Gender: Representation in the Media

Abstract

The study of representations of gender in the media understands gender to be socially constructed – an ongoing process of learned sets of behaviors, expectations, perceptions, and subjectivities that define what it means to be a woman and what it means to be a man. The main assumption of these studies is that a cultural ordering that presents gender differences as biologically determined and “natural” conceals the working of patriarchal ideology. “One is not born a woman, but becomes one” is Simone de Beauvoir's formative statement that captured the essence of this process (1989, 1st pub. 1949). Accordingly, gender is not viewed as something originally existent in human beings, but rather it is a representation produced by how we relate to our bodies through behaviors and social relations in the practices of daily life. As such, gender is distinct from the biological, sexual differences characterizing humans from birth. It is understood to be a product of “social technologies” (de Lauretis 1987), including media texts, the arts, and institutionalized discourses. For example, while it is a biological fact that women can give birth, it is a social construction (→ Constructivism) that women in most societies are expected to be better suited to be the dominant caregivers of children.