Drawing on Media Studies, Gender Studies, and Media Literacy Education to Develop an Interdisciplinary Approach to Media and Gender Classes

Abstract

Media scholars see audiences as agentic, and people’s relationships with media texts and tools as complex and not easily predictable. At the same time, we are reminded that media representations of gender are ideological, and that media environment does contribute to the development of our gender identities. The article argues that it is crucial to help people understand this complexity through education and discusses the need to create an interdisciplinary approach to media and gender classes. This approach would combine a theoretical framework based on media studies and gender studies with best practices developed within media literacy education. The article offers analysis of educational materials created by three nonprofit organizations, in order to elucidate the main challenges that the interdisciplinary approach toward media and gender classes should address.