The media provide strong and persuasive messages about the intersection of culture and gender roles. Given the power of the media to influence and "educate" the public, understanding its images of girls and women is critical. Featuring Females analyzes the portrayals of women in a variety of outlets including reality television shows, films, print and electronic news programming, magazines, video games, and commercial advertising.
A highly esteemed group of scholars and researchers provides informed original psychological study, and their thought-provoking findings address the ways in which aging, race/ethnicity, body image, gender roles, sexual orientation and relationships, and violence are treated in the media. Featuring Females is a diverse and provocative volume, exploring images and characterizations of women young and old, and inspiring discussion of the effects that these representations have on girls, women, and society at large.
Preface
Part I: Beginning with Girls: Gender Roles, Body Image, and Sex
- The Impact of Media Use on Girls' Beliefs About Gender Roles, Their Bodies, and Sexual Relationships: A Research Synthesis
—L. Monique Ward and Kristen Harrison - "He Left Her for the Alien": Girls, Television, and Sex
—C. Lynn Sarsoli, Michelle V. Porche, and Deborah L. Tolman - The Media's Role in Body Image and Eating Disorders
—Stefanie C. Gilbert, Helene Keery, and J. Kevin Thompson
Part II: Defining Reality
- Clash of Cultures: Women and Girls on TV and in Real Life
—Diana Zuckerman and Nicole Dubowitz - Outcast, Outlast, Out-Flirt? The Women of Reality TV
—Laura S. Brown - Narratives of Gender in Computer Advertisements
—Laura J. Burlingame-Lee and Silvia Sara Canetto - Hollywood's Portrayal of Psychologists and Psychiatrists: Gender and Professional Training Differences
—Harriet T. Schultz
Part III: Aggression and Violence: Victims and Perpetrators
- Violence, Sex, Race, and Age in Popular Video Games: A Content Analysis
—Karen E. Dill, Douglas A. Gentile, William A. Richter, and Jody C. Dill - Mama Bears, Bitches, and Monsters: Motherhood and Violence in Popular Film
—Lynn Edith Paulson - Violence and Women: News Coverage of Victims and Perpetrators
—Elizabeth K. Carll - Gender and the Portrayal of Direct and Indirect Aggression on Television
—Norma D. Feshbach
Part IV: Gender Images With a Focus on Race and Age
- African American Women in Search of Scripts
—Thema Bryant-Davis - Reflection and Distortion: Women of Color in Magazine Advertisements
—Janis Sanchez-Hucles, Patrick S. Hudgins, and Kimberly Gamble - Aging to Perfection or Perfectly Aged? The Image of Women Growing Older on Television
—Kim S. Kjaersgaard
Afterword
Index
About the Contributors
Highly recommended.
—CHOICE Magazine
…this book makes a much-needed contribution to media studies.
—Sex Roles
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