The Media Environment

http://www.mediaeducationweek.ca/en/101_curricular.htm

Gender Role Stereotypes, Sexual Objectification, and Power in Advertising Lesson Plan

Critical Media Literacy: Gender Role Stereotypes, Sexual Objectification, and Power in Advertising Lesson Plan

                 This lesson plan on gender role stereotypes, sexual objectification, and power in advertising, is intended for mature teen audiences.  In addition to a lesson outline, you will also find topics to consider in a Language Arts class appropriate before the lesson, and recommendations for teen-friendly texts. 

Learning Outcomes for Lesson:

The prescribed learning outcomes below have been selected for the intention for this lesson plan from the English Language Arts, Grade 11, British Columbia, Integrated Resource Package (British Columbia Ministry of Education, p. 55-62).

-        view, both collaboratively and independently, to comprehend a variety of visual texts, with increasing complexity of ideas and form, such as, broadcast media, web sites, graphic novels, film and video,  photographs, art, visual components of print media, student-generated material (B3).

-        interpret, analyse, and evaluate ideas and information from texts, by: critiquing logic and quality of evidence identifying and describing diverse voices critiquing perspectives identifying and challenging bias, contradictions, and distortions identifying the importance and impact of social, political, and historical contexts (B9).

-        write and represent to synthesize and extend thinking, by: personalizing ideas and information, explaining relationships among ideas and information, applying new ideas and information, transforming existing ideas and information, contextualizing ideas and information (C10).

-        select, adapt, and apply a range of strategies to interact and collaborate with others in pairs and groups, including: initiating and sharing responsibilities listening actively contributing ideas and supporting the ideas of others seeking out diverse perspectives reaching consensus or agreeing to differ (A4).

-        select, adapt, and apply a range of strategies to express ideas and information in oral communications, including: vocal techniques, style and tone, nonverbal techniques, visual aids organizational and memory aids, monitoring methods (A6).

Catherine Snow (2005) defines literacy as “the capacity to construct and express meaning through reading, writing, and talking about texts” (as cited in British Columbia Ministry of Education, p. 18).  The following lesson includes all three literacy fundamentals, “reading, writing, and talking about texts” to foster critical thinking. 

Critical literacy “texts are vehicles for students to reflect on the human condition by connecting to the experiences of others” (British Columbia Ministry of Education, p. 20).  Moreover, “media literacy deals with the culture and lifestyle of students.  They enjoy thinking and talking about what is going on in the media.  For teachers, it is an opportunity to have students examine how they are influencing and being influenced by popular culture” (Atlantic Curriculum, as cited in Tallim, 2005).

                  Furthermore, critical media literacy is the process of analyzing media texts and representations within the economic, social, and historical context.  It requires that students and educators "ask critical questions about the relationship between power [and] media" (Marshall & Sensoy, 2011, p. 7). 

Why it is Important to Teach Critical Media Literacy in Advertising?

Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood reports that “children ages 2-11 see more than 25,000 advertisement a year [that’s approximately 70 ads per day] on TV alone, a figure that does not include product placement.  They are also targeted with advertising on the internet, cell phone, mp3 payers, video games, school buses, and in school” (p. 1).  Media Use Audit revealed that BC teens reported spending over one third of their time each week using media (Kline, 2001).  Moreover, Jean Kilbourne (2010), pioneer media analyst and feminist activist, proclaims that the average American is bombarded with approximately 3000 advertisements each day.  American advertising is also marketed to Canadian audiences.  Furthermore, Sut Jhally (2009), founder of Media Education Foundation, contests that “advertising is a very powerful form of social communication in modern society” (p. 313).

Tallim (2010) contests “in our world of multi-tasking, commercialism, globalization and interactivity, media education isn't about having the right answers—it's about asking the right questions. The result is lifelong empowerment of the learner and citizen” (para. 4).

The Lesson, Gender Role Stereotypes, Sexual Objectification & Power in Advertising:

a.  Introduction to Topics

b.  Interactive Educational Video

c.  Recommended Supplies/Resources for Video

d.  Student Projects (after watching the video)

a. Introduction to Topics:

Representations of gender role stereotypes and sexual objectification in advertising are intrinsically tied to power dynamics in society today.

