Speech 450

Feminist Writings

1. Growth of literature on sex role stereotyping
   
   
   1. Entries in Friedman (1977) on Advertising:
      
      
      1. 212 entries from 1951 to 1977, of which
         
      2. 92% appeared from 1970 to 1976
      
      
   2. Entries in Courtney and Whipple (1983):
      
      
      1. 368 entries from 1926 to 1982, of which
         
      2. 86% appeared from 1971 to 1980
      
      
   3. Why the 1970s as the time for this literature?
      (Literature as a sign of a growing mass movement)
      
      
      1. Parallels the progress of the ERA
         
         • Passed Congress in March 1972
           
         • Approved by 30 states within one year
           
         • Approved by 5 other states from 1974 to 1977
           
         • Ratification deadline extended in 1978 to 1982
           
         • No new states (38 required) ratified ERA
         
         
      2. Parallels growth of NOW
         
         • Founded in 1966
           
         • 200 local chapters by 1971
           
         • 400 local chapters by 1972
           
         • 800 local chapters by 1974
   
   
2. Purpose: To defend two propositions
   
   
   1. The "feminist" literature is primarily mimetic and instrumental
      
      
   2. There is a "non-feminist" literature that concerns effects and encoding
      (see outline, "Writings on Effects & Encoding")
   
   
3. Explanation and Preview
   
   
   1. The studies we'll look at today are "mimetic" in that they conclude, from matching images with demographic data, that the images are unrealistic or stereotypical.
      
      
   2. Also, today's studies are "instrumental" in that they are evaluative and programmatic; non-representative imaging is undesirable (self-concepts, life choices, interaction patterns) and should be avoided.
      
      
   3. The studies concern images of women primarily; for example,of the 1018 items in Friedman (1977), only 11 (1% of the total) appear in the section called "The Media Image of Men." But, cf. ...
      
      
      1. "Calvin Meets the Marlboro Man," Time, 21 Oct. 1988:

         "Another sign of the times is that the suggestive plots in many ads have shifted. Men are now accorded equal status with women as sexual objects, and females are frequently portrayed as the aggressors in romantic encounters."

      2. "The Ad World's New Bimbos," Newsweek, 25 Jan. 1988:

         "After years of portraying women as half-wits and sex objects, [the ad world is] turning those stereotypes on men."

         
         
         
      3. Flyer for Stale Roles and Tight Buns

         "Images of Men in Advertising: An audio-visual presentation about the stereotyping of American men."

         

4. Preview
   
   
   1. Examine 6 recent studies
      
      
   2. Identify mimetic and instrumental themes in them
      
      
   3. See a filmed lecture which is representative of the mid-70s "feminist" approach to the topic.

1. Example of "feminist" studies
   
   
   1. Bordelon (1985)
      
      
      1. Reviewed 15 studies of sex-role content of primary-grade readers.
         
         
      2. Conclusions
         
         
         • There has been "some progress in equalization of male-female representation in basal material."
           
         • But "the nature of feminine activities has not changed substantially" and "textbooks and teaching materials imply that independence, initiative, strength, and ambition are exclusively male traits." And
           
         • Comprehension and retention are improved when characters are represented in novel sex roles.
      
      
      
   2. Kinman and Henderson (1985)
      
      
      1. Studied 27 Newberry books from 1977 to 1984 and compared their results those of a similar study done in 1971.
         
         
      2. In 1971, the ratio of male to female main characters was 3:1; in 1985 it was 12:18.
         
         
      3. Likewise there were more positive images of women and more women in stereotypical activities in 1985.
         
         
      4. But there are still books in which the handsome prince rescues the princess, women are shown in traditional female occupations, and women require a male's help to solve problems.
         
         
      5. Conclusion: authors are writing (or Newberry panels are selecting) more nonsexist material, and this material will provide "positive images" to children.
      
      
   3. Ruggiero and Weston (1985)
      
      
      1. Compared six "established" magazines (McCall's, Ladies Home Journal) and four "new" magazines (Working Women, Savvy) from 1971 to 1980, coding feature articles dealing with a particular women's life.
         
         
      2. Found that the great majority of women (94%) profiled in both kinds of magazines work for pay; the established magazines actually offer "a fuller range of options for women."
         
         
      3. Found that about 58% of the occupations of women in established magazines are "traditional," about 67% of the occupations in new magazines are nontraditional.
         
         
      4. And found that 59% of the women profiled in established magazines perceived that they had power and responsibility; the number for women profiled in new magazines was 81%.
      
      
      
   4. Schwartz and Markham (1985)
      
      
      1. Studied 48 types of toys, correlating
         
         
         • Perceptions of college students as to the sex-appropriateness of the toys
           
         • Sex roles in packaging of the toys
           
         • Sex roles in catalog portrayals of the toys.
         
