Are women presented the same

way men are in the daily mail’s

sidebar of shame

Introduction
In the year of 2020, I often wonder why inequality within gender, and
gender stereotypes, still exist. One would think that with the amount
of coverage on the ‘#MeToo’ movement1 has now, that gender
inequality, and essentially treating women as objects of sexual fantasy
would be long gone by now. Apparently not. The Daily Mail’s
‘sidebar of shame’2 is a well-known centre for celebrity gossip and
scandals on the Daily Mails website. More often than not, the articles
revolve around affairs, wrongly outspoken statements, sightings of
celebrities and reality TV stars in places where they shouldn’t be or
their public indecencies. The Guardian- a world renowned and well-
respected newspaper- once described the phenomenon of the ‘sidebar
of shame’ as ‘the strip of thumbnail pictures down the right... which
usually specialises in women’s breasts and buttocks.’3
Representations of women in the media have developed and changed
with time to reflect the cultural developments in society. However,
female stereotypes continue to appear in some media texts.
Representations of women are often defined by how men see women,
coined by Laura Mulvey as the ‘heterosexual masculine gaze' which
is where women in the media are viewed as objects formed of male
desire4, or by how society expects women to look and behave- proper
and ladylike. Many representations of women concentrate on
sexuality and emotions whereas others focus on their relationships
with their children or romantic connections with sexual or romantic
partners, much like Benshoff and Griffin’s concept of gender (2004),
where they studied American film and produced the ideology that in
film, a woman's main job was to produce and raise children, not work
outside the home. During this time there were also images of bad
women: women who were described as explicitly sexualized, and the
moral of those stories usually ended with bad things happening to
these bad women5. In my investigation I will be looking into the ways
that women are presented on the ‘sidebar of shame,’ whether it be the
Are women presented the same
way men are in the daily mail’s
sidebar of shame

from the perspective of the ‘male gaze theory’ or whether the articles
about women are the same as the ones that are created about men.

Hypothesis
In my investigation of the ‘Sidebar of Shame’ I expect to find women
presented in either one of three ways. One being as products of male
pleasure- also known as from the view of the male gaze, as Mulvey
said; the second being presented as caregivers, whether it be to their
children, or their partners; and the third being problematic, hysterical
and emotional and as a stereotypical woman, as said by Benshoff and
Griffin’s concept of gender.

Methodology
The data that I will collect is from the Daily Mail’s website. There are
screenshots from the website of 9 articles featured (not including the
‘AD’ feature) of the ‘Sidebar of shame’ on the 28th of October 2020 as
well as the 23rd of November, I will analyse each article headline
individually and from then will be able to compare my findings with
my hypothesis. These articles are not bias as they were not
specifically chosen, but selected merely on what order they were
presented in to ensure utmost validity, as well as validity of the
results.

Analysis
Sexual Objectification
Noun Adjective Verb
Lace lingerie Sexy Kisses
Plunging Gown Busty Stuns
Skin tight pvc Sizzling Showcases
Bra Racy Prowls
Are women presented the same
way men are in the daily mail’s
sidebar of shame

Mini dress Sizzling Shows off

Tiny white Stuns
bikini
bikini Shows off
bombshell Dresses up
Poses
Puts famous
physique on
display
Sends
temperatures
soaring

It is obvious here that the most volume of these articles involve a

lexical field of a sexual nature. Out of a total of eighteen articles,
twenty-four of the language features used are borderline explicit. The
‘White bikini’ modified by the adjective ‘tiny’ emphasises the fact
that there is a lot of skin showing in that particular picture. Obviously,
swimwear doesn’t leave much to the imagination anyway, but by
highlighting the fact that this specific bikini is ‘tiny’ enough to show
more than normal, this headline is viewing Kim Kardashian- the
object of the photo- as if she is a thing to be used for pleasure. It
appears that there is a pattern of items of clothing being modified by
adjectives that could be seen as of the provocative nature: ‘skin tight
PVC’, ‘plunging gown’, ‘tiny white bikini’, and ‘mini dress’ are
examples of this, suggesting that these adjectives are used in order to
draw more attention from the audience, more specifically a male
audience, and increase reads by using particularly suggestive
adjectives. The audience is positioned to see that these women have
dressed themselves in order to have attention drawn to the specific
highlighted body part, which further emphasises the argument of the
male gaze. The particular reason for this is because all of said
adjectives are followed with an event that the women attended,
however it is not just a case of the women showing up to the event,
Are women presented the same
way men are in the daily mail’s
sidebar of shame

