THE EFFECTS OF
M.E.D.I.A. S.T.E.R.E.O.T.Y.P.E.S.
Presented By:
Ee Lin, Jasmine, Dionne,
Andrea, Joanne & Sabrina
Media Cultivation
• Cultivation process cumulative, gradual
changes in believes, attitudes and behavior
• A person “cultivated” into the television view of
social reality
GERBNER’S THEORY of
MEDIA CULTIVATION
(Source: http://www.ciadvertising.org/sa/spring_03/382j/kimberly/page2.html)
Media Cultivation
• Mainstreaming refers to what happen when people of different
groups are exposed to the same media
 Ultimately, everyone is being similarly cultivated by media
messages
• Resonance refers to what happens when a person’s real-life
environment strongly resembles the environment depicted in the
media
 Receives “double-dose” of the same message, making the impact
of media cultivation particularly likely
Sparks, G. (1996). Media Effects Research. A Basic Overview. Cultivation Research. Pg151-153. George Gerbner.
Media Stereotypes (Application)
• Sex-Role Stereotypes
• Body-Image
• Racial Stereotype
• Face-ism
Sex-Role Stereotypes
• Media Depiction:
Men far outnumber women
Men have higher status roles
• Mainstreaming
Men are more powerful and
is more dominant in society
• Resonance (Double-Dose Effect)
Men are employed in most of the
higher paying job
Body-Image
• Media Depiction
Heavy emphasis on females to be overly-thin as compared
to males
Females with higher weight receives negative comments
E.g.: The Agency
• Mainstreaming
Majority of females desire for thin bodies
• Resonance (Double-dose effect)
Friends places great importance on thin body image
Society’s high values and regards for thin bodies
Racial Stereotype
• Media Depiction:
More Blacks commit crimes
Great difference in status for different race
• Mainstreaming
Certain races are more capable as compared to the others
• Resonance (Double-dose effect)
(e.g.) Most security guard positions are taken up by the
Indians
(e.g.) Most jobs require Mandarin speaking personnel
Face-ism
• Media Depiction:
Focuses more on the faces of males
Focuses more on the bodies of the females
• Mainstreaming
Great importance are placed on a female’s
overall figure
A male face is enough for people’s judgment
• Resonance (Double-dose effect)
Most fashion magazines published the entire
body of females than focusing on her face
More importance is placed on the face of a male than his
body
Sex-Role Stereotypes in Children
• Children make gender-typed classification
at an early age
– Classify objects like toys, clothes, & household items
– Learn from operant conditioning & observational
learning
• Basis of gender typing: the social environment
– Children pay more attention to same-sex models
(Bandura, 1962, 1969)
Sex-Role Stereotypes
• George Gerbner
 “women are much more likely to be depicted as
victims of crime and violence than males.”
– Females are relatively powerless as compared to the
males in terms of the role they play on TV
Sex-Role Stereotypes
• Jennifer Herrett-Skjellum and Mike Allen:
used meta-analysis to summarize consolidated data
to examine sex-role stereotypes
• Conclusion of study:
 Men:
– more often on TV
– in higher status roles as characters
– represented as having more power than women
Sexual Revolution
• Some masculinist theorists speculate that prior to sexual
revolution, the idealized male was expected to be powerful
while the idealized female was expected to be modest
Sexual Revolution
• Modern Feminist: Ariel Levy
– contributing editor at New York
magazine
– wrote Female Chauvinist Pigs:
Women and the Rise of Raunch
Culture
– warned that the current state of
commercial sexuality has created
a "Raunch Culture"
Ariel Levy. (2007, March 16). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:39, March 19, 2007, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ariel_Levy&oldid=115560408
Effects of Media Stereotypes
• Media messages influence the
construction of reality
• Experiment by Tannis Macbeth Williams & Meredith
Kimball:
- examined boys’ and girls’ job expectations over a 2 year
period in the town of Notel (Canada)
- no access to television initially
- but later on access to one channel was implemented
The TV Experiment by Tannis Macbeth
Williams & Meredith Kimball:
• 1st Hypothesis:
- children in Notel: fewer stereotypical attitudes
- children in towns with TV access:
more stereotypical attitudes
The TV Experiment by Tannis Macbeth
Williams & Meredith Kimball:
• 6th & 9th grade children’s attitudes measured by filling Sex
Role Differentiation Scale
• Results:
- children in Notel did not differentiate behaviors according
to sex to compared to other towns
The TV Experiment by Tannis Macbeth
Williams & Meredith Kimball:
• Results interpreted as evidence:
- towns similar in every aspect except TV access
• 2nd Hypothesis:
- children in Notel gained TV access after 1st hypothesis
tested
The TV Experiment by Tannis Macbeth
Williams & Meredith Kimball:
• Results after 2 years:
- pattern of results changed
- showed dramatic increase in stereotypical attitudes
• Interpreted as clear media effect
- only major change was TV access
Media Portrayal:
Women as Sex Objects
• Women stereotyped as sex
objects
- anything that seems
demeaning to women
becomes controversial
- women always portrayed
as victims of rape
Women as Sex Objects
• controversial D & G advertisement pulled.