Gender difference and power are always operating in advertisements.  Unequal gender relations, rigid gender roles stereotypes, and sexual objectification, of men and women, to sell products are harmful for all.  Although, advertising may reflect “…real needs and desires [or fantasies] in people…” (Williamson, 1978 as cited in Jhally, 2009, p. 319), they also give us a false sense of attaining such desires.  In the real world, dominance can lead to assault and oppression, and the internalization of unreal standards and viewing oneself as an object for another’s pleasure, leads to poor relationships, mental, physical and sexual health (Heimerdinger-Edwards et al., 2010; America Psychological Association, 2007).  Sexual objectification not only devalues a human being, it also destroys the very relationships that are essential to being human.  The most innate need of a human being is to belong and to be loved (Aronson, Wilson & Akert, 2004).

Gender Role Stereotypes

Gender roles are defined as “…the set of behaviors, personality attributes, self-concepts, and expectations organized according to cultural definitions and prescriptions of masculinity and femininity” (Szymanski, Moffitt, and Carr, 2010, p. 21).

Moreover, gender roles in advertisements are divided up and labeled “masculine” and “feminine” and then constantly repeated (Kilbourne, 2010), thus creating stereotypes: “a generalization about a group of people in which identical characteristics are assigned to virtually all members of the group” (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2003, p. 461).

Douglas Kellner (2009) states that “products of media culture provide materials out of which individuals in contemporary media ad consumer societies forge their very identities, including sense of self, notion of what it means to be male or female, and how people experience class, ethnicity and race, sexuality, age, nationality, and other markers of identity” (p. 5).

Sexual Objectification

Objectification theory refers to the internalization, the belief of, being valued as a sexual object for another’s pleasure (Fredrickson, & Roberts, 1997).  Sexual objectification in advertisements encompasses the singling out, magnifying of, and dismemberment, of a person’s body parts. Another way humans are objectified in advertisements is when they are treated as, or resemble objects themselves, in which they are dehumanized (Kilbourne, 2010). 

Power

             Privilege is power.  Peggy McIntosh "describes it, privilege exists when one group has something of value that is denied to others simply because of the groups they belong to (as cited in Johnson, 2006).

b. Interactive Educational Video: “What’s Wrong with a Little Objectification?” You tell me…Gender Role Stereotypes, Sexual Objectification, and Power in Advertising http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-3VSzOkQ34 (Coulson, 2011)

Warning this video may offend some viewers, thus viewer discretion is advised.  It is recommended that you view this video before showing it to teen audiences to anticipate the questions and concerns that will arise viewing such subject manner.  This video is intended for educators to view with a teen audience.  Moreover, it is interactive; at certain points during the film, educators are prompted to pause the video and have the teens watching form groups of 3-5 people to have discussions and complete activities. Note, before watching this video, it is helpful for students to review active listening skills.  Please see the link for the Media Education Foundation Techniques for Active Listening handout below.

Linda Christensen (2011) expresses how important it is that adolescents consider their own judgments about representations in the media and what they imply about society today.  In her "Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us" article, she clearly states that "[f]rom experience, [she's] discovered that [she] needs to keep [her] mouth shut for a while" when students are discerning stereotypes and underlying messages in children’s films.  As she recognizes, that "[i]f [she is] the only one pointing out the stereotypes, it's the kiss of death to the exercise" (p. 193-194).  Moreover, she realizes that if she stands in front of the class and tells the students, what she or other scholars, think about the messages in the media, they will be passively learning and may fail to acknowledge the truth in some of the analysis because they have not reached their own conclusions.  In sum, Christensen is teaching her children critical thinking skills, which are vital in surviving in today's information over load age.  Teaching teens to critically examine the embedded messages about gender role stereotypes, sexual objectification, and power in advertisements, and exactly how this shapes their beliefs about themselves and others, is precisely the intent of this video.

c. Recommended Supplies/Resources for Video:

-Techniques for Foundation Active Listening handout by Media Education Foundation: http://www.mediaed.org/wp/handouts-articles#A-C

-Popular culture magazines intended for a North American teen and/or young adult audience (approximately two per student)

-Each student should have paper, and a pen or pencil, for note taking

-A flip chart with markers for brainstorming ideas (if necessary) and/or compiling information from the group discussions

-A computer with, a large screen, to watch the video

d. Student Projects (after watching the video):

Make Your Own Magazine Collage

-Look through popular culture magazines intended for teen and/or young adult audiences in North America

-Select images that represent what you feel the marketers are communicating about what it means to be a “teen female” today

-Select images that represent what you feel the marketers are communicating about what it means to be a “teen male” today

-Create a collage

-Look for themes (ie. all teen boys look tough in advertisements)

-Present your collage and the themes that you found to your classmates

Make Your Own Video

-Attend three Windows Live Movie Maker (or another movie maker program) instructional sessions. Cover the following topics: 1. Recording voice, 2. Downloading/converting clips, 3. Synthesizing clips and voice.

