19 1

Representation in the Media l"X7h en we walk through a Toys R Us or rh(" children's section at a Walmarr, V V colors clearly and symbolically mark which aisles arc fur boys and girls. TI'Pical signifiers for girls' produCTs arc various shades of pink and purple; a much greater color variny marks the. boys' aisles, although darker earth tones and camouflage prel'ail. These colors, o'"cr time, have become identity signals in our culture, symbols and social constructions marking boundaries and helping shape identity. These boundaries, in parr, constrain what it means to be a boy or a girl in our culture. So why is our culture like this, and what role do media pia), in nurturing these symbols and identity markers? In contemporary sockt)'. we dcri\"(~ our sellse.' of self and place through social interactions, as wdl as our experiences with mass media. Understanding who we arc and how we makc scns.e ofthc world rcquires an cxploration of thc mcdia's creativc influencc, as well as a eritical analysis of how media arc dominated by powerful indus· tries that influencc identity, cxperience, and cvents. The media usc languagc, lisuals, codes, and convcntions to tcll us stories about who we are and how IW are supposed to behavc and not to behave. They providc us with rcpresentations--narr.J.til'cs that rcpresent us as indiliduals, as members ofsocicty, and as global citizcns. Bl"{:ausc our mcdia sptem is a commcrcial system, media also reprcscnt us as con­ sumcrs \Iith specific demographic profiles. Sometimes we closely idcntif}' with thc represcntations conjured up by the mass mcdia, whilc othcr times we resist rcprc­ scntations that don't capturc the cssenn' of who wc arc, how we behave, or how we expericncc and make s.ensc of the world. In order to bencr comprehend the media's influence on our identity and our understandings of the world, \I'C need to study thc political, economic, and idcological POWCf of media producers. By asking who has thc powcr to represent or ~re - prcsent" idcntity, meaning, and experience, and how such stories are constructed through narratives, we are able to cxamine how crcativc mcaning-making emerges from this process and how it is influenced by cultural, ideological, political, and cconomic faCtors. Bcrausc cultural represcntations contain visual codes of meaning, this chapter on rcprcscnration complemcnts the work on visual litcracy in Chapter 3. As British an

221 222 Chaptcr9 I Representation in the l\l cdia cri tic and cultural historian John Berger explains, k.sccing comes befure words,'" As children we recognize pictures even before we speak; sedng provides us a wa)' to understand the world and our place within it. Visual cu(·s in our culture con­ vey meaning through methods that arc different from the written word. There­ fore, we analyze the interconnections between visual literacy and representation. Speci fi cally, we explore how visual culture and media re -present social experience and identi!)' through the matrices of gender, r.JCC, class, and sexuality as they inter­ sect with commercial (for-profit), mainstream productions. We also study how identities and experiences arc r(·-presented according to idoological, political, and economic irltercsts. As Chapter I suggestS, our narrative approach requires asking: Who gets to tell the Stories of our culture? What arc the goals and objectives in producing such narr.J tives? What is the coment of these Stories, and how do the), produce social discourses? H ow do thesc stories influence audiences, and how do audiences interact with these stories? To answer these questions, our approach will include anal)'zing: • how representations change over time • how "re a lity~ is socially constructed across different media • how representations both reflect and shape the culture from which they emerge • how represe.ntation is both a socialization influence and a form of transfurma­ tive possibility

Thiscombined approach allows us to better understand the media's power in shaping our ~reality" and social experience . The gool is to provide multiple theories and perspectivcs about media in socie!)' to better understand, critique, conceptualize, and reconceptualize our own ways of seeing and shaping culture. Since race, class, gender, and sexuality function as markers of identity through their intersections rather than in isolation, this chapter explores how thes(· categories of identity are formed through a varie!)' of narr.J til'es and representations, /Tom the past to the present.