- some said it depicts gang rape
Dolce & Gabbana ‘gang-rape’ ad banned. (2007). Retrieved March 20, 2007, from
http://www.creativematch.co.uk/viewnews/?93666
Women as Sex Objects
• Grace Quek aka Annabel
Chong
- starred in “The World's
Biggest Gang Bang”
- had record breaking sex
with 251 men in 10 hours
- wanted to shake up
stereotypes about women
being passive sex objects
Williams, L. R. (1999). Sex The Annabel Chong Story. Retrieved March 26, 2007, from http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/493
Women as Eye Candy
• Just a Jade ‘Hua Ping’
- vase (pretty but empty).
- the Dance Floor co-host
Jade Seah
- 1st runner up of Miss
Singapore Universe
- viewers unhappy with her
“wooden and amateurish
hosting”
She’s a “hua
ping” put there
for ornamental
reasons!
Tan, J. (2007, March 13). Just A Jade ‘Hua Ping’. The New Paper, pp.23.
Women as the Weaker Sex
• Women are supposed to be:
- submissive
- emotionally weak
- home nurturing
• Man are supposed to be:
- authoritarian
- emotionally strong
(men don’t shed tears!)
- career driven
Women as the Weaker Sex
• My Sassy Girl
- 2001 Korean movie partially
based on true story.
- girl is fiery, violent, and calls the shots
- boy is gentle,unassuming, and lets girl
call the shots
- success contributed to refreshing
change in gender role reversal
- started a new trend in the industry
Examples of Stereotypes
• Females stuck in inferior
roles compared to males
in the media
• Females are always the:
- the nurse
- the librarian
- the teacher
- the secretary
• Males are always the:
- the policeman
- the fireman
- the boss
- the doctor
Examples of Stereotypes
• Do you find yourself committing
this mistake often?
- When talking about doctors, we say ‘he', even if we
don't know that the doctor is a man.
- We'll always ask, “So what did he say?" even though
the doctor could be a woman
• If you do, you are experiencing an effect of a stereotype
Does TV Influence Attitudes?
• Science cannot explain everything
• It’s not for sure that the impact of media messages causes
disparity
• But they do have a contribution in
people developing stereotypical attitudes
MEDIA IMAGES of THIN BODIES &
EFFECTS on BODY IMAGE
Overview
• How female bodies are
•
represented
The impact of these
representations
Introduction
• Sociocultural factors (i.e. role of the media)
- received the most attention as a possible
contributor to body image disturbance & eating
dysfunctions (Fallon, 1990; Heinberg, 1996)
Thompson, J.K. & Heinberg, L.J. (1999). The media’s influence on body image disturbance and eating disorders: we’ve reviled
them, now can we rehabilitate them? Journal of Social Issues Vol.55 (2), 339-353.
