Men and women have always been represented in different ways, especially in areas of science and technology. When women are represented in relations to science and technology, they are portrayed differently. Women are slowly gaining more ground in the fields of technology, but are still at a lower level than men, and are more often misrepresented. The media often reinforces and exacerbates stereotypes that undermine women and their abilities to do and comprehend science. Scientific technology has been one of the greatest and most impactful factors that contribute to constructing and reinforcing these gender differences and stereotypes that are embedded in our everyday life. Media plays an important role in depicting the “norm” of society, it controls or reflects the construction of science, and who does science. For the most part, media uses men as the stereotypical form of scientists. The stereotypes reinforced by the media change society’s perception of science, internalizing the views they come across with. Rising incredibly in its popularity, cosmetic surgery is one perfect example that shows the ways and power of how scientific technologies constantly impose ideologies and beliefs in gender differences and stereotypes on each of us, both individually and collectively. Plastic surgery has extended its meaning to not just reconstructive purposes, but also cosmetic purposes. Data has shown that the majority of patients that had cosmetic surgeries are women. Many who have gone through cosmetic surgeries believed that it was the best and easiest way to fit more into the gender stereotypes the society has imposed on us. The way cosmetic surgery has been operated shows the reflection of the gender stereotypes that women can have “better” and more “aesthetic” looks than before; it also reflects the gender differences by allowing people to see cosmetic surgery as “natural” for women, but not men. In addition, femininity is often associated with cosmetic surgery, which also addresses the stereotypical notion that scientists and surgeons are associated with men, and women are the users of them. Men are typically seen as the designers of technology while women are seen as the consumers or the users of technology. The fields of technology continue to see a low number of women and women also continue to be seen as less informative with the way that they are portrayed in television commercials and other facets of the media. The media portrayal of gender in science and technology reflect the views of society, which in turn reinforces stereotypes of men and women. Public understanding of science and technology come from the views represented in media, when those views misrepresent the construction of science, people start internalizing the stereotypes and attitudes they see. This can affect how they interact and interpret science, as well as influence the way they pursue certain science careers.
Media Portrayal of Scientists
Males significantly outnumbered women when portrayed and represented as scientists. For the most part, men are the ones over-represented in scientific roles, 82% of scientists portrayed in the media are men.
Women’s intuitions and emotions are often shown when doing science, sometimes as negative characteristics, while men are shown to do more rational science. There has been a positive increase in the portrayal of female scientists but there are many more depictions casting them as dependent, passive, weak, and emotional, men are more often shown as independent, assertive, and aggressive
A key difference in the portrayal of scientists is the recurring tendency to refer to women as female scientists, you never hear/read: the male scientists.
Media portrayal of scientists is predominately associated with males, they are seen as the norm while women are seen as the exception. Women are seen as tokens in science careers.
Studies show that there is higher emphasis of physical attraction and appearance on women than men. Also, women’s descriptions are more sexualized. Men’s physical description tends to be brief and de-sexualized, often comparing them to past scientist. For example, descriptions of women include “blonde bombshell”, “flicks her blonde tresses in a manner that must make kneecaps quiver among livelier male peers in the House of Lords”, “her tight black pelmet of a skirt barely covers slim thighs encased in black tights””, and, “blonde hair, short skirt, big brain”, descriptions of men include comparing their beards to Albert Einstein or Charles Darwin. This gives the public the impression that women are only sexual objects for men in scientific fields.Women’s accomplishments in men’s fields tend to be invisible or denigrated by the men in the field. Rosalind Franklin was a scientist in the 1950s who was a contributor to the double helix structure of the DNA who was denigrated by Watson stating
"spoke to an audience of fifteen in a quick, nervous style. There was not a trace of warmth or frivolity in her words. And yet I could not regard her as totally uninteresting. Momentarily I wondered how she would look if she took of her glasses and did something to her hair” (Lorber 615).Not only was Watson disregarding her contribution to the double helix model but he also downgraded her professional expertise to looks.
When viewing photographs of scientist, more often times male scientists are photographed as doing science, women tend to be portrayed as using it or overseeing. The media often reinforces and exacerbates stereotypes that undermine women and their abilities to do and comprehend science.The dominating image of scientists as men reflects the absence of women in science and engineering fields.