I IDEOLOGY, HEGEMONY, AND MASTER NARRATIVES

In today's media-saturated environment, our ideas arc rclared through social discourse-how through our socialization and our institutions (fumil)', education, work, etc. ) we learn to speak about and represent our thinking. Social discourses reflect the valucs, beliefS, and ideas that are pan of the culture, induding the work of those who produce media content. When social discourscs are repeated in a I'arie!)' of media, the), eyentually form patterns of thought that emerge as Ideologies- Ideology, Hegemony, and Master Narratives 223 systems of meaning that circulate the dominant ideas of a society, helping us to process and make value judgments about the world. For example, being cxposc.'d to cultural messages that define us as consumers instead of citizens supports a capitalist ideology that defines us through what we buy oyer other characteristics, values, or beha,10rs. Because these systems of meaning affect so many people, it is important to examine who makes them, and how ideologies serve the interests of those who \\1c1d political and economic power. ,\h instream mass media are owned and con­ trolled by a few tr:lllsnational global conglomerates, so it's helpful to examine who owns that media and whose interests they serve, better preparing us to assess how certain narratives champion some attitudes and behaviors over others. Giwn that our culture's main stoT)'tellers occupy a privileged space through their social, political, and economic power, it's not surprising that narrati\'es about gender, race, class, and sexuality often mirror the values of the socially dominant groups in a given society. In addition to referring to '"alues, belief systems, and worldviews, ideology sig­ nals commonsense understandings that arc solidified in the culture. Going beyond a Marxist emphasis (discussed in Chapter 7) on economic factors that reproduce social hierarchies, it is important to analyze how dominant ideas and belief systcms shape our understandings through social texts that have hegemonic power. When a ten has hegemonic pOWCT, it refers to those ideologies reflecting the established mainstream values- and, as such, the dominant social order. However, when ide­ ologies do not hold that power, they are often marked as marginal or subordinate. Accordingly, when mainstream media privilege certain ideas and belief systcms OVCT others through images, \1suals, and texts, they represent a dominant ideol­ ogy---one that is carried in consensus or master narratives. For example, the American dream represcnts a master narrative in U.S. culture and is predicated on the idealized notion that everyone can equally attain IH'alth and power by work­ ing hard and playing by the rules. Historically, examples of dominant ideologies of identity might include erroneous assumptions that males are rugged leaders and cultural heroes, women are sexual objects or nurturing homemakers, whites arc morl' worthy and intelligent than minorities, and heterosexuality is morally superior to homosexuality. One powerful example of dominant ideologies uniting in nrious forms across time is the animated films from the Walt Disney Company. Disnl'y films are known as family-friendly, all -ages entertainment; they offer influential Stories ofmalc heroism, female dependency, heterosexual norms, and the power of whites in society. Classic Disney narrati\'es lik<' S"o~ , White ( 1937), Cinderell" ( 1950), and Slupi"." &"uty ( I 959) maintain heterosexual and sexist norms in which women pursue the love of a desired male m"er their own professional or personal ambitions. Even in a newer film like 71" Little Merm"id ( 1989), Ariel's father provides patriarchal ru Ie over his 224 Chapter9 I Representation in the l\ledia daughters (sons arc interestingly absent). Although in defiance of her father's rules, Arid gives up her voice and is instruCTed to usc.' her ~body language~ to win over a desired male human. Such depictions uphold the tCminist mind/womb dichotomy in which girls and women arc valued for their bodies over their brains. In Bea"ty and the Bean ( 1991), the female protagonist Brtle is initially shown as smart and independent. Howeyer, she is forcefully kidnapped and separated from her futher by a brutal beast. Rather than rejeCT this fOrm of oppression, Belle learns to love her abuser in order to bring OUT the prince in him. Cultural critics and feminist scholars have argued that the film's story underscores a dominant cultural ideology of male power and control over women through a love story predicated upon physical and domestic violence. Moving beyond gender, cultural critics have argued that The Lim. King ( 1994 ) underscores the dominant ideology of whitc suprcmacy in its racial caricaturing. In thc film, African American actors and dialecTS arc embodied in the cartoon as antagonistic hyenas, who plot to murder the king and destroy thc idcals of\\'rutc ruk and civilization. Some newer Disnc}, rcprcscntations do include al ternate dcpictions. M"lan ( 1998) was an important deviation from the themc of romance and mall- hcroism through thc depiction of a young Chinese girl whose heroism saves her country from barbarians. As a roung and unconventional female warrior, Mubn emerges vic­ torious despite the dangcrs associatcd with her daunting battles. Notwithstanding, critics werc disappointcd by the film's ending, as it shows Mulan returning home to her village in a culturc that pressures young girls to conform to morc traditional ideals of romance and domesticity. A more rccent attempt to dil'ersify the Oisl1l.:)' formula is illustratcd by Princess Tiana, the first African American Disney princc:;s, featurcd in I1Je Pn'nuss and the Frog (2009). Howevcr, since all media teXTS are su bjcCT to cultural battles over identity i:;sues , thc film remains controversial. O n the one hand, Oisnc), spokespersons praise the film fOr proliding ~a breakthrough black icon~ supporting a ~sca of cultural change~ in black communities globally. On the other hand, some cri tics characterizc Tiana's role as JUSt another cxamplc of Disncy's racial insensitil~ty. Concerns include the depiction ofTiana as a frog for much of the film rather than as a human, Prince Navccn's racial whitcness, and the commercial opportunism of merchandise markcting alongside the global popularity of Oprah Winfrey and Michelle O bama.' \Vhen media use consensus or master narratives to prescribe messages about how to behavc and engagc ,\~th society, thcy cultivate ~ normative ~ ways of seeing and behaving through the acceptance of dominant attitudes and behaviors. For exam­ ple, social discourses that cultivatc normative fcmaie gcndcr roies through Westcrn standards of beauty (thin, buxom, blond, young) arc mediated through a variety of sources including magazincs, film , television, social networking sites, ncwspapcrs, fashion, and advertising. Ideology, Hegemony, and Master Narratives 225

