1. Gender
Communication
in Media

2. In our society today, media surrounds us
everywhere that we go. There are several
different forms of media that display
similar messages.
“Media provides myths, or
recurrent story structures,
through which human beings
understand who they are and
where they fit in a social order.”
(DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 237)

3. Television Revolu,on
By the late 1980’s more than 80% of all U.S.
homes had at least one television.
“The ubiquity of mediated images
from television, movies and music
videos are perhaps the most powerful
Familiarizing influences shaping
Our contemporary society.”
(DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 237)
Television is among the most popular leisure
ac,vi,es in the United States, making it a key media outlet.

4. Media as a Social Ins,tu,on
“Media share conven,ons regarding
construc,on of content and
construc,on of audience.”
(DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 237)
Media work together to capture
our focus and aWen,on on several
different outlets portraying
similar messages.
“How can television signals, movie projectors, or radio waves be an
ins,tu,on?” (DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 237)

5. Media Economics
Economic processes and ins,tu,onal paWerns govern media messages.
“Ads that sell commodi,es… to audiences
are part of a system in which media
corpora,ons sell audiences as
commodi,es to adver,sers.”
(DeFrancisco & Palczewski, (238)
Much media is cra_ed to appeal
to a specific market.

6. Media and Power
Media forms influence social norms
about gender and other factors
that cons,tute iden,ty.
“Ins,tu,ons are organized in
accord with and permeated
by power.”
(DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 238)
“Simultaneously, a commodity, an art form, and an important ideological
forum for public discourse about social issues and social change.”
(DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 239)

7. Media and Hegemony
Although it is becoming more common to see
masculine females or feminine males on television,
They o_en s,ll meet feminine or masculine standards
of aWrac,veness.
“Media, as an ins,tu,on of civil society,
shape the cogni,ve structures through
which people perceive and evaluate
social iden,ty.”
(DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 239)

8. Above the Influence
Like many other strong influences, it is possible to rise above the influence of
media. The authors suggest three ways:
1) “Examine how powerful or effec,ve opposi,onal responses are, compared to
the power of hegemonic messages.”
2) “Try to discern the roles media play in
facilita,ng opposi,onal readings.”
3) “Explore what we, as textbook authors,
and you, as students, can do to facilitate
cri,cal abili,es.”
(DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 240)

9. Media Polyvalence and Opposi,onal
Readings
There can be many different interpreta,ons
made about media texts. The interpreta,on
depends on each person and their
previous experiences.
“Polyvalence occurs when audience
members share understandings
of the denota,ons of a text but
disagree when the valua,on
of these denota,ons to such a degree
that they produce notably different
Interpreta,ons.” (DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 240)

10. Interlocking Ins,tu,ons
“Of all the ins,tu,ons that
intersect, media may be the
most interconnected.”
(DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 240)
Media are, “resources which
individuals use to think through
their sense of self and modes of
expression.”
(DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 240)
Media is a puzzle of informa,on with each outlet being its own piece.

11. It’s Not About Sex Difference
Differences Among Women:
• Pictures that depict unobtainable expecta,ons are inescapable.
• The degree to which images are interpreted depends on several demographics.
Similari3es Between Men and Women:
• Both are influenced by body image aspira,ons.
• Both sexes have body norms that have changed with ,me.
“Even though images may be understood as unobtainable and hence are less
powerful, they s,ll influence self‐percep,on.”
(DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 242)

12. Media Content and Media Effects
The main goal of analysis of media content is
to quan,fy what is in mediated products. Some
examples of this are the amount of women versus
men that is visible in television programming, or
the amount of violence in children’s programming.
”Iden,fica,on of various problema,c media representa,ons is one way to
start the conversa,on about the role of media in contemporary society.”
(DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 244)

13. Violence in Media
There have been several studies to
inves,gate the effects of violence in
media.
“More than 1,000 studies have
Established a rela,onship between
Television violence and aggressive
behavior in children.”
(DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 244)
“Women’s and minori,es’ absence in media, and presenta,ons of women as
sex objects, may create the percep,on that they are not agents of ac,on,
capable of commen,ng on and ac,ng in the world.”
(DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 244)

14. The Gaze(s)
The second most prominent area of media research focuses
on media construc,ons of audience.
“Men act and women
Appear. Men look at
women. Women watch
themselves being looked at… Thus she turns herself into an
object.” (DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 249)
“The presumed sex of the viewer is male, and even when the
viewer is female, she views herself through men’s eyes.”
(DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 249)

15. Media as Always Liberatory and
Constraining
The guidelines of gender are con,nuously resecured by media
representa,ons in response to these changes different media, such as
magazines, reflect these changes and constraint by viewing how they have
changed their content over ,me.
“With every movement toward libera,on, constraints are reinscribed, and
with every image that appears restric,ve, an opposi,onal reading is possible.”
(DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 254)
It is important to remember that gender in communica,on is not just about,
“women and femininity, but also about men and masculinity, women and
masculini,es, and men and feminini,es.” (DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 245)