Lecture 2: Concepts, Debates, & Approaches - FULL REVIEW
I. Core Concepts & Theories
● Identity (Richard Jenkins): How individuals/groups are distinguished from others.
● Identification (Richard Jenkins): Systematic process of finding
similarities/differences between individuals/groups.
● Essentialism: Identities are natural, biological, ahistorical; experiences universal.
● Social Constructionism: Identities are socially made, vary culturally/historically.
(Opposite of Essentialism).
● Sociocultural Diversity (Arnesen & Allan): "All kinds of differences between
individuals and groups".
● Identity Politics (Barker): "Forging of ‘new languages’ of identity" + action to change
social practices.
● Intersectionality (Kimberlé Crenshaw): How various discriminations (race, gender,
etc.) combine to create unique experiences.
○ Structural I.: Intersection of race/gender makes non-white women's
experiences different.
○ Political I.: Intersectionality should be basis for politics/policies.
○ Representational I.: Cultural construction of women of color through
intersectional lens.
● Woke: Orig. (African American) meaning: vigilant against systemic injustice.
○ Woke-washing: Corporate marketing using diversity, lacks true commitment.
● Cancel Culture (Ng): Demands accountability, withdrawal of support for problematic
acts.
II. Research Paradigms & Media Approaches
● Communication Sciences: Post-positivist view.
○ Assumption 1 (Realism): Media should reflect real world (images "realistic,"
"accurate").
○ Assumption 2 (Socialization): Media impacts perceptions/attitudes.
○ Cultivation Theory (George Gerbner): TV dominates "symbolic
environment," cultivates societal assumptions.
○ Symbolic Annihilation (Gaye Tuchman): Representation means social
existence; absence means symbolic annihilation.
● Media & Cultural Studies: Interpretive/Critical view.
○ Assumption 1 (Culture is Ideological): Culture co-constructs hegemonic
ideologies.
○ Assumption 2 (Complex Sense-Making) (Stuart Hall): Encoding/Decoding
model (1980); different ways to interpret text.
III. Representation & Stereotyping
● Politics of Representation (Stuart Hall): "Production of meaning through language".
Ideological: can maintain status quo OR struggle against hegemony.
● Stereotyping (Walter Lippmann): Social categorization; "define first then see";
shortcut in complex world.
, ● Stereotyping (Richard Dyer):
○ Ideological Function: Consolidates social hierarchies; constructs fixed social
order.
○ Social Types: Flexible, multi-dimensional characters.
○ Stereotypes: One-dimensional, rigid, harmful characters.
○ Modes of Stereotyping:
■ Iconography: Visual/aural signs "bespeak" minority identity (e.g.,
homosexuality).
■ Structure: Function of character in text's structures (static/dynamic).
● Transcoding (Stuart Hall): "Taking an existing meaning and re-appropriating it for
new meanings".
○ Strategies: Reversing stereotypes , Inclusion of positive images , Through
the eye of representation.
IV. Main Authors (Review from 35-list)
● Richard Jenkins: Identity, Identification.
● Kimberlé Crenshaw: Intersectionality.
● Gerbner (George Gerbner): Cultivation Theory.
● Stuart Hall: Politics of Rep., Transcoding, Encoding/Decoding, Ideology.
● Walter Lippmann: Stereotyping.
● Richard Dyer: Stereotyping modes (Iconography, Structure).
● Gaye Tuchman: Symbolic Annihilation.
● (Also, brief mentions in context: Arnesen & Allan, Barker, Ng).
V. Key Examples & Relevance
● 2 Live Crew: Illustrates Intersectionality (feminist vs. anti-racist debate missing
nuance).
● Sex & The City 2: Exercise for Stereotyping (iconography & structure).
● This is America (Childish Gambino): Illustrates Transcoding strategies ("Through
the eye of representation") for racism/inequality.
Lecture 3: Gender - FULL REVIEW
I. Introduction Example
● Miranda (Sitcom): Used hyper-stereotyping to make the stereotyping process the
target, with self-deprecating humor.
○ Aimed to question idealized femininity & challenge outdated stereotypes.
○ Humor considered ambiguous: simultaneously emancipatory & restrictive.
II. Core Concepts: Sex, Gender & Feminisms
● 1.1. Disentangling Sex from Gender
○ Sex: Biochemical/genetic structures differentiating ‘male’/‘female’ by
reproductive system/secondary sex characteristics.
■ Debate: Is sex a continuum or a dichotomy?
, ■ Intersex conditions: Variations in sexual biology not fitting binary
definitions.
