Gender Representation on Gender

The current study investigated the differences in the representation of gender on male- and female-targeted channels with regard to recognition (i.e., the actual presence of men and women) and respect (i.e., the nature of that representation or portrayal). To this end, the presence of men and women on two female- and two male-targeted Dutch channels (N = 115 pro- grams, N = 1091 persons) were compared via content analysis. The expectation that men’s channels would portray a less equal and more traditional image of gender than women’s channels was generally supported by the results. Regardless of genre as well as country of origin of the program, women were under- represented on men’s channels, while gender distribution on women’s channels wasmore equal. The representation of wom- en in terms of age and occupation was more stereotypical on men’s channels than on women’s channels, whereas men were represented in more contra-stereotypical ways (e.g., performing household tasks) on women’s channels. Since television view- ing contributes to the learning and maintenance of stereotyped perceptions, the results imply that it is important to strengthen viewers’ defenses against the effects of gender stereotyping when watching gendered television channels, for instance through media literacy programs in schools.

Keywords Gender-targeted channels . Gender stereotyping .

Gender representation . Content analysis . Television

Over the past decades, research has made it abundantly clear that women are underrepresented in the media and that, when they are present, they are more often than not represented in stereotypical roles (Collins 2011; Emons et al. 2010; Furnham and Paltzer 2010; Lauzen et al. 2008; Signorielli and Bacue 1999). Because the roles of women in society have expanded tremendously as a result of the ongoing process of emancipa- tion, these consistent findings are often seen as remarkable (Collins 2011; Emons et al. 2010; Lauzen et al. 2008; Signorielli and Bacue 1999). However, recent developments in the television landscape may provide new insights on the issue. There are indications that specific gender-targeted genres (e.g., soaps and teen scene) might actually showcase both a more equal distribution of men and women as well as less stereotyping in its gender portrayals (Gerding and Signorielli 2014; Lauzen et al. 2006). Following on from this speculation, the emergence of channels that specifically define men or women as their target group and thus predominantly broadcast gender-targeted genres (also called narrowcasting, Kuipers 2012; Smith-Shomade 2004) might be a promising development with regard to a more representative portrayal of both men and women. However, gender portrayal on such gendered channels is rather unexplored, and is therefore cen- tral to the current study.

Narrowcasting, or organizing user groups into specific au- dience markets, started from the 1980s onward in the United States (Kuipers 2012; Lotz 2006). It meant that specific, often gendered, audience groups were targeted via specific pro- gramming and advertising content (Sheperd 2014). Following this pattern, we term narrowcasting on channels that explicitly target either a female or a male audience Bgender-targeted channels^ here. Gender-targeted television channels employing narrowcasting currently form an increas- ingly large portion of the television landscape in a multitude of countries (Kuipers 2012; Smith-Shomade 2004; Van Bauwel

* Serena Daalmans s.daalmans@maw.ru.nl

1 Behavioural Science Institute, Communication Science, Radboud University, Postbus 9104, 6500, HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Sex Roles (2017) 77:366–378 DOI 10.1007/s11199-016-0727-6

2016). Previous research into narrowcasting has, on the one hand, focused on the emergence of female-targeted channels, such as Lifetime and Oxygen, and its programming strategies, content choices, and rhetoric used to win female audiences and advertisers of female products (Byars and Meehan 1994; Hundley 2002; Lotz 2006; Meehan and Byars 2000; Tankel and Banks 1997). On the other hand, researchers studied whether specific gender-targeted programs such as Sex and The City and Ally McBeal can be considered (post-) feminist texts (Akass and McCabe 2004; Dubrofsky 2002). What re- mains unclear based on previous research is how the gendered focus of such channels and of programs suitable to broadcast on gender-targeted channels affect the representation of men and women in terms of presence and stereotyping.

