more chauvinistic with women appearing more objectified. Introduction Male chauvinism defines a situation whereby men dominate the society. Male chauvinists always feel that men are more important than women and that they are capable of much more than women. This issue is rampant in the society and is worthy of study. This is due to the fact that well deserving women in the society end up not being the positions that they deserve or simply the opportunity to try to showcase what they are capable of. The question under study is the role of the media in promoting male chauvinism. Media in this case refers to television, film, music, newspapers, magazines and even video games. This issue is significant in the society because it leads to a sense of inequality between men and women. This inequality tends to affect the whole developmental process in the society. Theory Various sociological theories will be in use in this study. This includes theories on feminism and equality in the society and its significance and contribution to co-existence in the society. Thesis or Hypothesis As a result of media portrayal of women as objective characters, the positions that women get in the society are degrading. The media is supposed to be leading the whole country towards progressive aspects, however, in this situation, this is not the case. In various films, women continue to be given demeaning roles and portrayed as objects of men satisfaction, a factor that transfers to the society. As a result of this, men continue to dominate in various industries while women have to contend with the junior roles in offices or none at all. This affects the developmental process of the whole society since there are women capable of coming up with ideas that are beneficial to the society. Even though this is an area of importance, it has been less sensitized with research on male chauvinism and female subjugation in the society being very minimal. This is the reason why this issue should be studied. Literature Review There is a variety of literature written on this issue. This is based on previous studies and observations that have been made with regard to male chauvinism in the media section. Two French sociologists, Gordelier and Bourdieu, 1980 did a study on various African societies and came up with the realization that in some tribes, most specifically the Barujas, this community was interested in the knowledge of music and use of instruments, they used this to gain contact with the gods as well as contact with other groups. However, women were forbidden from participating in music, thus had no access to this contact and became dependent on the men. In order to ensure that women continued to stay in the subordinate role that these society had designated for them. One of the abilities that man that were handed down to men was manipulation in everyday strategy. These involved how to suppress women, take away their enthusiasm and at the same time prevent them from carrying out any kind of revolt. Bourdieu and Gordelier examined that this is the viewpoint of the ruler, people or institutions that have authority, such as the media, will continue perceiving people in the way that they wish, since they find this to be the normal way of perceiving such people. For example, the media continues to portray women as objective because they feel that this is the way that women are supposed to be. Bourdieu and Gordelier further examined that men in the modern democratic world still have the behavior of excluding women from power, an exclusion that has been handed down from one generation to the next. According to Carol Gilligan 1988 study, there is a widening gap between women’s self images and the society’s message about what women should be like because of the way the media portrays women to be. Women are always portrayed to be less independent and emotional while men are more dependent (Media Awareness Network). This has an impact on the way females have in the society, they end up being contented with the submissive position that they are placed in. Another study by the Canadian Council on Social Development further emphasizes on this point. It found out that while the numbers of boys they have confidence in themselves remain the same throughout the adolescent period; this was not the same case with the girls (Media Awareness Network 1). The numbers of girls that are confident with themselves drop from 72 percent in Grade Six to only 55 percent in Grade Ten. This is attributed to the media portrayal of women as being highly dependent. Antonio Gramsci’s (1971) says that the society is created in such a way that it will follow what is portrayed in the media. Considering the way, in which male characters are depicted in MTV, shows the scope of inequality in the society (70). In most MTV productions, the female are cut out from male conversations indicating that they are not recognized in the male dominated society. Instead, women are represented in an impoverished manner which is demeaning and contributes to regression in the society (Lewis 1). Method In order to find information on the relationship between the media and the concept of male chauvinism and female objectivism, a variety of website sources were consulted. This method was chosen because it has a variety of current issues and one can get access to an array of media productions such as the music industry, the film production industry and even newspapers and magazines. This method of research was backed up with information from books. In addition to this, websites are easily accessible, one does not have to travel long distances to get the information since internet connection is available to almost everyone in the society today. Other sources, such as the use of interviews or survey would be costly, due to the travelling and preparation of materials such as questionnaires, and time consuming. This is the reason why the use of web sources was settled on. More specifically, advanced web searches were consulted due to the preciseness of the information that they offer. These kinds of sources also tend to be peer reviewed so the material that is found is academically proven thus correct. Findings and Analysis The image of men and women in media has been a subject of concern due to the stereotypical ways in which male and female characters are portrayed. Research shows that there are fewer females compared to the male and those that are featured in various media productions are often portrayed as being so objective with subjugate roles. In every aspect of media, such as advertising, television programming, newspaper and magazines, comic books, popular music, film and even video games, women and girls are likely to be shown in the home, performing domestic chores such as doing laundry and cooking, thus homemakers (Riley 1). If they are not portrayed in such contexts, they are shown as objects existing to service men. In this case, they are victims of harassment, sexual assault and murder. There tends to be a lot of male chauvinistic ideas in the media, especially the film making industry. Men and boys are given roles that