Television
Television
• TV on > 7 hrs per day (Harris, 1994)
• Female TV characters thinner
than average American
woman
• < 10% overweight
(Gonzalez-Lavin & Smolak, 1995; Heinberg, 1996)
Media Images of Thin Bodies & Effects on Body
Image
Research by Gregory Fouts &
Kimberley Burggraf
• 18 sitcoms from prime-time TV
Findings:
1) Females in these programs were far more
likely to be judged as being “below
average” in weight
2)
The higher the weight, the more negative
comments made
- laugh tracks
Media Images of Thin Bodies & Effects on Body Image
Possible Media Effects:
- Social problem
- Body dissatisfaction /
Body-image disturbance
- Social Comparison
- Life-threatening eating
disorders
(eg. anorexia nervosa,
bulimia)
Magazines
• Probably more than any
other form of media –
advocates & promoters of
the desirability of
unrealistic ideal
(Wolf, 1990)
Magazines
• 83% teenage girls – 4.3 hrs a
week reading magazines
(Levine & Smolak, 1996)
• 70% who read magazines
endorse them as an important
source of beauty & fitness
information
Magazines
• Adolescent girls endorsed ideal
as the models found in fashion
magazines aimed at teenage
girls (Nichter & Nichter, 1991)
• Ideal: 5’7”, 100 lbs, (BMI=<16),
long blond hair, blue eyes
Research by Eric Stice & Heather Shaw
•
157 female college students to
view pictures in magazines
that contained thin, average or
no models
Findings:
1) Students who viewed thin
models – stress, shame, guilt,
depression, insecurity
2) High levels of body
dissatisfaction; symptoms
associated with bulimia
Magazines
• Photographic techniques – blur
•
•
realistic nature of media images
Leading consumers to believe the
models the viewers see through the
illusions techniques create are
realistic representations of actual
people rather
Carefully manipulated, artificially
developed images
(Stormer & Thompson, 1995, 1998)
TV Commercials
Research by Duane Hargreaves &
Marika Tiggemann
•
•
•
Cumulative effect of
media exposure to ideal
body types
80 random adolescents
20 commercials –
“female thin ideals”,
20 commercials – no
physical appearance
Research by Duane Hargreaves &
Marika Tiggemann
Findings:
1) Exposure to the thin body ideals =>
small changes in body dissatisfaction
2) Girls => > body dissatisfaction, >
drive for thinness
3) Boys > < body dissatisfaction, > drive
for thinness
**
Evidence for cumulative media effects:
initial media effect continued to
produce changes in body image that
were detectable 2 years later
Research by Daniel Agliata & Stacey
Tantleff-Dunn
• 158 males
• Neutral TV commercials
/ with male ideal body
images
Findings:
• Group that watched
ideal body images =>
significantly > levels of
depression & muscle
dissatisfaction
300
“All the d?*ks in the show had at least a six pec. If I had a body
like that I would be walking around in my underwear too, man!
F#$%!”
(Fernandez, M., 2007)
On the Runway
• Sept 2006 – Madrid
Fashion Week bannes
models with BMI <18
• Uruyguayan model
sisters died of
malnutrition
• Underweight models still
walk the runways of
shows in London & Paris
(Source: The Straits Times, 26 Mar 2007)
Singapore Fashion Festival
• Average BMI of 3 female models: 16
(Healthy: 18.5 - 22.9)
• 2 male models :
healthy BMI (23 – 27.5)
• Sheila Sim: “There is added pressure for
me to be thin. There are so few spots for
Asians in a show, I have to be at least as
thin as the other non-Asian girls.”
(Source: The Straits Times, 26 Mar 2007)
http://www.newfaces.com/magazine/imagesx/skinny.jpeg
Research Summary
• Media images of females are
•
•
•
stereotypical in that they tend to
represent females with idealized,
overly thin bodies
Negative effects on both males &
females
Females internalize ideal image;
strive to attain it despite eating
disorders
Males reinforce ideal image =>
create additional social pressure on
females
“I WANT a FAMOUS FACE”
http://www.mtv.com/onair/i_want_a_famous_face/pic_index_main.jpg
What can be done?