Investigation of the portrayal of men and women in pro- grams broadcast at gender-targeted channels becomes urgent when considering statements by television scholars who label gender-targeting or narrowcasting as a hegemonic practice (Meehan 1990; Sheperd 2014; Smith-Shomade 2004). Moreover, studying gender representation remains of the ut- most importance because watching television still is the most time-consuming pastime (Collins 2011; Signorielli 2012). As a result, television is seen as one of the main institutions as- sociated with disseminating stereotyped views of the world and its gender roles. From the theoretical vantage point of cultivation theory as well as social learning theory, television is confirmed as one of the main agents of socialization (Bandura 1977; Gerbner 1979; Signorielli 2012). Research has shown that television viewing contributes to the mainte- nance as well as the learning (molding) of gender stereotyped perceptions among children, adolescents, and adults (Larson 2001; McGhee and Frueh 1980; Signorielli 1989; Welch et al. 1979). Furthermore, it is generally accepted that television impacts gender socialization in people’s self-image as well as their image of others (Signorielli 2012). Assuming that television has the potential to shape attitudes, self-perception, and behavior—on top of the idea that stereotyping plays a crucial role in the maintenance of power inequalities within wider social, cultural, political, and economic structures (Cottle 2000; Dyer 1993, 1997; Morgan 2007)—it becomes important to analyze and understand the nature of gender-role portrayals on gender-targeted channels.

Previous research on gender stereotyping inmedia has gen- erally focused on two levels of gender stereotyping. The first level of gender stereotyping includes the actual presence of men and women in television programs (whether they ap- pear), termed recognition. The second level focuses on the nature of that representation or portrayal (how they appear), termed respect (Collins 2011; Signorielli and Bacue 1999). Research into narrowcasting remains inconclusive about whether the representation of men and women on gender- targeted channels differs from the overall established patterns of underrepresentation of women (i.e., recognition) and

stereotyping portrayal of both men and women (i.e, respect). Moreover, known previous research into narrowcasting has only studied female-targeted channels (Byars and Meehan 1994; Hundley 2002; Lotz 2006; Meehan and Byars 2000; Tankel and Banks 1997), but a comparison between the gen- der representation on male-targeted and female-targeted chan- nels is lacking. This comparison is important because, if these gender-targeted channels differ in how they represent gender, this might lead to differing conceptions of gender roles and gender aspirations between their male and female target audi- ences (Gerding and Signorielli 2014).

In all, the question that is central to the current study is: What are the differences in the representation of gender on male- and female-targeted Dutch channels with regard to the characteriza- tion concepts of recognition and respect? This question will be investigated by analyzing gender-targeted television channels in the Netherlands, a country in which 40% of the television land- scape currently explicitly targets a gendered target audience (Stichting Kijkonderzoek [SKO] 2014).

In their longitudinal analysis of gender on television, Signorielli and Bacue (1999) use presence and gender-role stereotyping as indicators of recognition and respect respec- tively. These concepts stem from a study of televised racial minorities by Clark (1972), who posited that positive changes in the treatment of lower status groups (minorities including women) can be seen as a process that follows two stages: recognition and respect. In gender research, recognition can be seen as the presence of women on the television screen (Lauzen and Dozier 2005; Signorielli and Bacue 1999). Respect is measured by the extent toward which women are not portrayed in stereotypical roles, but rather represented in a diverse manner because this diversity is necessary to be rep- resented fairly and positively (Signorielli and Bacue 1999).

Recognition: Presence of Men and Women on Television

Recognition is defined as men and women being represented on television proportional to their presence in society (Signorielli and Bacue 1999). Research into gender representation has over- whelmingly found that women are underrepresented on televi- sion compared to their presence in society (Collins 2011; Emons et al. 2010; Glascock 2001; Greenberg and Atkin 1980; Koeman et al. 2007; Signorielli and Bacue 1999; Tedesco 1974). The last decades have shown a trend towards a more equal distribution of male and female characters (Elasmar et al. 1999; Emons et al. 2010; Glascock 2001; Greenberg and Collette 1997; Lauzen and Dozier 2005; Vande Berg and Streckfuss 1992), but increases are often small and women re- main underrepresented (Koeman et al. 2007; Segijn et al. 2014).

There are some indications that levels of over- or under- representation are connected to the gender of the target

Sex Roles (2017) 77:366–378 367

audience. Gunter (1986) found that soap operas in 1970s that were specifically geared toward a female audience had an equal distribution of male and female characters. Gerding and Signorielli (2014) similarly found that whereas females were underrepresented in ‘tween programs geared towards male adolescents, the programs geared towards female ado- lescents mirrored the U.S. population. Based on previous re- sults we posit that women will be underrepresented compared to their presence in society on men’s channels, but not on women’s channels (Hypothesis 1).

