Women in Media

Amy M. Damico, PhD, is Professor of Communication and faculty adviser to the Endicott Scholars Honors Program at Endicott College, USA.

• Preface1. Background and HistoryIntroductionThe New Woman in Early Media– Male Depictions of the Ideal "Girl"– Stereotypes of Women in Early Movies– Portrayals of Women during Hollywood's Golden AgeWomen in Developing Media Industries– News– Film– TelevisionWorld War II PropagandaPortrayals of Women in Postwar Entertainment Media– American Entertainment Media and FeminismApproaches to Analysis: How Representations of Women in Media Are Studied– Theoretical ApproachesCommon Stereotypes and Evolving Images of Women in MediaWomen in AdvertisingThe Digital Age and Feminist Practices– Third-Wave FeminismConclusionBibliography2. Problems, Controversies, and SolutionsIntroductionWomen in Film and Television– Women in Film– Women in Scripted Television– Portrayals of Women Characters– Social Media, Gender, and the Entertainment Industry– Changing Dynamics and Positive Trends– Casting ControversiesNews Coverage and Women– Women in News– Media Coverage of Female Political Candidates– Women in Sports MediaWomen in Advertising and on Social Media– Persistent Stereotypes– Pro-Female Advertising/Femvertising– Appearance-Focused Social Media Use– Thinspiration, Fitspiration, and the Body Positive MovementSolutions– Changing Gender in the Media Landscape– Industry Responses– Increasing Media LiteracyConclusionBibliography3. PerspectivesIntroductionMagical and Difficult Women: Resisting the Waves of Feminism in Popular Television, Sara E. Quay, PhDSame Girl, Different Show: Representations of Young Femininity in Teen TV, Lori Bindig Yousman, PhDDefined by Desire and Dispossession: A Cautionary Tale about Early Film Representations of Native American Women, Virginia McLaurinNo More Dragons, Lotuses, and Tigers? The Evolution of Asian American Women in the Media, Melissa Yang, PhDWomen Discovered as Super, Nora HickeyFrom Panel to Platform: Women Comics Creators on Instagram, Amaris Feland KetchamThe Ava Effect: Women Amplifying Women behind the Camera, Susan X JaneMedia Coverage of Women's Sport, Dunja Antunovic, PhD and Nicole M. LaVoi, PhDExposing the "Invisible Majority"—Representations of Women in News Media, Julie Frechette, PhD4. ProfilesIntroductionPeople– Lois Weber (1879–1939)– Lucille Ball (1911–1989)– Barbara Walters (1931–)– Caroline R. Jones (1942–2001)– Oprah Winfrey (1954–)– Geena Davis (1956–)– Joanelle Romero (1957–)– Christine Brennan (1958–)– Avis Little Eagle– Soledad O'Brien (1966–)– Shonda Rhimes (1970–)– Samantha Skey (1972–)– Mindy Kaling (1979–)– Chloé Zhao (1982–)Influential Organizations and Representations– Ms. Magazine (1972–present)– The Color Purple (1985)– Sex and the City (1998–2004)– The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty– Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019)Bibliography5. Data and DocumentsIntroductionDataFilm– Figure 5.1 Percentages of Women Working in Hollywood: 1910–2010– Figure 5.2 Percentages of Male and Female Characters in the Top Films of Each Year: 2007–2018– Figure 5.3 Percentages of Films with Gender-Balanced Casts in the Top 100 Films of Each Year: 2007–2018– Table 5.1 Exclusion of Underrepresented Women in the Top 100 Films of 2018Scripted Television– Figure 5.4 Race/Ethnicity of over 5,100 Female Characters on Television: 2018–2019News– Table 5.2 Numbers of LGBTQ Characters on Network, Cable, and Streaming Television Platforms in the 2019 Television Season– Table 5.3 Sexual Orientation of Regular and Reoccurring LGBTQ Characters in the 2019 Television Season– Table 5.4 Who Is Delivering News on Prime-Time Evening Broadcasts?– Table 5.5 Percentages of Women Journalists Reporting in Different News Areas– Table 5.6 Women and Men of Color Working in Local Television NewsSports Media– Figure 5.5 Gender and Athlete Breakdown of 1,587 Instagram Images from ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, and CBS Sports– Table 5.7 Percentages of Women Employed at Associated Press Sports Editor (ASPE) Newspapers and Websites: 2014, 2017, and 2021Advertising– Table 5.8 Percentage of Advertising Characters Framed as Sex Objects in 251 Cannes Lions Film and Film Craft 2019 Advertisements– Table 5.9 #Femvertising Award Winners: 2015–2019Documents– Document 5.1 Picturesque America, Anywhere in the Mountains by Charles Dana Gibson, c. 1900– Document 5.2 O'Hara, Neal R. 1920. "Those Fluttering Flappers: The Demi-Dame Who Is Too Young to Marry and Too Old to Believe in Santa." New York Evening World, April 20, 1920– Document 5.3 Congressional Hearing: "The Image of Aging in Media and Marketing"– Document 5.4 House Committee on the Judiciary Hearing: "Diversity in America: The Representation of People of Color in the Media"– Document 5.5 Reporter Sulome Anderson Speaks Out on Challenges for Women Journalists– Document 5.6 Congressional Resolution on Media DiversityBibliography6. ResourcesIntroductionSelected Books and Articles: Twentieth CenturySelected Books and Articles: Twenty-First CenturyContemporary Research ReportsDigital Resources and Audio/Visual MaterialOrganizationsRelevant HashtagsScholarly Journals7. ChronologyGlossaryIndex