○ Gender: Social construction of gender categories; socially imposed
attributes/behaviours.
○ Gender Identity: (Self-)identification with a gender category.
■ Cisgender: Identity congruent with sex/gender assigned at birth.
■ Transgender/Trans: Identity different from sex/gender assigned at
birth.
■ Nonbinary: Moving beyond man/woman, masculine/feminine binary.
● 1.2. Masculinities & Femininities
○ Gender Expression: Presentation of self expressing gender identity/role.
○ Masculinities/Femininities: Cultural repertoires stipulating expectations,
roles, discourses, behaviour.
○ Hegemonic Gender Order: Established system.
○ Raewyn Connell: Examined different patterns of masculinities/femininities,
which are temporary/context-dependent.
■ Hegemonic Masculinity: Occupies central, privileged position;
stabilizes gender order, incl. subordination of women. Culturally
specific norms, expressed by ideal men with institutional power.
■ Complicit Masculinity: Men who don't embody ideal/power but don't
question patriarchal order, and benefit from it.
■ Subordinated Masculinity: Masculinities deviating from
'normal'/'ideal' ways of acting/being a man.
■ Marginalised Masculinity: Men discriminated against due to racial,
ethnic, or class identity.
○ Mimi Schippers:
■ Hegemonic Femininity: Characteristics establishing
hierarchical/complementary relation to hegemonic masculinity (inferior
to masc., superior to other fem.).
■ Pariah Femininities: Women embodying features of hegemonic
masculinity (e.g., aggressive, promiscuous) → seen as contaminating
established binary gender relations.
■ Alternative Femininities: Actively rejecting hegemonic ideals,
challenging complementary dominance/subordination.
● 1.3. Feminism(s)
○ Provided lenses to understand/tackle inequality between men/women.
○ 1960s: Second Wave Feminism: Emergence of distinct strands (liberal,
socialist, radical); agreed on importance of cultural construction of
womanhood.
○ 1990s: Third Wave Feminism: Inclusive attitude toward different
experiences of women; inspired by intersectionality/queer theory.
III. Researching Gender & Pop Media Culture
● 2. Researching Gender & Popular Media Culture: Attention increased from 2nd
wave feminism.
○ Three main themes emerged: Stereotypes, Ideology, Pornography.
● Communication Sciences (Stereotypes & Cultivation):
I. Core Concepts & Theories
● Identity (Richard Jenkins): How individuals/groups are distinguished from others.
● Identification (Richard Jenkins): Systematic process of finding
similarities/differences between individuals/groups.
● Essentialism: Identities are natural, biological, ahistorical; experiences universal.
● Social Constructionism: Identities are socially made, vary culturally/historically.
(Opposite of Essentialism).
● Sociocultural Diversity (Arnesen & Allan): "All kinds of differences between
individuals and groups".
● Identity Politics (Barker): "Forging of ‘new languages’ of identity" + action to change
social practices.
● Intersectionality (Kimberlé Crenshaw): How various discriminations (race, gender,
etc.) combine to create unique experiences.
○ Structural I.: Intersection of race/gender makes non-white women's
experiences different.
○ Political I.: Intersectionality should be basis for politics/policies.
○ Representational I.: Cultural construction of women of color through
intersectional lens.
● Woke: Orig. (African American) meaning: vigilant against systemic injustice.
○ Woke-washing: Corporate marketing using diversity, lacks true commitment.
● Cancel Culture (Ng): Demands accountability, withdrawal of support for problematic
acts.
II. Research Paradigms & Media Approaches
● Communication Sciences: Post-positivist view.
○ Assumption 1 (Realism): Media should reflect real world (images "realistic,"
"accurate").
○ Assumption 2 (Socialization): Media impacts perceptions/attitudes.
○ Cultivation Theory (George Gerbner): TV dominates "symbolic
environment," cultivates societal assumptions.
○ Symbolic Annihilation (Gaye Tuchman): Representation means social
existence; absence means symbolic annihilation.
● Media & Cultural Studies: Interpretive/Critical view.
○ Assumption 1 (Culture is Ideological): Culture co-constructs hegemonic
ideologies.
○ Assumption 2 (Complex Sense-Making) (Stuart Hall): Encoding/Decoding
model (1980); different ways to interpret text.
III. Representation & Stereotyping
● Politics of Representation (Stuart Hall): "Production of meaning through language".
Ideological: can maintain status quo OR struggle against hegemony.
● Stereotyping (Walter Lippmann): Social categorization; "define first then see";
shortcut in complex world.