-Explore a topic/issue that you found in the collage activity about advertising that you are passionate about (consult with your teacher before researching).  Make sure to think about the audience for the video.  For example, is it intended for parents, teens, or children to watch?

-Write/create a persuasive narrative for your video, explaining why you feel that the topic is an issue, who it effects and what it says about the broader social, economic, and historical context. Find evidence (clips/images/texts from/about popular culture media) to support your argument.

-Synthesize a persuasive video using your narrative and popular culture media clips/images/texts, using Windows Live Movie Maker (or another movie maker program), in a way that is compelling (has a powerful effect) for your argument and audience.

Topics to Consider Before Watching the Interactive Educational Video (“What’s Wrong with a Little Objectification?” You tell me…Gender Role Stereotypes, Sexual Objectification, and Power in Advertising [Coulson, 2011])

A.    Media Representations, Codes, and Audience Agency

B.    Corporations and Media

C.    Privilege, Power and Difference in Society

A.  Media Representations, Codes, and Audience Agency

Tallim (2005) states: “media education encourages a probing approach to the world of media: Who is this message intended for?  Who wants to reach this audience, and why? From whose perspective is this story told?  Whose voices are heard, and whose are absent?  What strategies does this message use to get my attention and make me feel included?” (para. 2).

Eight Key Concepts for Media Literacy (Pungente, 1983, as cited in Media Awareness Network, 2010)

1.     All media are construction

2.     The media construct reality

3.     Audiences negotiate meaning in the media

4.     Media have commercial implications

5.     Media contain ideological and value messages

6.     Media have social and political implications

7.     Form and content are closely related in the media

8.     Each medium has a unique aesthetic form

A full description of each of these eight points can be found at: http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/teachers/media_literacy/key_concept.cfm

Key Concepts for Media Education (Blake, as cited in Media Awareness Network, 2010)

ANALYSIS FOR MEDIA PRODUCTION:

-        Purpose: People make media messages to inform, entertain, and/or persuade for political, commercial, educational, artistic, moral and/or other purposes.

-        Values: Media messages communicate explicit and implicit values.

-        Representation: Media messages are constructed—they are only representations of real or imaginary worlds.

-        Codes, conventions and characteristics: Each medium has its own set of codes, conventions and characteristics that affect the way messages are transmitted and understood.

-        Production: People who understand the media are better able to make purposeful media messages.

AUDIENCE INTERPRETATION AND INFLUENCE:

-        Interpretation: Audience members bring their knowledge, experience and values to their interpretation of, and emotional responses to, media messages.

-        Influence of media on audience: Media messages can influence people's attitudes, behaviour and values.

-        Influence of audience on media: People can influence media institutions and the messages they produce and transmit.

Recommended Resources & Readings for Media Representations, Codes, and Audience Agency:

-Deconstructing a Print Advertisement handout by Media Education Foundation: http://www.mediaed.org/wp/handouts-articles#A-C

-Stuart Hall on Representation and Ideology by Chris Rojek (2009)

B.  Corporations

See if your students can list examples of companies that use gender and sexual innuendo repetitiously to sell products.  One obvious example is Axe shaving products.  A subtler example is, Haagen-Dazs ice cream.  The point here is that food commercials also use sex to sell products (Kilbourne, 2010).  An interesting conversation about Unilever, the company that owns Axe and Dove, could be had to discuss the contradiction in messages to the audience and possible reasons why.  Discuss the profitability of using sex and gender to sell products. 

Recommended Resources & Readings for Corporations:

-Are Disney Movies Good for Your Kids? by Henry Giroux (2004), a chapter from the book Kinderculture: The Corporate Construction of Childhood (Steinberg & Kincheloe, 2004), is an insightful read about corporate power, greed and marketing to children

-Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel by Jean Kilbourne (1999) offers an interesting analysis on advertisements and their connection to human desires and corporate profits

-Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty by Media Awareness Netework: http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/teachable_moments/campaignrealbeauty.cfm

-Marketing to Children Overview by Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood: www.commercialfreechildhood.org/factsheets/overview.pdf

C.  Privilege, Power and Difference in Society

A background in the history of feminist movements is helpful when understanding power and gender, and messages in the media.  In addition, it is also helpful for students to understand how certain people gain privilege in society because of their differences.

