Women In The Media Literature Review

Literature review

Prior research concerning gender and media has been quite extensive and covers many different forms of media, for example: prime-time television, movies, cartoons/Disney, music, games and the internet where new forms of media are being produced being the most recent. A wide range of different methods have been used in this field of study, however, the most common ones are quantitative content analysis and discourse analysis (Carter & Steiner 2004, Collins 2011, Gauntlett 2008, Rudy et al 2010).

This section of the research will discuss previous studies and literature that already exist on how women are portrayed in the media. the APA’s (2007b) review of studies examining depictions of women in the media including commercials,

the growth of mass media in the recent years has made a huge impact towards the looks of women in societies. Technological-wise, new communication technologies have become so prominent to people in so many households. With the help of the new communication technologies, the perception of men towards women gradually changes and hence the result is what women are today. Before moving on to what communication technologies had done to empower women. Cohan (2001) found evidence to support the claim that advertising can be just as effective by using positive images of women showing their natural flaws and human qualities, rather than portraying women as things or objects. “Such a shift would offer women a more human, approachable, intimate interpretation of beauty – more to do with inner beauty than an idealized, unattainable standard” (Cohan, 2001, p.

This same organization also suggests that by just exposing women to images of thin, young, unrealistic female bodies could lead to depression, loss of self-esteem and even unhealthy eating habits among women (Media Awareness Network, 2005). With findings such as this, research into newer forms of media is even more important in understanding advertising and media effects.

Another important aspect of the impact of advertisements featuring images of idealized women is how it compares globally. Several studies have been performed on advertising in the United States versus other countries. One instance occurred when Wan, Faber and Fung (2003) examined the impact of thin female models in advertising in Asia and compared it to the Western culture. While both cultures were found to exhibit body dissatisfaction and dieting, “Western women spend significantly more time exercising and are more willing to have plastic surgery to improve their appearance” (Wan, Faber & Fung, 2003, p.