, ● Stereotyping (Richard Dyer):
○ Ideological Function: Consolidates social hierarchies; constructs fixed social
order.
○ Social Types: Flexible, multi-dimensional characters.
○ Stereotypes: One-dimensional, rigid, harmful characters.
○ Modes of Stereotyping:
■ Iconography: Visual/aural signs "bespeak" minority identity (e.g.,
homosexuality).
■ Structure: Function of character in text's structures (static/dynamic).
● Transcoding (Stuart Hall): "Taking an existing meaning and re-appropriating it for
new meanings".
○ Strategies: Reversing stereotypes , Inclusion of positive images , Through
the eye of representation.
IV. Main Authors (Review from 35-list)
● Richard Jenkins: Identity, Identification.
● Kimberlé Crenshaw: Intersectionality.
● Gerbner (George Gerbner): Cultivation Theory.
● Stuart Hall: Politics of Rep., Transcoding, Encoding/Decoding, Ideology.
● Walter Lippmann: Stereotyping.
● Richard Dyer: Stereotyping modes (Iconography, Structure).
● Gaye Tuchman: Symbolic Annihilation.
● (Also, brief mentions in context: Arnesen & Allan, Barker, Ng).
V. Key Examples & Relevance
● 2 Live Crew: Illustrates Intersectionality (feminist vs. anti-racist debate missing
nuance).
● Sex & The City 2: Exercise for Stereotyping (iconography & structure).
● This is America (Childish Gambino): Illustrates Transcoding strategies ("Through
the eye of representation") for racism/inequality.
Lecture 3: Gender - FULL REVIEW
I. Introduction Example
● Miranda (Sitcom): Used hyper-stereotyping to make the stereotyping process the
target, with self-deprecating humor.
○ Aimed to question idealized femininity & challenge outdated stereotypes.
○ Humor considered ambiguous: simultaneously emancipatory & restrictive.
II. Core Concepts: Sex, Gender & Feminisms
● 1.1. Disentangling Sex from Gender
○ Sex: Biochemical/genetic structures differentiating ‘male’/‘female’ by
reproductive system/secondary sex characteristics.
■ Debate: Is sex a continuum or a dichotomy?
, ■ Intersex conditions: Variations in sexual biology not fitting binary
definitions.
○ Gender: Social construction of gender categories; socially imposed
attributes/behaviours.
○ Gender Identity: (Self-)identification with a gender category.
■ Cisgender: Identity congruent with sex/gender assigned at birth.
■ Transgender/Trans: Identity different from sex/gender assigned at
birth.
■ Nonbinary: Moving beyond man/woman, masculine/feminine binary.
● 1.2. Masculinities & Femininities
○ Gender Expression: Presentation of self expressing gender identity/role.
○ Masculinities/Femininities: Cultural repertoires stipulating expectations,
roles, discourses, behaviour.
○ Hegemonic Gender Order: Established system.
○ Raewyn Connell: Examined different patterns of masculinities/femininities,
which are temporary/context-dependent.
■ Hegemonic Masculinity: Occupies central, privileged position;
stabilizes gender order, incl. subordination of women. Culturally
specific norms, expressed by ideal men with institutional power.
■ Complicit Masculinity: Men who don't embody ideal/power but don't
question patriarchal order, and benefit from it.
■ Subordinated Masculinity: Masculinities deviating from
'normal'/'ideal' ways of acting/being a man.
■ Marginalised Masculinity: Men discriminated against due to racial,
ethnic, or class identity.
○ Mimi Schippers:
■ Hegemonic Femininity: Characteristics establishing
hierarchical/complementary relation to hegemonic masculinity (inferior
to masc., superior to other fem.).
■ Pariah Femininities: Women embodying features of hegemonic
masculinity (e.g., aggressive, promiscuous) → seen as contaminating
established binary gender relations.
■ Alternative Femininities: Actively rejecting hegemonic ideals,
challenging complementary dominance/subordination.
● 1.3. Feminism(s)
○ Provided lenses to understand/tackle inequality between men/women.
○ 1960s: Second Wave Feminism: Emergence of distinct strands (liberal,
socialist, radical); agreed on importance of cultural construction of
womanhood.
○ 1990s: Third Wave Feminism: Inclusive attitude toward different
experiences of women; inspired by intersectionality/queer theory.
III. Researching Gender & Pop Media Culture
● 2. Researching Gender & Popular Media Culture: Attention increased from 2nd
wave feminism.
○ Three main themes emerged: Stereotypes, Ideology, Pornography.
● Communication Sciences (Stereotypes & Cultivation):