The Roots of Master Narratives There arc historic, political, and economic reasons for such normative representa­ tions. Art scholar John Bl'rger examined the art form of the European nude to identity how the pcople who owned or viewed these forms were usually men while the nudes represcnted in the paintings wcre usually women. He explained how the unequal relationship between men and women is ~so deeply embedded in ou r cultu re that it still structu res the consciousness of many women," making it so that women judge their own femininity as masculine culture docs.' Feminist scholar Laura '\' uh'ey has explored visu al pleasure in narrative cinema to explain how the ~male gaze~- men looking at woman in a scxual way- projects itself OntO women who arc simultaneously looked at and displayed.' Often used in advertiscments as well as other visual media, the male gaze holds psychological power oyer young girls and women as the), learn to conceptualize their body image from a male spectator's point of view. Conventional uses of the male gaze in media include women sexually dolling themsclves up in the presence (or assumed presence) of a voyeur, as well as the camera sweep or dosc· up ofa woman's body pans as a male passes by her. The theory holds that over time, the media's exemplification of the male gaze serves as a source of internal judgment for women who hold themselves and otha women up to what were originally male standards for idealized beauty norms. Thesc historic and structural underpinnings of represcntation of gender con· tinue today. Visual codes in a '":.I.riety of media texts draw upon gender norms, relegating women to objectivity or passhity, and men to subjectivity and activo ity. When exploring the continuum of norntative gender reprcscntations in con­ temporary culture, Berger explains, ~Womcn arc depicted in a quite different way front men- not because the feminine is diflcrent from the masculine, but becausc the 'ideal' spectator is aJ\\":.I.ys afoSumed to be male and the image of the woman is designed to flatter him . ~ ' Within historical and economic COnteXTS, males hal"(' often been the primary target audience because they arc deemed to have the strongest "purchasing power" fur big·ticket consumer items alongside cultural authority. To be clear, women represent important niche markets for fushion, soap operas, talk shows, daytime radio, much of prime time, and new cable reality programs. How­ ever, female beauty and accommodation arc emphasized in these genres in ways that reinforce women's economic and cultural subordination. ror these reasons, coupled wi th the historical fuct that males have bel'n the primary producers of mainstream media, there is continuity in cultural representations that can be traced to traditional power structures. Anal)'zing how thcsc structures frame social discourses is one way of exploring how the ideologies and hegemonic power of the media afl"cct our wa),s of seeing. 226 Chapter9 I Reprcsentation in thc l\l cdia

That is to say, analyzing the historic, social, and cconomic structurc ofrepre­ sentation is not merely about making judgments about media producers. We may derive pleasure ftom, and identif}' with, dominant discourses; we may question and rcsist thcm; or wc may do both. Morcover, as new tcchnologies and media teXTS emergc through mainstrcam and alternativc venucs, it is harder for consensus or master narrativcs to retain their exclusive cultural power. D~constructing or analyzing mediated rcpresentations through media cri ticism is a means to explore how our ways ofsedng are altered br the values and perspectivcs we bring to visual teXTS. This approach enhanccs our undcrstanding of how representational com'en­ tions and social rules ('mergc; how they arc recrcated and reproduc ... d through structur... s, choiccs, and point of view; and how we as audiences might interpret such codes and ,·isuals. Dcspite the power of thc media in cultivating c... rtain attitudes and b ... haviors, they cannot fully control ot account for our b...tids, prderences, or behaviors. In faer , depending on all SOrtS of variables (including ag... , education levels, g ... nder, race, s... xuality, and nationality), we engage with and interprcr media texts dif­ fer ... nrly. Such audience variations affect the ability of media producers to define notmative behavior and advance dominant ideologies. It may be b ... tter to think of media as cultural teXTS that compete for our idcological acceptanc ... as wdl as sell us mast ... r narrativcs. Cultural skirmishes betwccn media producers and audi­ ences seck to gain control over meaning and social engag... m ... nt . For cxample, th ... producers of a political ad for Rarack Obama during th(' 2008 prcsidential campaign meant for us to agree idcologically with th... ad's mcssag... that is carried through a powerful and romantic mastcr narrative, offering O bama as a heroic character who stands for hopc and political rcconciliation. Of course, this is a message that worked much better for Democrats or indep... ndents than for many consef\·ativ ... Republicans, who may have rejeCTcd the ad's int ... ndcd m ... aning bccause of their own id ... ological tak ... on the elcction and thcir own cconomic and political intercsts.

