Critical Investigation: Project proposal

Working title

To what extent are females represented as sex objects in reality TV shows such as ‘Love Island’?

Angle

What impact are these objectified representations of women having on female audiences? Is this an example of negative role models?

Hypothesis

Reality TV shows are not a good influence for young female audiences as they may assume that they need to replicate their actions and live up to their physical appearances.

Linked production piece

Music Video- work with Alayna&Ria

MIGRAIN

Documentary genre- Reality TV .
Women are being represented as sex objects- reinforcing female stereotypes
The show was created by ITV and produced by ITV Studios
Scheduling: aired at 9pm, after the watershed.
Targeted at mainstreamers, C2DE working class, 16-30+. 70% females/ 30% males
The show carries out a linear narrative
Editing plays a key role within the narrative because they have to cut down 24 hours into 40 minutes
Dominant ideology- men having authority over women- sex objects/patriarchy/feminism
Love- makes you value your significant other
Relationships- trust issues, boyfriend/girlfriend
Sex- in order to be with someone you have to be willing to engage in sexual activities, its acceptable for a man to have sex with more than one women however when a women does shes spoken about
Conveys the dominant stereotype of women in reality tv
Denotation: girl in a bikini - Connotation: sexually exploited, showing off their body,
Denotation: smoking - Connotation: bad health, dangerous, not classy
Denotation: sex - Connotation: sexual relationship, love, boyfriend/girlfriend
Denotation: boy working out - Connotation: showing off their body, getting female attention

SHEP

Social:

audiences are now more excepting of the content produced by explicit music videos
we are now socialised to except these norms and values surrounding women and their sexuality.
feminism has contributed to this social change as it has meant that women are now considered men's equal and therefore women are liberated and empowered by their sexuality

Historical:

before it was seen as disgraceful to embrace your sexuality as a woman
the gaining of rights for women has meant that they are now seen as equal
studies of gender roles on prime time programs suggest that women in the 1980s were portrayed as working individuals. Still under-represented in prime time shows in the 1990s, they appeared to hold lower status positions than men. During that decade, women were portrayed as having a greater focus on domestic issues.

Economic:

media is a product at the end of the day and women are used to sell that product
women's earnings- they are still payed less than men
media institutions

Political:

laws have been passed to help women gain rights, however, that doesn't mean that women in society are seen or treated equally, despite the laws that have been passed
the feminism movement has contributed to the change in laws and has enabled women to be empowered by their sexuality

Issues/Debates

Representation and stereotyping:

Studies have shown that women have been underrepresented and stereotyped in TV programs. The representation on Love Island is accurate in some aspects due to the fact that female celebrities usually exploit themselves in the sense that they dress quite revealingly or openly engage in sexual relationships and since its a reality TV show its expected since similar behaviour is seen on other shows, e.g. Geordie Shore, Towie, Big Brother etc. The major values in this text make the audience assume that relationships are all about sex, being physically attractive and having trust issues. There is also friendship values shown which show the contestants being fake to one another and not being loyal.

Reality TV:

In reality TV women presented as dependent and subordinate to men, as well as vain. The women are generally young and physically attractive displaying them as sex symbols.This stereotype is not only confining but offensive to female progress. Women are also judged against men who serve as the norm in television and society. This is seen on the show Love Island when fellow contestant Zara Holland was stripped of her Miss GB title after having sex on-screen.

Moral Panics:

Feminists who oppose sexual objectification are generating a "moral panic".Feminists who organise against pornification are not arguing that sexualised images of women cause moral decay; rather that they perpetuate myths of women's unconditional sexual availability and object status, and thus undermine women's rights to sexual autonomy, physical safety and economic and social equality. The harm done to women is not a moral harm but a political one

Ownership and control:

ITV determine what they broadcast on their platform therefore meaning that they control the way women are being stereotyped in reality TV shows they produce. Rather than subverting these stereotypes they are reinforcing them in shows such as Love Island where women are being represented as sex objects, they are all standing in a line wearing bikinis while single men look at them and pick one. This is objectifying them along with making the men seem superior to them since they are the ones picking and not the girls. Furthermore, throughout the show the male contestants only speak about engaging into sexual activities with the female contestants which once again portrays them as sex objects.

Theories

Marxism:

The sexist representation of women in the media, advertising and popular culture is no longer limited to the presentation of women as dutiful wives and mothers. It now encourages women to be seen, and aspire to be seen, as sexually available and attractive to men at all times. At work, women continue to earn less than men and tend to be concentrated in lower paid, female-dominated and highly casualised industries and jobs. In no small part because of this, women continue to be more likely to be the primary carers of children, dependent at least in part on the wages of male (and less often female) partners or struggling to make ends meet as single parents.

Feminism:

Feminists have spoken out against the objectification and stereotyes of women and male domination of society/patriarchy.They also argue that sexual objectification can lead to negative psychological effects including eating disorders, depression and sexual dysfunction, and can give women negative self-images because of the belief that their intelligence and competence are currently not being, nor will ever be, acknowledged by society. Some have argued that the feminist movement itself has contributed to the problem of the sexual objectification of women by pushing for an end to the so-called oppressive patriarchal

Theories:

The Male Gaze- Laura Mulvey:

Mulvey claimed that women are turned into sex objects through how they are shot in the media. By showing only body parts they are turned into objects for male pleasure. She called this fragmentation that leads to objectification.

Hypodermic Needle Model:

Younger girls may be influenced by the content they see on reality TV which could manipulate them.

Uses and Gratifications:

Diversion: escape from everyday problems

Personal Relationships: using reality TV for emotional interaction

Personal Identity: finding themselves reflected in texts and learning behaviour- (negative role models for young girls)

Main stereotypes of women: