Sexism in Today’s Media

By: Megan Maurer

Sexism

“prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against

women, on the basis of sex”
Video Games
● Women in video games face a
certain level of sexism
● 2011 update of Mortal Kombat:
portrayed women as reliant,
helpless, always needed man
for “bigger tasks”
● Beasley and Collins-Stanley
found women treated as 2nd
class citizens in video games
Video Games cont.
Even before the game is played, we are

Shown the varying levels portrayed by the

Male and female gender roles. The males are

Always gun wielding, muscle men who brave

Danger, while the women are either helpless,

Or incredibly toned and fit.

Music
● Using the objectification theory and sexual agency, Jennifer Aubrey was able
to conclude that women tend to be sexually objectified and demonstrate
more sexual acts in genres closer related to Hip-Hop, Rap, and Pop versus
Country and Alternative music.
● Blurred Lines : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDUC1LUXSU
○ Robin Thicke later claimed that him and the other artists were all happily married with kids
and only created this song because they felt like they could make fun of “those guys”.

● Regardless of the type of man Robin Thicke claims to be, any song promoting
sexism and rape should not be looked positively on.
Print and Social Media
● Magazines and various advertisements use a lot of nonverbal communication
through art to portray women in sexual ways

Ex. Timelapse of model transformation watched in class

● Study done on Seventeen(1971-2011) and Girls Life(1994-2011) magazine

○ Concluded that there’s been an increase in sexual portrayals of women and decrease of
childlike characteristics
○ Gives children, teens, and young adults, and older women unrealistic standards of society
Social Media cont.
● Social media is an incredible tool that can be used for both positive and
negative communication.
○ Connecting internationally, maintaining relationships long distance, the ability to market, create
art, and then show it to anyone are huge perks of having an online database.

● The double standard in media:

○ Boys are usually expected to message first and it is wrong if they don’t/girls look too clingy if
they message first
○ It is alright with women to share their feelings, but if a guy does, he is labeled as soft
○ Women are criticised on revealing too much in instagram photos but men are applauded to
show more
Movies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZMGk_Ml1fc
Movies (Assumptions in Romantic
Relationship)
Assumptions of Women
Assumptions of Men

*Clingy
*Reserved

*Needy
*Only wants sex

*Emotional
*Careless

*Moves too fast in the relationship *Doesn’t

take it seriously
Movies
● The influence of stereotyping and the way we perceive
misconceptions of both women and men can have a negative
effect on the way we perceive those we interact with within
our own relationships
● In the movie:
○ Nonverbal: decorating his apartment in pink colors/stuffed animals,
○ Verbal: blaming him for eating disorder, talking about long term future
● Even though the movie example was a comedy, it’s important
to not allow ourselves be influenced by the negative gender
assumptions present within it.
Conclusion
● The way we perceive others is important for when we communicate with
them
● Sexism is prominent in various sources of media
● It’s important to be understanding of others regardless of sex or the
gender one identifies as.
● Avoid:
○ Assuming
○ Stereotyping
○ Derogatory terms
○ Dehumanizing
○ Sexualizing
Works Cited
Aubrey, Jennifer S. "Sexual Objectification in Music Videos." Mass Communication and Society.
Taylor & Francis, 04 July 2011. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.
Bauer, Nichole. "The Trump tape has transformed the 2016 election into a referendum on
gender." LSE Research Online. The London School of Economics and Political Science,
12 Oct. 2016. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.
Cheung, Sheng K. "Media/Visual Literacy Art Education: Sexism in Hip-Hop Music Videos."
EbscoHost. Art Education, May 2007. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.
Graff, Kaitlin A., Sarah K. Murnen, and Anna K. Krause. "Low-Cut Shirts and High-Heeled
Shoes: Increased Sexualization Across Time in Magazine Depictions of Girls."
SpringerLink. Springer US, 20 Sept. 2013. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.
Greene, Kathryn, and Sandra L. Faulkner. "Gender, Belief in the Sexual Double Standard,
and Sexual Talk in Heterosexual Dating Relationships." SpringerLink.
Kluwer Academic Publishers-Plenum Publishers,
Aug. 2005. Web. 10 Mar. 2017.
Matthews, Justin L. " Hidden Sexism: Facial Prominence and Its Connections to Gender and
Occupational Status in Popular Print Media." ProQuest. Springer Science and Business
Media, Oct. 2007. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.
Morello, Lauren. "Science and sexism: In the eye of the Twitterstorm." EbscoHost. Nature, 12
Nov. 2015. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.
Rosen, Jody. "Robin Thicke on 'Blurred Lines' and Learning From His Mistakes." The New York Times.
The New York Times, 01 July 2015. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.