Even when women are in men dominated jobs, they do not hold the same positions; men hold positions that have higher status and better pay than jobs that women hold in that occupational category. For example engineers, doctors, and surgeons. Surgery is mostly dominated by men, high paid and high prestige; women are over represented in gynecology, family practice, pediatricians, etc. which tend to be lower paid and lower status jobs. Many women are underrepresented in higher position jobs and in certain specialties, both in real life and in the media.
Men are more often quoted than women as expert witnesses, and more likely to be quoted first than women scientists.
Men are more often quoted than women as expert witnesses, and more likely to be quoted first than women scientists.
A common depiction of female scientists is the conflict in balancing their personal live with their professional careers; It is rare for a woman to be successful in all three. There are very few films that show women who have successfully balanced their work with their roles as mothers and wives. The depiction that it is hard to balance family responsibilities with work conveys that women can’t, or shouldn’t enter careers in science if they want a family.
Even though there has been a small increase in the positive portrayal of women in SEMT, the media still exaggerates gender difference, rather than showing the similarities. They tend to focus and emphasize the differences. People are bombarded with media images that sometimes they do not even realize it, they are implicit, but the messages they carry become so ingrained that they leave no room for free thought. The gender schemas produced by media conception of science, and science careers become internalized in children and adults into influencing their perceptions of gender-appropriate roles and careers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64PKoAiWhjE
Scientists are stereotyped to be consumed by their careers/research. Images of women in science are portrayed as attractive, for the most part, if not they transformed in films. Women are often excluded from research with male colleagues or from Clubs. They are also perceived as sexual beings for male scientists, undermining their professional expertise.
Ivy is seen as unattractive, turned beautiful, undermined by her male colleague scientist because she is a woman and very emotional/irrational
Media Representation of Men and Women in Technology
Men and women have continually been represented very differently when it comes to science and technology. Men are typically represented as being computer experts and also seen as being highly regarded in technological fields whereas women are typically represented as the users of technology. There have been other applications of technology that have been used to represent women in an unflattering fashion with the use of software programs such as Photoshop that is used to alter photos to an unreasonable degree. Certain occupations such as information technology and graphic design have seen slight improvements in the number of women being represented, but in information technology the numbers continue to be low. Women may see areas of occupation such as information technology to not be as interesting due to men being more accustomed to being regarded as computer experts. Men and women use technology in different ways though women tend to not be seen as computer experts or experts in any other areas of technology. The representations of men and women in applications of technology and many other areas of technology are, for the time being, very different but in time there may be a shift in the media’s perception of female positions in technology.
There is one facet of the media in which people have the opportunity to see how men and women are represented in certain areas. In one particular study done on how men and women were portrayed using technology in television commercials there were some signs of progress while other areas had not changed significantly. According to the study, “Masculinity and technology are conceived of as being symbolically intertwined, such that technical competence has come to constitute an integral part of masculine gender identity,…” (White et al.). The use of computers and other applications of technology are represented as being masculine due to many applications of technology being used by men. Another possibility is that men are seen as having the ability to build and construct which can easily be applied to computers. A source from the mid-1980s suggested that, “…visuals of men in magazine advertisements outnumbered those of women by two to one. Women in the advertisements were underrepresented in roles as managers, experts, and repair technicians, and over-represented as salespeople, clerical workers, and sex objects” (White et al.). Even back in the mid-1980s there was still evidence of negative portrayals of women being advertised in magazines. It seems that only until now that men and women may only be starting to acquire equal representation in the media. There may still be pre-conceived notions among the advertisers behind the magazines that depict women in subordinate roles whereas men are depicted in authoritative and managerial roles. Men and women were also depicted in different roles with the authors stating, “…boys were depicted as learners, game players, repair technicians, and buyers, while girls’ only identifiable role was as learner” (White et al.). There appear to be more roles for boys to identify with whereas girls do not have more than one identifiable role. This might make girls feel as if they are not capable of anything more than being represented as a learner of computers versus men being represented as capable of knowing about computers and other applications of technology.
