Collective identity refers to the identity of a group of people who share the same views and norms this can relate to any subculture or subgroup such as gender. The media can be influential towards gender culture however many would argue that gender is a pre known statement that cannot be defined purely by the media. In contrast to this view however it can be argued that the population are affected by gender stereotypes through the hypodermic syringe needle from a young age and birth such as pink for "girls" and blue for "boys".
An example of the media industry influencing gender identity can be found in the way that children are presented with blatantly gendered magazines from a young age with boys being exposed to elements such as danger, monsters, aliens and action as can be seen in magazines such as "Ben 10". Comparatively girls are presented with much more gentle magazines such as "My Little Pony" which often feature advertisements of colouring, soft colours such as pink and pastel hues as well as free hair accessories, stationary or makeup. It is important to note this imprinting of ideals from a young age as it shapes the brain of the child from an early stage of development that they should behave a certain way depending on their sex. After these first instalments of gender identity the child is subjected to these same ideas throughout adolescent and adult hood through the use of the hypodermic syringe model which presents the idea of injection of ideas which may not have originally belonged to an individual being implanted through media. Example of these media formats include male and female targeted magazines. Male magazines tent to largely focus on the Laura Mulvey's Female Gaze theory from 1975 in which she stated that women are presented in the media in a way to solely please men. An example of this can be seen below in "GQ magazine" featuring a semi-naked Rhianna (featured below). In opposition to this women are taught to tear each other down through the perpetuating of the "bitchy", "hormonal" and "aggressive" women which is targeted through gossip magazines such as "Cosmopolitan". From this brief analysis of media texts it would be easy to make the assumption that gender is a concept moulded by modern media outlets through the hypodermic syringe theory. These magazines and the way in which they influence those who read them displays David Gauntlett's theory that "identity is socially constructed, and the media provides some of the tools to help us construct our identities".
In opposition to this theory it can be argued through other texts that gender is not defined by media this is exhibited in the contemporary text The Danish Girl. In this text the plot centres around the transition of the first documented transgender individual Lily. This text is particularly significant due to the fact that there would have been no media representation for transgender people at this time and Lily would have been raised in the light of male aimed media. This means that Lily's discovery of her true gender was not related to the hypodermic syringe theory and media influence.
Gender influence can be targeted from a completely different aspect when looking into characters such as Vod from the British based comedy "Fresh Meat" which focuses around the antics of university students. Vod is a particularly important character in this saga due to the fact that she dresses in a gender non-conforming way with short hair, big boots, jeans and button up shirts. This is important to note as it shows the way that despite being influenced from a young age by the pink and gossip columns of female magazines Vod has developed a unique sense of style and which shows a lack of conformity to patriarchal hirachy and gender roles, this shows the way in which Vod has managed to evade the hypodermic syringe theory subsequently moving away from stereotypically appearance of those who fit into the collective identity of women.
A different approach to this argument is that although a person does not conform to a gender identity which fits inside that gender binary this may be because they fit into another identity such the way that some members of the LGBT+ community may be be affected in their gender expression through the way that queer fictiona; characters are often presented as the stereotypical "butch lesbian", "camp, feminine gay". These stereotypes are formed by the media in an attempt to make homosexual relationships conform to heterosexual norms such as Vern and Bonnie Bullough's the male provider and female nurturer in 1933. Examples of the stereotyping of sexuality can be seen through Stephen from "Bad Education" who is presented as very dramatic and feminine. This shows Stephen rejecting societies gender stereotype but conforming to the stereotypes of sexuality. This shows that whilst individuals may be able to avoid conforming to one collective identity they may in the process conform to another.
In conclusion the media can influence gender through the hypodermic syringe theory however this is not the defining feature in regards to gender as there are examples of individuals subverting the gender norms prior to the heavy influencing of a variety of gender stereotypes by the media.
Good, use of theory, you would most likely introduce more examples or analyse these examples in more detail for example Butler's queer theory and how it links with Vod Fresh meat" you can then use this as a platform to discuss Gidden's structuration theory providing you have a historical text as a counterpoint.
ReplyDeleteas an essay it works. I see that there is a lack of generic theories reference Buckingham Identity is complex/complicated, Gauntlett and Gidden's (structuration) wh is taking the lead in redefining gender is it the media or is it the public.. the hypodermic syringe theory is easy to remember but old look for other examples e.g. Gerbner (1986)
ReplyDeleteHall coding, encoding