Assignment 1 –
Research Proposal
Throughout
this essay I will discuss and articulate how women are stereotyped in media
news. This has become a huge controversial issue in the past several years and
is an important topic to examine. Representation of women throughout media will
be discussed and debated in my essay.
The reason I want to write about this topic is because, it is such an in
depth subject and matter that needs to be addressed. Media and popular culture
are huge influences on people’s lives today.
We cannot step out our front door without seeing media in some sort of
form. Sadly, media shapes and defines who we are to the majority of the globes
population. When people turn on their
television and see how one is represented, unfortunately that is what they are
going to believe is the truth. Therefore, in this essay I am specifically
interested in investigating why women are so heavily and terribly stereotyped
in media.
The
way that the research will be conducted is through online academic readings
about stereotypes of women in the news. I will read several different
perspectives about the topic and opinion-based writings to find a good balance
of the truth. I will also use the reading “Exacting Beauty: Exploring Women’s
Body Projects and Problems” by Carla Rice, to help support my discussion on
different female body types and how the media tackles them. Rice speaks upon
different body sizes and shapes that women are placed into. Another author and
reading called “From Airbrushing to Liposuction” by Darling-Wolf will be
referenced in my essay as well. This reading will help explore and answer
questing regarding female reconstruction and how much of is used throughout
media representations. Further, a reading from class called “Poynter, Women in
the News” by Rita Jensen will be used in my essay to help support topics about
women in management. This reading discusses about the failure to promote women
to management in the world of journalism due to their gender, which is holding
them back.
The
main topics that will be discussed in this essay will be stereotypes of
middle-eastern women, sexualization of women in the news, and women’s
intelligence/education. All three of these topics are used against women in the
news each and everyday.
In
conclusion, Feminist theory will help explore and understand my essay. Feminist
theory can be defined as: “The extension of feminism into theoretical or
philosophical discourse. It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality.
It examines women’s social roles, experiences, interests, and feminist politics
in a variety of fields”. This theory
will assist in examining why women are portrayed and looked at by society a
certain way. Additionally, this theory clearly outlines stereotypes that are
placed upon women in media productions.
- Reagan Buckley