• Critical media consumption
Sensitive to media stereotypes &
possible effects of media exposure on
attitudes & behavior
• School curricula designed to expose
sexual stereotypes in media to reduce
extent to which young girls embrace
idealized, overly thin body standard
RACIAL STEREOTYPES
Problems
• Problems related to the use of stereotypes:
•
– often leads to misunderstanding
– hurt feelings
Reasons behind the problems:
– Representation of groups are either
• untrue generalizations,
• unflattering generalizations,
• or truthful generalizations about a group which are
untrue of any given member of a group
Racial Stereotypes
• Still present in today’s television
dramas, sitcoms, and movies
• Can also be known as Ethnic stereotype
– a generalized representation of an ethnic
group, composed of what are thought to be
typical characteristics of members of the
group
• Use of such stereotypes is usually demeaning even
when the characteristics might be considered positive
because it tends to discount the importance and
uniqueness of the individual
(“Ethnic stereotype”, 2007)
Ethnic stereotype. (2007) From In: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved March 9, 2007, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ethnic_stereotype&oldid=118090118
Frito-Lay Example
• Example ~ Frito-Lay Company
– Used cartoon character to convey
the message that Fritos corn chips
are delicious
– Character was known as “Frito-bandito”
– Because of his appearance and Mexican accent, he as
clearly identified as a Mexican
– The Mexican community protested because
• The image of Frito-bandito depicts an undesirable stereotype
• Image associates the ethnic group with crime and thievery
Study:
Overrepresentation of African American
• Research Study by Travis Dixon and Daniel Linz
– Content study designed to reveal information
about how TV newscasts in major U.S. city
represented African Americans and Latinos in
stories about crime
– Sample:
• 116 news broadcasts,
• Including examples from virtually every news
program broadcast in the Los Angeles area
Results
• Intergroup comparison
– Comparison of the percentage of one group to
the percentage of another group
– Found that the news coverage in their sample
included 129 perpetrators of criminal offenses
• 69 were Black perpetrators
• 40 were White perpetrators
Results
• Interrole comparison
– Used to compare the distribution of the same group of people
according to particular roles
– Coded the race of the police officers depicted in the news as
well as that of the perpetrators
• 87 Blacks depicted in their sample of news
– 69 appeared as perpetrators of crime
– 18 appeared as officers
• 133 Whites depicted in their sample of news
– 40 appeared as perpetrators
– 93 appeared as officers
Results
• Interreality comparison
– Comparing the percentages of Blacks, Whites, and Latinos
who appeared in TV crime stories with the percentages that
showed up in actual crime statistics
– Actual crime data
• 21% Blacks accounted for criminal arrests
• 28% Whites accounted for criminal arrests
• 47% Latinos accounted for criminal arrests
– Data shown on TV newscasts
• 37% of TV news perpetrators were Blacks
• 21% of TV news perpetrators were Whites
• 29% of TV news perpetrators were Latinos
Local Context
• In a report on IPS Research Forum on Ethnic Relations in Singapore,
showed how the media representation of ethnicity is like with regards
to local television and film
– Stereotypes of the following ethnic categories:
• Westernized, English-educated Chinese:
– Bad attitude to Mandarin and Chinese culture
– Masculinity - feminine and homosexual, excessively macho,
rational
– Femininity - calculative and career-minded
• Chinese-educated Singlish-speaking:
– Singaporean identity
– Class (heartland) identity
– Chinese identity
Local Context
• Chinese-educated dialect-speaking:
– Obsessed with money
– Crude, insensitive, and sleazy
– Superstitious, hypocritical and cruel
– Violent and criminal
• Malays
– Buffoonery
– Masculinity - irrational and violent
– Femininity - submissive, objectified and instrumental
Local Context
• Indians
•
•
– Comic effect – absurdity, buffoonery
– Fear – authority, violence and perversion
Eurasians
– Cool, sexually attractive, but shallow, unintelligent, inauthentic
– Perverse
Westerners
– Confrontational and anti-authority, rational and disrespectful
– Male chauvinist, opinionated
– Unfair competition from second-rate foreign talent
Tan, K. P. (2002, October 24) "Ethnic representation on local film and television". Institute of Policy Studies Research Forum on Ethnic
Relations in Singapore. Retrieved March 9, 2007, from www.ips.org.sg/reports/erp_2002/rp_erpforumreport.pdf
Rise of Pan-Asians
• Modeling agencies
Rise of Pan-Asians
Pan-Asian models are
wanted in almost
every post
Local Brands but Non Local Models
Is Eliminating Racial Stereotypes
Possible?