Previous studies have revealed that television genres can differ in the ways they represent gender. It has been shown that gender stereotyping is surely still present, but has generally re- vealed a trend of decreasing stereotyping in genres such as tele- vision fiction (Emons et al. 2010; Greenwood and Lippman 2010; Gunter 1986; Signorielli and Bacue 1999), teen scene programming (Gerding and Signorielli 2014), and advertising (Wolin 2003).Moreover, the portrayal of women in these genres has become more representative of the lives and status of con- temporary women. In contrast, other studies—mostly on televi- sion advertising, but also on fictional programs—conclude that women are still underrepresented and portrayed in a stereotyp- ical way and that the degree of stereotyping is even worsening (Allen and Coltrane 1996; Bretl and Cantor 1988; Ganahl et al. 2003; Harwood and Anderson 2002; Koeman et al. 2007; Milner and Higgs 2004). Based on the latter results, some have argued that, due to its continued gender-stereotyped nature, tele- vision forms a lagging social indicator, which reflects Bhow the economy or society was rather than how it is or how it will be^ (Estes 2003, p.4; see also Emons 2011; Kim and Lowry 2005).

Taken together these results reveal that there is inconsisten- cy in the literature about the relation between genre and gen- der-stereotyping. These possible genre differences become relevant and important when combined with the increased attention from a cultivation perspective that has been given to the possibility of genre-specific cultivation effects (Bilandzic and Busselle 2008; Bilandzic and Rössler 2004; Cohen and Weimann 2000; Grabe and Drew 2007; Morgan and Shanahan 2010). Following the idea put forth by Hawkins and Pingree (1981) that different TV genres may cultivate different views of the world, research has revealed large dif- ferences between genres (Gomes andWilliams 1990; Koeman et al. 2007; Pennekamp 2011). Because men’s and women’s channels cater to different expected audiences most likely with a selection of different gendered genres, this might influ- ence the gender representation on these channels as a whole. This then leads to the following research question: Do genre- differences play a role in the presence of men and women on gender-targeted television channels? (Research Question 1).

The country of origin of the selected programming might also play a role in gender representational differences between channel types. Previous research has revealed that country of origin plays a significant role in the degree of stereotyping

present in the representation of gender (Emons et al. 2010; Furnham and Paltzer 2010; Wiles et al. 1995). For example, Emons et al. (2010) found that U.S. programs on Dutch tele- vision represented more male adults, more women involved in childcare, more men involved in a job, and fewer males in- volved in other activities compared to Dutch programs on the same channels. Based on this comparison, they conclude that American programs on Dutch television are more gender- stereotyped than programs of Dutch origin. Their research indicates that gender portrayals on television can be artifacts of the culture of the society they were created and thereby potentially reflective of the degree of gender equality in the culture of origin. Because the Dutch television landscape hosts a large degree of foreign (especially American) pro- gramming, it becomes interesting to see how this affects gen- der representation on Dutch gendered channels (Kuipers 2008, 2011). We therefore pose the following research ques- tion: Do differences in country of origin of the program play a role in the presence of men and women on gender-targeted television channels? (Research Question 2).

Respect: Stereotyping in Gender Representation

Analyzing the presence of women in the television world is only a relatively small aspect the representation of women on TV. BA more complete understanding of how women are portrayed on television comes from examining the type and depth of the roles in which they are cast – what Clark (1972) referred to as respect^ (Signorielli and Bacue 1999, p. 530).We therefore also investigate how women appear in television programs.

The first indicator of respect analyzed in the present study is age. Studies have found that inequalities in the age of tele- vised men and women persist because women are continually represented as younger than their male counterparts are (Emons et al. 2010; Glascock 2001; Signorielli and Bacue 1999). The fact that men on television are predominantly rep- resented as older and therewith are perceived to be wiser than their female counterparts can be interpreted as women being given less respect (Signorielli and Bacue 1999).

