Women

Beauty and Body Image in the Media

Images of female bodies are everywhere. Women—and their body parts—sell everything from food to cars.
Popular film and television actresses are becoming younger, taller and thinner. Some have even been known to
faint on the set from lack of food. Women’s magazines are full of articles urging that if they can just lose those
last twenty pounds, they’ll have it all—the perfect marriage, loving children, great sex, and a rewarding career.

Sex and Relationships in the Media

The pressure put on women through ads, television, film and new media to be sexually attractive—and sexually
active—is profound. The National Eating Disorders Association reports that one out of four TV commercials send
some kind of "attractiveness message," telling viewers what is and is not attractive. Children Now reports that 38
per cent of the female characters in video games are scantily clad, 23 per cent baring breasts or cleavage, 31 per
cent exposing thighs, another 31 per cent exposing stomachs or midriffs, and 15 per cent baring their behinds.

Women as Sexual Objects

Provocative images of women's partly clothed or naked bodies are especially prevalent in advertising. Shari
Graydon, former president of Canada’s MediaWatch, argues that women’s bodies are sexualized in ads in order
to grab the viewer’s attention. Women become sexual objects when their bodies and their sexuality are linked to
products that are bought and sold.

Media activist Jean Kilbourne agrees. She notes that women’s bodies are often dismembered into legs, breasts
or thighs, reinforcing the message that women are objects rather than whole human beings.

Although women’s sexuality is no longer a taboo subject, many researchers question whether or not the blatant
sexualization of women’s bodies in the media is liberating. Laurie Abraham, executive editor of Elle magazine,
warns that the biggest problem with women’s magazines is "how much we lie about sex." Those "lies" continue
to perpetuate the idea that women’s sexuality is subservient to men’s pleasure. In her study of Cosmopolitan
and Playboy magazines, for example, Nicole Krassas found that both men and women’s magazines contain a
single vision of female sexuality—that "women should primarily concern themselves with attracting and sexually
satisfying men."

Sex and Violence

That romance often has a darker side. As Graydon notes, the media infantilize women, portraying them as child-
like, innocent and vulnerable. Being vulnerable is often closely linked to being a potential victim of violence.
Kilbourne argues that ads like the Fetish scent ad (right) imply "women don’t really mean 'no' when they say it,
that women are only teasing when they resist men’s advances." The ad’s copy reads: "Apply generously to your
neck so he can smell the scent as you shake your head 'no.'" The obvious implication here is, "he’ll understand
that you don’t really mean it and he can respond to the scent like any other animal."

Women and Sports

Women athletes are also given short shrift in the media. Margaret Carlisle Duncan and Michael Messner studied
sports coverage on three network affiliates in Los Angeles. They report that only nine per cent of airtime was
devoted to women’s sports, in contrast to the 88 per cent devoted to male athletes. Female athletes fared even
worse on ESPN’s national sports show Sports Center, where they occupied just over two per cent of airtime. And,
according to the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women, Sports and Physical Activity, women
athletes receive just three per cent of sports coverage in major Canadian dailies.

Margaret Carlisle Duncan notes that commentators (97 per cent of whom are men) use different language when
they talk about female athletes. Where men are described as "big," "strong," "brilliant," "gutsy" and
"aggressive," women are more often referred to as "weary," "fatigued," "frustrated," "panicked," "vulnerable"
and "choking." Commentators are also twice as likely to call men by their last names only, and three times as
likely to call women by their first names only. Duncan argues that this "reduces female athletes to the role of
children, while giving adult status to white male athletes."

Men

Common Stereotypes of Men in Media

The Joker is a very popular character with boys, perhaps because laughter is part of their own "mask of
masculinity." A potential negative consequence of this stereotype is the assumption that boys and men should
not be serious or emotional. However, researchers have also argued that humorous roles can be used to expand
definitions of masculinity.

The Jock is always willing to "compromise his own long-term health; he must fight other men when necessary;
he must avoid being soft; and he must be aggressive." By demonstrating his power and strength, the jock wins
the approval of other men and the adoration of women.

The Strong Silent Type focuses on "being in charge, acting decisively, containing emotion, and succeeding with
women." This stereotype reinforces the assumption that men and boys should always be in control, and that
talking about one’s feelings is a sign of weakness.

The Big Shot is defined by his professional status. He is the "epitome of success, embodying the characteristics
and acquiring the possessions that society deems valuable." This stereotype suggests that a real man must be
economically powerful and socially successful.

The Action Hero is "strong, but not necessarily silent. He is often angry. Above all, he is aggressive in the extreme
and, increasingly over the past several decades, he engages in violent behavior."

The Buffoon commonly appears as a bungling father figure in TV ads and sitcoms. Usually well-intentioned and
light-hearted, these characters range from slightly inept to completely hopeless when it comes to parenting their
children or dealing with domestic (or workplace) issues.