• Racial stereotypes are unfair and degrading to a certain
•
extent
It is unrealistic to eliminate all ethnic stereotypes because
– Stereotypes are resilient and efficient images that help
us to give order to a complex world
– In film and television programs, audiences connect
more readily with characters and situations that are
familiar and recognizable
– Many successful comedies are very dependent upon
stereotypes
Minimizing Racial Stereotypes
• How to minimize racial stereotypes:
– eliminate negative stereotypes and promote
positive ones (though it might be quite difficult)
• through positive social transformations, e.g. role
modeling
– Creating alternative images and messages
• By creating new, more diverse, complex, and
empowering representations
FACE-ISM
AN INTRIGUING & UNDER-STUDIED
MEDIA DEPICTION
What is the Face-ism Effect?
• Spark’s Definition:
•
Tendency to represent people in terms of their face or head as opposed to their
body
Characterized into 2 aspects
(Costa & Bitti, 2000)
– Greater number of close-up shots, in comparison to distance shots that
can be found in the media, for certain categories
– Attribution of positive qualities to people photographed in close shots
instead of whole figure
Face-ism Index
• Face-ism Index:
– ratio of 2 linear measurements
– Numerator:
distance (mm) from top of head to lowest point of
the chin
– Denominator:
distance (mm) from top of head to lowest visible
part of the body
• Averages:
– Male: 0.65
– Female: 0.45 (30% lesser than males)
Research on Face-ism: Five Studies of Sex
Differences in Facial Prominence
• By Archer, D., Iritani, B., Kimes, D. D., & Barrios, M.
•
•
(1983)
Purpose of Study:
Extent to which face-ism might be present in
private and public representations
Drawings of college students requested from both
male and female
– Finding:
Male images have higher face-ism ratios
Face-ism: Five Studies of Sex Differences
in Facial Prominence
• Hypothesis:
•
Images reflect a real biological difference where male
heads are larger than females
• Not supported
Manipulation of face-ism ratios for photos of the same
individual
– Finding:
People who were high on facial prominence in
photos are perceived more intelligent, more
ambitious, better-looking
Faces in the News: Gender Comparisons of
Magazine Photographs
• By Sparks, G.G., & Fehlner, C.L. (1986)
• Presidential Campaign Photos
– Face-ism ratios of Ronald Reagan, George Bush,
Walter Mondale, Geraldine Ferraro equivalent
• But in magazines, face-ism effect was found
– Males have higher levels of facial prominence
Why Face-ism Ratios are the Same for
Presidential Candidates?
• Presented in photos that were framed identically
and appeared as offsetting, competing
representations
• In politics at the national level, press is constrained
to represent candidates in a photographically
similar manner, regardless of gender
DOES FACE-ISM OCCURS in the
SINGAPORE POLITICAL SCENE?
Members of Parliament
Females
Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon
Holland-Bukit Timah GRC
Face-ism Ratio: 37/50 = 0.74
Mrs Josephine Teo
Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC
Face-ism Ratio: 36/50 = 0.72
(Source: http://www.parliament.gov.sg/AboutUs/Org-MP currentMP.htm)
Members of Parliament
Males
Dr Lee Boon Yang
Jalan Besar GRC
Face-ism Ratio: 34 / 47 = 0.72
Dr Vivian Balakrishnan
Holland-Bukit Timah GRC
Face-ism Ratio: 37/47 = 0.79
(Source: http://www.parliament.gov.sg/AboutUs/Org-MP-currentMP.htm)
Face-ism in Singapore’s Political Scene
Conclusion
• Proven that face-ism does not occur in Singapore’s
Political Scene
Interesting Aspect of Face-ism Effect
• High Facial Prominence = More positive
– Head is where the brain is; head, the center of an
individual’s intelligence
• Have negative implications for evaluation of
women
Awaiting Study
• Heavy media consumers who spend more time
processing faces that are systematically different
according to the sex-biased face-ism effect might
more likely to show this effect in their own
drawings
Race Differences in Face-ism: Does Facial
Prominence imply Dominance?
• By Zuckerman, M., & Kieffer, S.C. (1994)
• Images of Black would have lower facial
prominence than images of whites
• People represented in photos with higher facial
prominence were perceived as being more
dominant
Concluding with:
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