I NARRATIVE ANALYSIS, WHAT DO OUR STORIES OF IDENTITY SAY?

In popular representations and in th(' cu ltur... at large, identity politics haw become incr... asingly important marh'rs of the indiliduaJ and collectil· ... self. For cxample, during th ... Republican prcsidential primary race in 201 2, Michele Bachmann was often id ... ntified as the ~woman candidate,~ H ... rman Cain as th ... ~b l ack candidatl.',~ Rick Santorum and N... wt Gingrich as thc ~socially conservative eandidatcs,~ and ("'entual Narrative Analysis: \\'hat Do Our Stones of Identity Say? 227 nominee Mitt Romney as the ~rich candidate.~ Political pundits at the time often told stories about these candidates only in terms of these narrow identity markers, and the candidates themselves oftcn struggled to escape or broaden these charaCTerizations. As representations along lincs of gender, race, class, and sexuality manifest themselves through a varict), of media channels and cultural artifacts, they COnStruCT powerful narratives about personal and colk,>:tive experiences and pers(X-'>:tivcs. The politics surrounding the media construction of such narratives remain contested. Mainstream representations arc usually judged by critics according to how the), perform onc of tWO functions within society. One is a reflective func­ tion, whereby representations arc judged according to their ability to rt"'flcCT the cul­ ture from which tht-y emerge (i.e., asscssing whether re-presentations mirror kreal~ subjects and experiences); the other is a socializing influcnce, whereby representa· tions arc seen as the products of powerful industries designed to shape tht· culture either through harmful means (e.g .• power, propaganda, stert'otyping, and com­ mercialization) or as instruments of constructive, transformational outcomes (e.g., educational or artistic expression ). A balanced model of media criticism considcrs the media as agems of both functions and is more likely to produce a compel· ling evaluation ofthc media's influence in sockty. As media scholar Sharon Willis explains, k ••• identity politics is likely to go both ways, to becomc either a site for the progressive use of dil·ersity or an opportunity for the conservative management of diflcrence within existing power StrUCTUres."" When it comes to representing identities, tht· mainstream media usually take on the poim of view of the normative subject, an identity that is taken for granted or rendered invisiblc through its privileged position in the culturc. Within American media, those who wield political and economic power arc most often white, male, middle to upper class, and heterosexual. Tht· perspectives that come from thcse dominant identities form powerful, hegemonic narratives. Often, when non­ dominant subjects arc represented, thcy are portrayed in ways that create kissucs~­ but only for dominant subjects such as business managers or affluent consumers. For example, TV ncws Storics about labor strikes !)pically employ a narrative featuring inconn-nienced and irritated consunJ('rs rather than in-depth profiles ofwhy workcrs are striking and why work and labor issues matter to the larger public. Within these popular narrativcs, nondominance signifies difference-often conveyed in an kUS \'S. them~ narrative package. This crisis of difference is commonly used as a hook to lure mainstream audiences, whilc neat resolutions restore normali!)' through the ccl· ebration of white, masculine, heterosexual, and middle-class fumily valucs that reas· surc. audknccs of the stability of masu.'r narratives. Nomithstanding, there arc times when thc media provide alternate representations of diflcrencc as a means to gain the loyalties of new emerging identity-based markets. For instance, the Calvin Klein 228 Chapter9 I Representation in the l\l edia brand has produced fashion campaigns that used models whose sexuality could be interpreted as gay or straight.