Women and men both use many different applications of technology and are both represented as having the ability to use computers, but women continue to be left out of the advertising for computers. Authors White and Kinnick of the article, “One Click Forward, and Two Clicks Back, state that, “Despite evidence that women are purchasing computers in growing numbers and using desktop computers more than men (Kaplan, 1994), advertising campaigns have been slow to aggressively target female consumers” (White et al.). Even though women are using computers just as men are, the advertising campaigns continue to view technological applications such as computers as male-oriented objects. Because men are seen as computer experts, if women begin to be represented as being knowledgeable about computers that men might not want to associate with the computers that are being advertised or that the computers are not going to be viewed as a “cool” product to have. White and Kinnick cite a survey from the New York Times that explained the reason as to why women are not equally represented in technology ads. According to the New York Times survey there were, “53 percent of female computer users said advertising for computer-related products did not appeal to them because it was aimed at men” (White et al.). The reason that women are represented as not being knowledgeable about technology or as interested in computers is because advertising for technological applications like computers are advertised in a way that men view many things due to the fact that men are more visual and technical than women. Mentioning parts of the computer such as the amount of RAM or the amount of space in the hard drive are what men usually care about when it comes to purchasing a computer. Women may be concerned with the idea of whether the computer is right for them. Men have many role models in the technological fields to look up to whereas women do not. White and Kinnick cite a source from another author by stating that due to lack of role models in the media when it comes to technology, women and young girls do not have a clear set of role models (White et al.). In advertisements pertaining to computers and other application of technology, there are not enough women being included in the advertisements and that more advertisements need to be geared towards women.
The study mentions a point in history in advertising that may explain women’s positions in certain occupations. Years ago when the telephone was invented in the home it began to be marketed as a technological application used an object used by women with the authors stating, “A reverse historical parallel can be found in the adoption of the telephone in the home as a “female” technology, a phenomenon which has also been reflected in popular culture and no doubt led to stereotyping about women and their telephone habits” (White et al.). Advertising can be a very powerful force when it comes to how men and women are viewed in certain occupations. Many people look to the media to and see the many different representations of men and women and as a result begin to think that what is placed in advertisements is relatively true to the way men and women act.
One field known as informatics or information technology is a field that is male-dominated with very few women working in the field. The article entitled “Feminist or Merely Critical? In Search of Gender Perspectives in Informatics”, authors Tone Bratteteig and Guri Verne discuss the reasons as to why there are a low number of women in the field of informatics. They state that the reasons may be due to education and the way in which the media presents the field (Bratteteig and Verne 2). The media represents men as being more knowledgeable and better equipped in the field than women and due to lack of representation in the media women might end up not being interested in pursuing the field of informatics. There is no equal representation of men and women in the media because it goes back to men being represented as power figures and women being represented as less capable of certain tasks such as managerial positions. This has led to women being represented in the media as being less likely to be interested in anything remotely related to technology. Simply stating the differences between men and women in terms of their representations in the media can only point to part of the reason that women might not have any interest in the field of informatics.
Men and women have different representations in the field of technology. Men are represented in occupations that consist of a higher position whereas women are represented in occupations that consist of a more subordinate role. There are applications of technology that can change the way that a person looks in a drastic way by altering their appearance. The field of graphic design is a very good fit for women due to women being represented as being creative with the use of colors over men who are represented as being into sports and being tough. In the field of information technology there is a low number of women that are underrepresented in the field as well as in the media due to a lack of role models in many technological advertisements that are geared towards men. Men and women will at some point have near equal representation in technological fields and be equally respected amongst the use of certain applications of technology.
Cosmetic Surgery
Gender stereotypes and differences shape our understandings and the way we perceive genders.
Cosmetic surgery is one scientific technology that constantly constructs gender stereotypes and differences.
Cosmetic surgery is mostly associated with women.
When we think of cosmetic surgery, the media often portrays the surgeons as men, and the patients as women.
Often, women are taught to look good and disguise their "defects" to look as pretty as she can.
While men are taught to deal with their "defects"
Public understandings of science and technology come from the views represented in media, when those views misrepresent the construction of science, people start internalizing the stereotypes and attitudes they see. This can affect how they interact and interpret science.
Cosmetic surgery is one scientific technology that constantly constructs gender stereotypes and differences.
Cosmetic surgery is mostly associated with women.
When we think of cosmetic surgery, the media often portrays the surgeons as men, and the patients as women.
Often, women are taught to look good and disguise their "defects" to look as pretty as she can.
While men are taught to deal with their "defects"
Public understandings of science and technology come from the views represented in media, when those views misrepresent the construction of science, people start internalizing the stereotypes and attitudes they see. This can affect how they interact and interpret science.
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