portray independence, machismo, aggression, violence, competition and emotional detachment. Women on the other hand are showcase as emotional and dependent on the men (Riley 1). Apart from that, they will be showcased as having more political and economic prowess. Despite the fact that these may be the true position of men in the society, the media only works to emphasize these ideas instead of coming up with themes that try to support women as they try to get equal roles to men in the society. The sexist roles that media portrays tend to affect influence what the young people believe. Children are more likely to hold on to the traditional male and female roles that they see in various media productions. Girls are mostly shown to be preoccupied with their appearance; on the other hand, boys are portrayed as more sporty, engrossed by war issues and fascinated by technology. Such portrayals majorly influence the way children become acculturated. In the end, this affects the society as a whole and the young women who may think of pursuing their dreams such as profession, sports or even war prone sectors may feel like they are going against the prescribed norm of the society. As a result, the whole developmental process of the society becomes affected with men getting the dominant roles while women have to contend with subjective roles. For example, in a country like Turkey, the structure of the media is still male dominated. Women only worked as correspondents, camera persons, journalists and columnists, however, when it came to determining the policy of production and other major issues, women were not given any opportunity to air their voices. Having female dominated media houses would break this discriminative and polarizing portrayal of women as victims. In Turkey, only 25 percent of news is portrayed by women but this is the soft news such as presentations on culture, art, fashion and health that do not dominate news items. To have a better and fairer society, women should participate in science and professional life equally with women. In the film making industry, most specifically the Disney films, there is a lot of male chauvinism portrayal in the themes that are showcased. Disney is a cooperate giant, their films are widely watched and what they showcase is highly followed by the society. All the female characters in Disney’s films are subordinate to the males. They express their desires in terms of exclusively male dominated narratives. For example, the character Pocahontas is made to resemble a shapely, contemporary, high fashion model. Her character, like many other female protagonists in the movie making industry is drawn in relation to the men that surround her. Most at times Disney films tend to assign rigid and demeaning roles to women. However, we can see the determination that women have, this is through the character Pocahontas, and she sets on a journey to fulfill her dreams by herself in contrast to the earlier women characters that depended on men to fulfill their dreams. In most media productions, the society expects that women have to fulfill both feminine and masculine roles for them to be considered successful in the media industry. This is the media personification in the last few years (Nauert 1). For example, in the movie Tomb Raider, Angelina Jolie was characterized as being an attractive and aggressive protagonist, the masculine characteristics that she portrayed, violence, made the audience conceive her as a successful character. However, other roles that she had such as in the movie ‘Changeling’ were less popular with the audience due to the fact that she portrayed the traditional women roles of being passive and submissive (Nauert 1). As much as women are underrepresented, they are also misrepresented. In most films, music and even magazine productions, females are more sexualized as compared to their male counterparts. This is mostly with regard to fashion; women will mostly be dressed in revealing dresses while men are well covered up. In addition to this, very young girls are portrayed in very sexual ways; the fashion industry showcases them with averted eyes, wounded facial expressions and vulnerable poses to mimic pornographic media. This only works to further portray women as objects to be used by men and the society. Men on the other hand are not portrayed this way; they are given dominating roles and are not portrayed in any sexualized images. Conclusion It is quite evident that the media is promoting the aspect of male chauvinism. This is through their portrayal of women as more superior and strong characters that can take care of themselves. They are not emotional and tend to fight for what they want relentlessly. Women on the other hand are often showcased as emotional people who are only good in domestic tasks. When women are portrayed in a positive way in the media, this is always when they are home makers or when they were in a situation that required a great deal of emotional attachment. Consequently, the society judges’ women in the same way that they are portrayed in various media productions. This should not be the case; women should be portrayed in a similar way with men in the media so that the society would be sensitized and know that women just like men should have the same capabilities. However, the use of this research methodology is not free from shortcomings. This is due to the fact that web sources contain information that has research results that were carried by other persons. Therefore, the validity of the information may be questionable. The findings may have been influenced by other factors such as preferences that the persons that carried out the research had. Moreover, some sources have the option of editing some of the information that they contain, thus, other persons may alter the original findings of the true research and instead replace the findings with information that is not validated. Thus it may be necessary to carry on another research that deals with the concerned parties directly. Personal interviews with several women to represent a cross section of the society may produce more viable results, the use of questionnaires may also be better since the true feeling of the society will be gotten. These recommendations may lead to a realization of better results on this research. Works Cited Lewis, Lisa. Female address on music television: A Review of Contemporary Media. Retrieved on 15th April 2012 from http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC35folder/GirlsMTV.html Media Awareness Network. Media and Girls. Retrieved on 15th April 2012 from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/women_and_girls/women_girls.cfm Nauert, Rick. Media Influences Changes in Female Roles. Retrieved on 15th April 2012 from http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/04/02/media-influences-change-in-female-roles/24902.html (2011). Riley, Maria. Women: Female Roles Still Distort Reality. Center for Media Literacy. Retrieved on 15th April 2012 from http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/women-female-roles-still-distort-reality Read More