Understanding Identity Stereotypes When stories of identity are told, individuals and groups arc usually reduced to easily identifiable categorizations, or stereotypes, so that audiences can label them, often on the basis of simplistic characteristics like gender, race, class, and/ or sexuality. For exampie, think of how characters in TV and movie narratives like Saved by tile Bell, Freab a"d Gub, Grm5e, B"jfy rbe Vampire Slayer, Mea" Girls, Glee, and i""o both stereotype and challenge th(' stereotypes of high school srudents as jocks, dumb blonde cheerleaders, wise guys, nerds, slackers, and druggies. While some stereotypes help develop our understanding of group dynamics, they often fail when we apply them to individuals who compose those groups. One of the reasons stereotypes arc so common in mainstream media is that the), provid(' a familiar or common set of stories for the largest segment of the audience, who arc comforted by reduced complexity and nuance. They arc also used as a means to reassert dominant ideologies and hegemonic power (e.g., men arc tough and emotionallj' detached; women arc submissive and overly emotional). Some of these stories can also carry subplots and character portrayals that resist and challeng(' stereotypes, bllt the stereotypes themselves arc still commonplace. When groups arc pigeonholed according to simplistic narratives, this leads to generalizations and misrepresentations that affect identity politics. While stereotypes have chang... d o'·... r tim ... due to changes in the sociocultural landscap ... and audk'ncc resistance, they ar... often thinly veiled reproductions of older hegemonic narratil·es. Ther... fore, it is not enough for us to ask, say, if minorities arc represented more than thl.'}' were in the past or if women are portrayed in more compiex ways than in the 1950s. We need to analyze and evaluate how stories of identity are told within contemporary media through an informed framework of m ... dia criticism. The following stereotypes arc commonly cmploy ... d in m ... dia narrath·es and help explain how identity politics r... main contested within contemporary media.

Gender. Although wom ... n continue to be reprcsellt('d within the domestic spher... , particularly during daytinw television and within women's magazines, representations of women in public r... alms have incr... ased in the last tw... nl)' years through politics, n... ws, sportS, business, law, medicin ... , and (·ducation. As a resu lt, a new generation of empowered girls and women has led to the inclusion of strong Narrativc Analysis: \\'hat Do O ur Stories of Idcntity Say? 229 role modds in thc media, such as physically assertivc girls and womcn who solvc their own problems. Contemporary cxamples include Hermione Grangcr from thc Harry Potter book and film serics, B"ffy the Vampire Slayer, and Lara Croft in To mb Raider I~deo games and films. Yet mcdia portrarals of girls and womcn continuc to emphasizc thinness, the bod}' owr thc mind, hyperscxualization, victimization, and ultimately cultural marginalization. Consider the fact that 39 perccnt of characters on primc·timc tclevision an: fcmale and that only 30 perccnt of actors in childrcn's programming arc women.' Evcn on PBS's long-running Semme Sfreet, thcre arc only a handful of fcmale Muppets. MainsTrcam media provide another gendercd stereotype: the hypermasculine, hj'Pcrscxualized, violent malc. In sports, steroid use and body cnhanccrs havc incrcased as men are pressured to outperform and break rccords through super· human strength and muscularity. In film, I~Olent male icons range from Sylvcstcr Stallone in the Rambo movies of the 1980s to Matt Damon in thc ncwer Bourne film trilogy. In addition to sports and film, video games, tdevision, some music gcnres, and thc Internet all regularly fcature stcreotypical masculinity dcpictcd through violence and hyperscxualit)'. Males are also rcgularly caricatured in their roles as chumps, idiots, losers, buddies, male chauvinists, and studs.' For most mainstrcam commcrcial media, sustaining a narrow range of narrative stereotypes creatcs famil · iarity and reduces complcxity to a few categorics.

Race and Ethnicity, Although images of race and ethnicity have flooded main· stream mcdia to a grcJt('r ext('nt than before, the narratives have not strayed far from old stereotypes and racist themes. Historically, black males have been repre­ sentcd regularly as either comic entertainment or as thugs and cri minals, whereas black women hal'e often bt:en portrarcd in sassy comic rolcs or, worse, as characters denigrated through sexual insults. Asian male characters have routinely attained their command over technology as nerds and techno·geeks, while Asian women have been frequemly croticized as geishas and subservient females. Latino characters often have been depicted through J brand of cultural ~machismo" that has combined violence and sexuality with survival in a hostile, anti·immigration environment, while Latina characters have been shown as interlopers who should be grateful for domestic work and low-paying jobs. Regardless of sex, and dcspite their growing visibility in the population at large, minorities remain marginaliz('d and underreprescntcd in mainstream media. Even the long-standing stereotype of the Italian Mafioso endurcd through HBO's hit series 711t Sopranos. As Peter Bondanella dcscribt:s in his book Hollywood Ifa/ia",: Dagos, Palookas, Romeos, Wi.. Guy>, and SopranM, Italian American stercotypes hal'e evoll'cd through contemporary depictions, such as 11lt Sopranos and EJ,erybody Loves Raymond.' 230 Chapler 9 I R£prcscntalion in the i\l cdia

