Transcript Why Media Characterizations of Gender and Race Matter

Why Media Characterizations
of Gender and Race Matter
Karen E. Dill, Ph.D.
Lenoir-Rhyne University
Media character portrayals
 Premise 1- how mass media portray
representatives of a group can
contribute to social biases (stereotypes
and prejudice) and discrimination
 Premise 2 - Social biases and
discrimination are related to aggression
APA Task Force on Sexualization of
Girls
Exposure to
Sexualized Media
Ideals of Women
Causes:
Low Self Esteem
Depression
Shame
Eating Disorders
Sexual Issues
Body Image Issues
Forms of Aggression
 Aggression is not only physical violence
 Sexual harassment, for example, can be
categorized as a form of discrimination
 “The sexual harassment of ‘uppity’ women”
(Berndahl, 2007)
 Men harass ‘uppity’ - feminist, independent,
androgynous - women rather than traditional
women
 Motive is harm, not seduction
Theoretical Foundations
 Hegemonic Masculinity Theory (Connell,
1987) - Hegemony is power and refers to the
social dominance of White heterosexual
maleness
 Ambivalent Sexism Theory (Glick, Fiske et al.)
- we hold both beneficent and hostile
attitudes towards both sexes; men are “bad
but bold,” women are “wonderful but weak”
 Tedeschi and Felson’s Coercive Behavior
Theory - power and dominance motives
Ambivalent Sexism Correlates
 In 16 Nations where the “Bad but bold”
stereotype of men is strongest, women
experience:
 Lower purchasing power
 Lower literacy
 Lower occupational prestige
Glick & Fiske, 2004
Previous Research
 Exposure to hyper-masculine (macho) media images
(The Sopranos) caused endorsement of the beliefs
that violence is manly and thrilling (Scharrer, 2005)
 Males exposed to magazine ads where women were
portrayed as sex objects showed greater rapesupportive attitudes
 Women shown progressive ads showed lower rapesupportive attitudes (Lanis and Covell, 1995)
Previous Research
 Brenick et al. (2007) found that high
frequency videogame players, especially
males, condoned gender stereotypes in
games
 Their participants generally did not believe
exposure to stereotypical vg images changes
attitudes or behaviors
Video game portrayals
 How are male and
female videogame
characters portrayed,
especially regarding
objectification and
power, dominance and
aggression?
 What is the common
understanding of youth
about gender portrayals
in videogames? Are
these schemas part of
general culture?
Dill & Thill (2007) Study 1
 Images of male and
female video game
characters from the
6 top selling video
game magazines
 Top seller Game Pro
bigger seller than
Maxim (~3.5 million
vs. 2.5 million)
 3 of 10 top selling
teen magazines are
game magazines
Methodology
 479 “main images” - 360 male, 119 female
 2 raters; reliabilities ranging from 87.4% to 100%
agreement, depending on category
 Predictions: males more likely aggressive; females
more likely sexualized and scantily clad (not vice
versa)
 Males stereotyped as hyper-masculine, females as
“vision of beauty,” Harrison’s (2003) “curvaceously
thin”
 Stereotypical portrayals common
Female Game Characters
 60% Sexualized
 1% of males
 63% Vision of
Beauty
 39% Scantily clad
 62% Aggressive
 39% Sexualized &
Aggressive
Dill & Thill, 2007
Male Game Characters
 83% Aggressive
 33% Hypermasculine
 Aggressive
Portrayal:
 4% military
 33% fighting
 42% wearing armor
Dill & Thill, 2007
Posing with Weapons =
Glamorized
 32% Males
 31% Females
 Compared to:
 Fighting:
33% Males
16% Females
 Military:
4% Males
1% Females
Dill & Thill, 2007, Study 2
 Method
 49 college freshmen (20 male, 29 female)
 Median age 18
 Asked 2 open ended questions:
describe the typical male and typical
female video game character
 Responses coded, ranked
Teens’ Schemas for Female
Game Characters
 Skimpy clothes, “big
boobs,” skinny,
sexual, aggressive
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Teens’ Schemas For Male
Game Characters
 Muscular, violent,
cocky, athletic, thug
VG Sex Role Stereotypes Effects on Tolerance of
Sexual Harassment
(Dill, Brown & Collins, 2008)
 Experimental Images: VG Sex Stereotypes
Degradation vs. Equality
 Control images - Professional/Progressive
Images from Dill et al, 2008
Sexual Harassment
 College students read a real life account
of a female college student’s sexual
harassment by her male college
professor
 Dependent measure: composite score
of their tolerance for sexual harassment
Sexual Harassment Measure
 If the student’s story is true, would you personally
believe that Prof. Bloom is guilty of sexual
harassment?
 If Prof. Bloom admitted doing what the student
accused him of doing, how harshly do you think he
should be punished?
 Other items: Blame victim? Feel sorry for her? Take it
seriously? Professor’s behavior damaging?
 0 to 9 scales (not at all to very)
Results
Race in the Media
 Those exposed to female Black rap artists
with sexual content (e.g., L’il Kim) showed
less empathy and greater attributions of
promiscuity towards a Black pregnant student
than a White pregnant student compared to
controls
 Johnson, Bushman, Dovidio, 2008
 Those exposed to movie scenes depicting
Black female stereotypes (mammy or jezebel)
applied those stereotypes to a Black but not a
White female college-aged job applicant
 Brown-Givens and Monahan (2005)
Priming Associations
 Priming positive Black exemplars (Oprah and Michael
Jordon) made participants less likely to endorse the notion
that discrimination is no longer a problem, compared to
controls (Julia Roberts prime). Bodenhausen et al. (1995).
 Likeable, high status exemplars (warmth and competence,
according to the Stereotype Content Model)
 “those people who are associated with aggression generally
and/or with gratifications for aggression in particular or
who are associated with negative affect are especially
likely to be the victims of aggression.” (Berkowitz, 2008,
p. 128)
 Negative exemplars; Black stereotype of aggression,
hostility and criminality
Playing with Prejudice (Burgess, Dill, Stermer,
Burgess & Brown, under revision)
 Study 1 - Content analysis of race in vg
magazines
 Study 2 - Content analysis of race on vg
covers
 Study 3 - Experiment on effects of exposure
to B & W male vg characters on RT to
weapons and non-violent stimuli
Results: Studies 1 and 2
 Study 1 - Black males were underrepresented, but
were more likely to be portrayed as athletes or as
aggressive and less likely to wear protective
armor, to be depicted in military combat, or using
technology than Whites.
 Study 2 - showed evidence of the stereotype of
Black males as violent criminals compared to
Whites. Again Blacks were underrepresented, but
were overrepresented as thugs, as using extreme
guns, and also as athletes.
 Not enough women of color to evaluate.
Priming Black vs. White male VG
Characters
 Study 3, an experiment,
exposed players to both
violent and non-violent
games with both White
and Black characters.
 Participants were faster at
classifying violent stimuli
following games with
Black characters and nonviolent stimuli following
games with White
characters.
Media Images as Positive and Negative Exemplars
of Race: Evoking Obama or Videogame Characters
Changes Outcomes for Black Men
 Negative Exemplars Stereotypical Black vg
characters (low status)
 Positive Exemplars - Black
Leaders (high status)
Dill & Burgess, under review
Ratings of Black or White Politician “Peter
Smith” based on his web site
 Favorability,
likeability, how
good a candidate,
how capable,
motivated, would
you vote for him?
Results: Candidate Favorability
Results: Candidate Capability
Theory of Media and
Aggressive Degradation (MAD)
 Towards a Theory of Media and Aggressive
Degradation: Integrating the Literatures on Social
Biases and Aggression in the Domain of Media
Psychology
 Dill & Burgess, in press, Journal of Interdisciplinary
Research, Chapel Hill Press
Integrating the Aggression and
Social Bias Literatures
 Aggression - behavior intended to harm another
living being who is motivated to avoid such harm
 Discrimination - acting on the basis of one’s
stereotypes and prejudices, denying equality of
treatment that people wish to have
 (Fiske, 2004)
 Harm - the common element uniting aggression &
social bias theories
 Negative media characterizations of group members
cause harm (e.g., tolerance of sexual harassment,
judgment of unrelated political candidate)