but it is promiscuously described how the do their jobs: ‘Racy

Photoshoot’, ‘Stuns at 40th birthday party’ and ‘Prowls around the set’
are all examples of this, suggesting that it is there job to show up and
look nice rather than do anything with genuine substance.
Furthermore, there is repetition of the adjective ‘Sizzling’ used twice
throughout the headlines. The word has connotations of heat and
spice, implying that the subjects of the articles are clearly attractive
and, in this case, both are woman and are dressed up for some sort of
theme - a Christmas photoshoot and a Halloween special – possibly
linking to the idea that women can be used as ‘pin ups’ and are in a
modelled calendar. ‘Racy’ is also an adjective used to describe a
female in one of the headlines which is suggestive, as well as ‘sexy’
and ‘busty’, which imply an elevated level of sexual attraction and
again emphasises the ‘male gaze’. This could possibly link in to the
representation of women where they are part of fantasies for men. The
fact that adjectives like ‘Busty’ and ‘Racy’ are used suggests that
there is an immense amount of sexual innuendo in the headlines that
could be connected to the stereotypical ‘motorcycle pin-up' image
with large breasts and a tiny waist, mounted on vehicles such as sports
cars and motorcycles, which highlights the stereotypical masculine
standpoint that a lot of these articles are written.
However, there is also a pattern throughout these headlines where the
female subjects are introduced as possessions of their male
counterparts: ‘Dominic West’s wife’ and ‘Noel Gallagher’s daughter’
suggesting that these women, though independent enough to have
their lives all over the tabloids, are not yet important enough to be
mentioned without their ‘owner’ if one was to speak in earlier terms,
where a woman was controlled and governed by her father until she
was married, and then that role was passed onto their husband as soon
as they were old enough. As the subordinate clauses clarify the
relationship between the male celebrity and the female rather than
presenting them as their own people, it suggests that the writer of the
headlines come from a misogynist's point of view and present the
Are women presented the same
way men are in the daily mail’s
sidebar of shame

women as objects that belong to a man rather than belong to

themselves.
In addition, there is also a lexical pattern of verbs that imply
displaying something: ‘Shows off’ is repeated twice, ‘showcases’,
‘dresses up’ and ‘poses’ are all used in the headlines when talking
about a woman’s physique. These verbs are all used in contexts with
objects like dolls or mannequins, which people stare at and use each
day, suggesting an ideology that women are objects built to entertain
and look nice rather than have any substance. It also presents women
as the old-fashioned way to look at things, where the women belong
in posters and pictures up on men's walls for their viewing pleasure
which is what would be common in the 1960’s from idols like
Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, however, one would think that
as our planet evolved so would our brains and they would drop the
ridiculous ideology and beauty standards that all women are, are for a
man’s enjoyment.
There is also a lexical pattern in which verbs that have connotations
of danger are used such as ‘prowls’ and ‘stuns’, which is used twice,
and not to mention the use of the noun ‘bombshell’, possibly to make
the women more appealing in the sense that it is dangerous and
therefor to conquer would be good for the male ego. ‘Prowls’ also has
links to animals, specifically larger animals, which could suggest an
underlying ideology that women ‘stalk their prey’, and that they are
there to look at for everybody else’s entertainment besides theirs. In
these few headlines, it is clear that women are represented as almost
dangerous, and that women can be tamed and kept in a cage like other
animals are. It also links in with the ideology that women are only on
this planet to look nice, much like what we see when people go to
zoos or wildlife parks, a nice animal that has most likely been sedated
in order to avoid confrontation. This primal view of women only
being here to look pretty and breed is extremely misogynistic and it is
clear that a lot of these writers are men with the same views.
Are women presented the same
way men are in the daily mail’s
sidebar of shame

Hysterical
Noun Adjective Verb
Heart-breaking Cried
Hysterical Cringing
Ridiculous Believe
Painful BEGS
Holds crisis
talk
Went into full
blown
convulsions
Fears

Though there are less patterns for language showing hysteria than
there are showing sexual objectification, it is clear that there is still a
pattern of modification. The noun ‘crisis’ which appears before the
‘talk’ gives a huge sense of urgency, as phrases like that are often
used alongside national, or even international problems that are
extremely important, so by modifying the phrase from just having a
‘talk’ to a ‘crisis talk’ highlights Catherine FitzGerald’s situation and
how she feels about it, which is obviously not particularly good. The
fact that ‘THOSE’ is in all capitals actively demonstrates that the
audience is positioned to be clued in on the situation. Due to the fact
that there is no additional context other than the name ‘Lily James’, it
could suggest that the audience, particularly women, are up to date
with the drama between these women as stereotypically ladies are
more in tune with gossip. It could also project the view that women
believe that every hindrance they encounter is the be all and end all of
their life, as ‘crisis’ also has some profoundly serious connotations of
a danger on a national scale. There is another example of this by the
verb phrase ‘went into full blown convulsions.’ The adjectival use of
‘full blown’ emphasises the state that Chrissy Teigen was in and
suggests that she was beyond consolation. Obviously, her ‘heart-
Are women presented the same
way men are in the daily mail’s
sidebar of shame

