Università Roma Tre

The course focuses on the relation between media representations/uses and gender/sexual identity. Precise models of femininity and masculinity can be found in the symbolic materials (images, narratives, values, etc.) offered by media and in the forms of social interactions made possible either by ‘old’ and ‘new’ media. TV programmes, web contents, movies, newspapers, and magazines either directly and indirectly attribute different interests, attitudes, abilities to men and women. In so doing, media offer useful resources that we can use in developing our gender identity and sexual orientation, learning how to dress up, to behave, and to desire ‘as a woman’ or ‘as a man’. Yet media representations can also act as prescriptions that are likely to restrict individuals’ freedom and authenticity, to fuel unrealistic expectations, and to reinforce gender power system.
Drawing on these premises, first a definition of gender, sex and gender identity will be provided; the main approaches and theoretical contributions to studying the relation of media and gender identity will be illustrated; finally, we will focus on the analysis of media outputs, in order to individuate the most critical aspects: stereotyped/denigratory images of females and males; unrealistic representation of bodies and sexualities; invisibility of non-normative gender identities, couples, and families.
Special attention will be paid to the depiction of violence in the media, that constitutes a very breeding ground for exploring media construction of femininity, masculinity, and of intimate relations. Both factual (news, documentaries) and fictional (comics, TV series, movies) products will be taken into consideration, in order to analyze the discoursive production of victims and perpetrators, with particular regard to female violence.

Syllabus

1) The difference and the ‘invisible norm’. Some semiotic systems under analysis (during this lesson, students will be asked to spend a hour outside and take pictures following the instructor’s directions;
2) Byological Determinis, sex, gender, gender identity and roles;
3) Gender and the media: the evolution of theoretical approaches since the ‘70s onwards
4) Sex, gender and class in past and contemporary mainstream cinema; from ’Rocky 2’ to ’Honey 2’;
5) Heroines in male genres/contexts/roles: horror, sci-fi, western and crime;
6) Violent femmes: the ’rape-revenge motive’ in media popular culture;
7) Focus on Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy: men’s aggression and women’s response. A psychoanalytic reading;
8) Gender and violence in the news: ’ideal victims’ and ‘good girls’, ‘typical perpetrators’ and ‘bed men’ in TV broadcasts and press coverage of femicide.
9) Makeover television;
10) Advertising: men, women and the ‘heteronromative’ ideology.

• Elisa Giomi, Gender e Media. I Quaderni, Edizioni PGreco, Roma (in corso di stampa)
• Saveria Capecchi, Elisabetta Ruspini, Media, corpi, sessualità. Dai corpi esibiti al cyber sex, FrancoAngeli, Milano, 2009
Integrative teaching material will be made available on the www.mediastudies.it website