the front cover of newsweek

According to Gauntlett in Chapter 4, from 1990 on we saw changes, some improvements, in gender portrayal in media texts. A main example he gave was the sitcom Friends, which centered around a group of friends consisting of three men and three women. The depictions of the characters were pretty widely accepted as fair representations. Gauntlett pointed out that a recent method of avoiding gender stereotypes is to develop characters more deeply through the plot over the course of a series. Issues still exist, such as some programs that exclude females or have one “token” female character, while other programs may take the other extreme by favoring the women and belittling male characters. When it comes to recent shows and films including gay or lesbian characters, it has occurred very gradually. To avoid controversy, advertisers pulled out from t.v. shows that first included homosexual content. Even becoming more acceptable, there are few gay characters included while the majority of the characters remain the same as before.

The Newsweek issue that is available in the library right now has the words “What Women Want” written in red lipstick. The cover story is about Palin and generally about women in politics. It was a long article, so I just glanced at it- but the cover struck me after reading this chapter. For one thing, “What Women Want” is the title of the Mel Gibson film discussed in this chapter for its broad generalizations made about women. The cover also makes an immediate connection between women and cosmetics, indicating a basic perception of women. I thought about the cover, and I decided that the design might be ironic. It could be intentionally stereotypical; mimicking some of the attitudes expressed when women first entered politics years ago, and pointing out that red lipstick and chick-flicks is what some people still see when they look at a female politicians.