break’ is to be expected under the circumstances, but the Daily Mail

portrayed it as if she were border lining insanity, for more reads, but it
all fits into the ideology that women are full of hysteria. Furthermore,
there is another example of the modification, however it is from a
morphology stand point. The verb ‘BEGS’ is the only word in the
headline that is capitalised, drawing attention to that specific word,
possibly to emphasise Zara McDermot’s unstable mind frame. The
verb ‘begs’ suggests that McDermot positively needs ‘Sam
Thompson’ in her life in order to function as it is quite a severe
synonym of pleading rather than the headline revealing that they just
had a regular conversation, and shows the audience being positioned
to believe that the women is automatically at fault rather than it being
neutral. It also has an underlying suggestion that women need
permission to do things, as there is no mention of a man pleading with
a woman, which demonstrates the ideology that women must have
someone to control and be responsible for them otherwise they go off
the rails.
Also, there is also a lexical field of negativity. Out of all of the words
linking to emotions, there was only one which was remotely positive.
Adjectives like ‘heart-breaking’, ‘hysterical’ and ‘painful’ further
displays the fact that when it comes to the media, the way that
females are presented is not at all varied and often are shown as upset,
angry or as similar emotions. The fact that all of these headlines have
women in as well as some negative description or noun positions the
reader to believe that women are troublemakers and dramatic rather
than justified for having emotions. The way that these phrases have
been selected gives the reader the impression that these women
shouldn’t be so melodramatic or attract so much drama, and it again
emphasises the thought that women are over emotional and weak at
handling their feelings when in fact it is the opposite.
Caregiver
Noun Adjective Verb
Wife
Are women presented the same
way men are in the daily mail’s
sidebar of shame

Family
Marriage
Son
Pregnant
Second child
Post baby body
Disabled sister
Boyfriend
Son

Finally, throughout the headlines of which I have studied, it appears

that there is also a lexical theme of family. Nouns like ‘family’,
‘pregnant’, ‘child’ and ‘son’ which is repeated twice are used, and
give the impression that the subjects of the articles are very family
oriented, much like the stereotype that women are only good for
taking care of a family. There is also a use of the nouns ‘wife’ and
‘marriage’, but not any mention of the word husband, giving the sense
that it’s only important to the women. It also suggests a possession
over the women the article is about.
What is interesting though, and an anomaly to the other results, is that
in the headline about Lorde, she is portrayed as the dominant and ‘her
music executive boyfriend Justin Warren’ is introduced after her, and
as a connection to her rather than Lorde being a possession of his.
This could possibly be because she is more famous than him, or she is
more well-known and will conjure up more reads, but it definitely is
not common. However, the issues still stand as rather than just
mentioning that she has made a reappearance, the writers had to
mention that she was ‘kissing her music executive boyfriend’
suggesting the ideology that women must be supervised by a man in
public.

Conclusion
Are women presented the same
way men are in the daily mail’s
sidebar of shame

To conclude, it seems that my hypothesis was quite accurate, as it is

obvious that the women in these ‘sidebar of shame’ headlines are
presented as firstly and most commonly as victims of Mulvey’s
theory of the ‘male gaze’6, as most of these articles discuss their body,
or their ability so ‘send temperatures soaring’. In fact, nine out of the
total eighteen articles were based around a sexual nature. Five out of
the eighteen were based around the theme of family, which I also
predicted. Even though the year is now 2020, almost 200 years since
the women's movement for equality, there still seems to be an
underlying idea that all women should grow up to learn how to take
care of a family, and look for the best practical option for a husband
to take care of them. Furthermore, I was also correct in assuming that
there would be an ongoing theme of hysteria throughout the
headlines, linking to Benshoff and Griffin’s theory of a ‘mad woman’
being apparent in the media. To make my investigation more reliable,
I would have chosen more varied dates to choose the headlines from
so that there weren’t any extraneous variables.

(1) me too. Movement. 2021. me too. Movement. [online] Available at: <[Link] [Accessed 12
March 2021].

(2) Mail Online. 2021. UK Home | Daily Mail Online. [online] Available at:
<[Link] [Accessed 12 March 2021].

(3) the Guardian. 2020. The shocking thing about the Mail Online's sidebar of shame | Andrew Brown. [online]
Available at: <[Link] [Accessed 3
March 2021].

(4) Film Inquiry. 2021. Film Theory 101 - Laura Mulvey: The Male Gaze Theory | Film Inquiry. [online] Available
at: <[Link] [Accessed 3 March 2021].

(5) [Link]. 2021. [online] Available at:

<[Link] [Accessed 3 March 2021].

(6) Film Inquiry. 2021. Film Theory 101 - Laura Mulvey: The Male Gaze Theory | Film Inquiry. [online] Available at:
<[Link] [Accessed 3 March 2021].
Are women presented the same
way men are in the daily mail’s
sidebar of shame
Are women presented the same
way men are in the daily mail’s
sidebar of shame