Furthermore, previous research on gender-targeted children’s programming has revealed that programs geared toward a boy audience often showcased rather traditional gender-biased por- trayals, whereas programs geared toward a girl audience less often featured gender-stereotypical roles and sometimes even showcased counter-stereotypical roles (Banet-Weiser 2004; Gerding and Signorielli 2014; Leaper et al. 2002; Northup and Liebler 2010; Thompson and Zerbinos 1995). Taken together with previous research on age as an indicator of respect (Emons et al. 2010; Glascock 2001; Signorielli and Bacue 1999), we expect a more traditional image on men’s channels than on women’s channels. This leads to the expectations that a larger percentage of women will be young adults on men’s channels

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than on women’s channels (Hypothesis 2a) and a larger percent- age of men will be adults on men’s channels than on women’s channels (Hypothesis 2b).

The second aspect of respect that we will analyze focuses on the social roles in which men and women are cast (Emons et al. 2010; Gerbner 1995; Greenberg and Atkin 1980; Gunter 1986; Signorielli and Bacue 1999). Studies showed that televised men are more likely to be cast in occupational roles, whereas tele- vised women are more likely to be cast in nurturing or marital roles (Gunter 1986; Lauzen et al. 2008; Signorielli and Bacue 1999; Tedesco 1974). Televised women are traditionally repre- sented as housewives who perform housekeeping chores and are preoccupied with family life (Emons et al. 2010; Gunter 1986; Koeman et al. 2007; Signorielli and Bacue 1999). The results on gendered representation of social roles, combined with the previously outlined results regarding the predominance of traditionally gender-stereotyped portrayals in programming geared towards boys and amore gender-balanced representation in programming geared towards girls (Banet-Weiser 2004; Gerding and Signorielli 2014; Leaper et al. 2002; Northup and Liebler 2010; Thompson and Zerbinos 1995), leads us to expect that women on men’s channels will be represented performing household/caregiving tasks more often than women on women’s channels (Hypothesis 3a) and men on men’s channels will be represented performing household/caregiving tasks less often than men on women’s channels (Hypothesis 3b).

In line with this reasoning, studies have found women to be underrepresented with regard to being professionally employed (Elasmar et al. 1999; Gunter 1986; Coltrane and Adams 1997; McNeil 1975; Signorielli 1989; Signorielli and Bacue 1999), which is the next indicator for respect that we will analyze. Over time, there appears to be an increase of women represented as having a job and a decrease of men represented as have a job (Signorielli and Bacue 1999). Again, however, this trend is not straightforward because the occupational status of men and women on television tends to fluctuate (Emons et al. 2010). Nevertheless, due to the expectedly more gender-traditional rep- resentation on men’s channels (Banet-Weiser 2004; Gerding and Signorielli 2014; Leaper et al. 2002; Northup and Liebler 2010; Thompson and Zerbinos 1995), we predict that women will be granted less respect on men’s channels in terms of oc- cupational status. Thus we hypothesize that women on men’s channels will be represented as being professionally employed less often than women on women’s channels (Hypothesis 4a) and that men on men’s channels will be represented as being professionally employed more often than men on women’s channels (Hypothesis 4b).

The suggestion that family life and parenthood are of greater significance to women than to men is also implicit in the fact that parental status is more often made explicit for women than for men (Davis 1990; Emons et al. 2010; Glascock 2001; Gunter 1986; McNeil 1975). The final indicator of respect that we will analyze, therefore, is parental status. Again there is a

trend toward a more egalitarian distribution of known parental status for characters over time. The percentages of known pa- rental status decreased from 81% for women and 54% for men in McNeil’s (1975) study to 56% for women and 42% for men in Glascock’s (2001) study. Again, a more traditional represen- tation is expected to be more prevalent on men’s channels than on women’s channels (cf. Banet-Weiser 2004; Gerding and Signorielli 2014; Leaper et al. 2002; Northup and Liebler 2010; Thompson and Zerbinos 1995). We therefore expect women on men’s channels to be represented as mothers more often thanwomen onwomen’s channels will be (Hypothesis 5a) and men on men’s channels to be represented as fathers less often than men on women’s channels will be (Hypothesis 5b).

Combined, these hypotheses test differences in the levels of recognition and respect given to men and women on men’s and women’s television channels by testing differences in terms of stereotypical or counter-stereotypical role portrayals between the two channel types, comparable to what Gerding and Signorielli (2014) did in their study on ‘tween programs. Aswe argued, these differencesmay impact the ideas that men and women have about what are acceptable gender-role pat- terns and what to expect from oneself and others.