Visibility patterns of gendered ageism in the media buzz

A study of the representation of gender and age over three decades

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12690838
AutoresMaria Edström (0000-0002-4129-5859, University of Gothenburg, autor correspondente)
Ano2018
Volume18
Fascículo1
Páginas77-93
Data de publicação2018-01-02
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoFeminist Media Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1468-0777 • E-ISSN: 1471-5902
EditoraTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14680777.2018.1409989
OpenAlexW2783328238
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas66
Referências citadas38

The mainstream media provides a constant flow of visual images of men and women, whether it is via newscasts, billboards, magazines, or television. In media research, these different media types are usually investigated separately. The aim of this study is to analyse the accumulated gender representation of all images that we passively or actively take part in, here defined as “the media buzz.” To capture the representation of gender and age in the media buzz, this study focuses on images from one day in the most circulated media within Sweden: news, feature stories, fiction, and advertising. The empirical data is drawn from three different decades—1994, 2004, and 2014. Overall, the study indicates there to be a general male/female balance in terms of numbers. However, when turning older, both men and women become almost invisible, even though older men are more visible than older women. Older persons rarely reach the news and they are more likely to be found in advertising and feature material. The work presented here suggests that the structures of visibility and the clusters of gender-age representation in the media foster stereotyping. The media buzz not only contributes to ageism, but is also still distinctly gendered

Advertising · Geography · Mainstream · Marketing buzz · Political science · Politics · Representation (politics · Social media · Sociology · Visibility · Computer Science · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Psychology