         
      2. Found strong evidence of sexist associations and representations.

         Schwartz and Markham, p. 168: "Even when a child was pictured with a sex-inappropriate toy, the child's activity was sometimes sex typed. A boy shown in a juvenile-scale kitchen was being served by a girl. A girl pictured with a magic kit was the boy magician's assistant. A girl shown with a road racing set was watching two boys play with the set. A boy was shown with a fashion doll (i.e., a female fashion doll's male counterpart), but the doll was surrounded by athletic equipment including barbells. A girl was shown riding a train being driven by a boy conductor."

      
      
   5. Ware and Stuck (1985)
      
      
      1. Studied 426 illustrations in 3 popular computing magazines in 1982-83, coded as to representations of males and females.
         
         
      2. Found that 69% of the people represented were male, 31 % female.
         
         
      3. Categories
         
         
         • Repair-technicians were always (n=24) male
           
         • Sex objects were always (n=14) female
           
         • 89% of the managers were male
           
         • 54% of the clerical workers were female
         
         
      4. More men than women (78% to 28%) were actively rather than passively using computers; all five of the people shown "rejecting" computers were women.
   
   
   
2. Common themes
   
   
   1. Mimetic theme
      
      
      1. Chavez (1985), p. 97:

         "As hypothesized, there is unequal treatment of genders in comic strips both in terms of sheer numbers of characters ... and in depiction of the characters. Men were main characters 85% of the time and were minor characters in the strips 67% of the time. Men are present in comic strips disproportionate with the true sex ratio. According to the United States Census Data for 1980, the sex ratio is 93 men per 100 women; however in the comic strips evaluated there are 569 men per 100 women.... Women were main characters only 15% of the time and were minor characters 33% of the time."

      2. Chavez (1985), p. 98:

         "Depiction of activities for males and females also were disproportionate to true ratios. According to the 1978 United States Census, 69% of the women in the United States were in the labor force while in the comic strips analyzed only 4% of the women were engaged in labor-force activities. Men were depicted in the labor force 48% of the time. In addition, men were shown in more types of occupations (travel guide, bartender, salesperson, general, information clerk, court jester, vicar, doctor, king, viking, sergeant, cook, farmer, wizard, and flutist) compared to women (bank teller and secretary). Career depictions were stereotypic for both genders in general, but more important is the deficiency in number of careers for women."

      
      
   2. Instrumental theme
      
      
      1. Chavez (1985), p. 101:

         "Many elementary school children are exposed to the Press-Enterprise school program that encourages newspaper readership, including the reading of comic strips and, as was evidenced, these comic strips contain biased material and are not as innocuous as they seem at first glance. Thus it is important these suggestions be given consideration and comic strips, which are purported to reflect American culture, be revised to truly reflect American society.... It is further suggested that a study of the effects of content of comic strips on elementary school children be done."

      2. Pingree et al. (1976), pp. 198, 199:

         "When media portrayals of women are uniformly degrading or limiting, the audience's images of women are likely to be similarly constrained.... If women and men are to be freed from artificial constraints on their abilities and opportunities, we must stop teaching each other and our children that these constraints are legitimate."
             "Once documented, the presence of sexism in the media and its subsequent effects on the developing minds of our children as well as on our own images of the sexes can be attacked more forcefully."

      3. Pearson (1985), p. 105 (re. television commercials):

         "Changes should be made in the roles of women and men on television commercials. First, the roles should be altered because of the negative impact on children's understanding of sex role behavior...."
             "Second, both women and men have offered their perceptions of television commercials and both desire change.... Women do not mind seeing women in household roles if the roles are consistent with the product being sold. However, when the product being sold is for personal use, a nontraditional role is preferred.... Neither men nor women enjoy the showing of an inept woman...."
             "Finally, television commercials should change because advertisers will have a larger market.... For instance, depicting men drinking tea or depicting women drinking beer will probably broaden the tea and beer market without causing losses of the current patronage. As you observe the television commercials that interrupt your favorite programs in the next few days, consider some the of the findings presented here."

      
      
   3. Summary
      
      
      1. Originally, feminist studies had a "discovery" function, which has now--with the development of a literature and the maturation of the movement--become a "monitoring" function. [Cf. next lecture, on "symbolic annihilation."]
         
         
      2. And the studies have a persuasive, instrumental, advocacy function.
   
   
3. These themes are present in the 1976 film, "Killing Us Softly"
   
   
4. What "feminist" criticism does address is the relationship of message and context--the accuracy of the message, the desirability of changing the context
   
   
5. What "feminist" criticism does not address systematically are two other message elements
   
   
   1. Effects
      
      
   2. Encoding