Recommended Resources & Readings for Privilege, Power and Difference in Society:

-Feminism for Beginners by Susan Alice Watkins, Marisa Rueda, and Marta Rodriguez (1992)

-Privilege, Power, and Difference by Allan Johnson (2006)

-White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh (2003)

References

America Psychological Association. (2007). Report of the APA task force on the sexualization of girls: Executive summary. Retrieved from www.apa.org/pi/ wpo/sexualization.html

Aronson, E., Wilson, D. T. & Akert, R. M. (2004). Social psychology 4^th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2007). English language arts, grade 11: Integrated resource package. Retrieved from http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/course. php?lang =en&subject=English_Language_Arts&course=English_Language_Arts_ 8_to_12&year=2007

Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood. Marketing to children overview. Retrieved from www.commercialfreechildhood.org/factsheets/overview.pdf

Christensen, L. (2011). Unlearning the myths that bind us: Critiquing fairy tales and cartoons. In E. Marshall & O. Sensoy. Rethinking Popular Culture and Media (p. 189-200). Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools.

Coulson, C. (2011). What’s Wrong with a Little Objectification? You tell me…Gender Role Stereotypes, Sexual Objectification, and Power in Advertising. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/FQgLS7Mf448

Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173-206. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00108.x

Giroux, H. (2004). Are Disney movies good for your kids? In S. R. Steinberg & J. L. Kincheloe. Kinderculture: The corporate construction of childhood (p. 164-181). Cambridge, MA: Westview Press.

Heimerdinger-Edwards, S. R., Vogel, D. L., & Hammer, J. H. (2011). Extending sexual objectification theory and research to minority populations, couples, and men. The Counseling Psychologist, 39(1), 140-152. doi:10.1177/0011000010383894

Jhally, S. (2009). Advertising, gender, and sex: What’s wrong with a little objectification. In R. Hammer & D. Kellner. Media/cultural studies: Critical approaches (p. 313-323). New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing.

Johnson, A. G. (2006). Privilege, power, and difference. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Kellner, D. (2009). Toward a critical media/cultural studies. In R. Hammer & D. Kellner. Media/cultural studies: Critical approaches (p. 5-24). New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing.

Kilbourne, J. (1999). Can’t buy my love: How advertising changes the way we think and feel. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Kline, S. (2001). MediaUse Audit for BC teens: Key findings. Retrieved from www.sfu.ca/media-lab/research/mediasat/secondschool.pdf

Marshall, E., & Sensoy, O. (2011). Introduction. Rethinking Popular Culture and Media (p. 1-11). Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools.

Media Awareness Network. Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty. Retrieved from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/teachable _moments /campaignrealbeauty.cfm

Media Awareness Network. Media Literacy Key Concepts. Retrieved from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/teachers/media_literacy/key_concept.cfm

Media Education Foundation. Handouts and articles: Deconstructing a print advertisement. Retrieved from http://www.mediaed.org/wp/handouts-articles#A-C

Media Education Foundation. Handouts and articles: Techniques for Active Listening. Retrieved from http://www.mediaed.org/wp/handouts-articles#A-C

McIntosh, P. (2003). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. In M. S. Kimmel & A. L. Ferber. Privilege (p. 147-160). Cambridge, MA: Westview Press.

Rojek, C. (2009). Stuart Hall on representation and ideology. In R. Hammer & D. Kellner. Media/cultural studies: Critical approaches (p. 313-323). New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing.

Szymanski, D., M., Moffitt, L., B., & Carr, E., R. (2010). Sexual objectification of women: Advances to theory and research. The Counseling Psychologist, 39(1), 6-38. doi: 10.1177/0011000010378402

Tallim, J. (2005). What is media literacy? In Media Literacy, Media Awareness Network. Retrieved from www.mediaeducationweek.ca/en/101_curricular.htm

Tallim, J. (2010). Curricular Connections. In Media Literacy Week, Media Awareness Network. Retrieved from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/teachers/media_ literacy/what_is_media_literacy.cfm

Watkins, S. A., Rueda, M., Rodriguez, M. (1992). Feminism for beginners. Barton, Cambridge: Icon Books.