Though Lan Crolt (ofthc Tomb RJoiil" fr~n li<: body :and

Whereas Ton)' Soprano ls a ps)'chologicalJ)' distressed mob leader, Raymond appcal1l as thc suburban dupc dominated b)' meddling parenn who lh"e acro5li the strcel. In all of theS(' ponrayals, Mwhi leneM" remains centm to the masler namtli,·c in terms of udal rcprcscnrniolls. Since the dominance and privilegc thai come: from being whilc arc hard!),c,"cr the subject oflhe Storio, the point ofmcdia criticism Is to call attention 10 whal's missing, how stereotypes are constructed, and how mainstream media naTTalil·es come to be taken for granted as ~jus l the wa)' things arc."

C lass. One of the subtle ways hcgemonr em wort in major media is to marginali7.c working·da5li conccrns. for e~amplc, at many regional newspapcl1l struggling 10 mainnin their profit margins, editors hal'e decided not to cover poH:n)' or Narrative Analysis: \\'hat Do O ur Stories of Identity Say? 231 working-class issues regularly- in parr because the groups affected by economic concerns couldn't afford newspapers and because more affluent suburban readers, who subscribe to papers at much higher percentages, indicated in focus group studies that they would rather read about economic issues that ~affect them. ~ In 2006, the Louisville Courier -Journ"~ a Gannett paper, disbanded its Ha7..ard, Kentucky, bureau, which for years covered Appalachia, coal mining, and issues related to that state's poor and rural demographics; the paper, at the time, said it was putting more resources into covering Louisville's suburbs. In telel'ision, popular prime-time network programs rarely wrestle seriously with issues related to economic hardship. Working-c1:.1Ss characters dealing with finan­ cial marginalization arc found most often in network sitcoms, and while shows like RowlUne ( 1988- 1997) and the earlier seasons of The SimpsonI ( 1989-) have covacd these issues \\~th serious shadings, economic hardship is usually treat ... d comically, as on The H01l

Sexuality, In most mainstr('am m ... dia narratives, the dominance and ~normalc(' of heterosexual orkntation arc typically taken for granted. When ga)" ksbian, bisexual, and transgendcr persons have appear('d in prime-time TV programs ol'er th... y... ars, thdr s... xual diff... r ... nces- usually portrayed comically- ar... often parr of the narrative intrigu ... , setting up conflicts with so-called ~norma l ~ characters. With gar and ksbiall characters, most frequ ... ntly portrayed as not normal, mainstr ... am values and characters can test their normalcy against so­ called ~abnormality." Over tim ... , ... ,'en on more gar-friendly programs like \ViII and Grace ( 1998- 20 06 ), common TV caricatures ha"... included gay men as cHeminat ... , ksbians as chic, bisexuals as confused, and transgend ... r characters 232 Chapter9 I Representation in the l\l edia as comedic anomalies. Drawing from an informed historic and institutional analysis, a critical approach allows us to question and analyze such d("pictions by identifying how dominant narratives disguise and suppOrt hegemonic values through representations of identity and experience.

I INSTITU TIONAL ANALYSIS, WHO GETS TO TELL STORIES OF IDENTITY?

In addition to narrative analysis, our understanding of cultuf"al identity and the powcrofrepresentation is contingent upon our analysis of the politics and economics of media ownership, production, distribution, and advertising. By examining institutional po\H"r in the media, we arc able to see how representations of identity are shaped by the perspectives and idcologies of those who fund, write, and transmit stories within society, JUSt as those stories are shaped br the cultural COnteXTS in which the), are produced. This means that, in addition to analyzing how Stories are represented, \n" need to correlate such findings with political and economic factors alIecting the narrath·c process. While mcdia arc in the business of producing stories that attract audiences and advertisers, such Stories might frequ("ndy be told in wars that mar not best repre­ sent the personal experiences and identities of others. [n other words, those who get to tell stories in the media often draw on their own experiences while telling stories about those who arc diflerent from them. This can lead to the portrap.l of the " O ther~ as different, as outside of the consensus or master narrative. Since men historically have dominated cultural production, their stories about women otTen correlate with their own experience rather than with the experiences of women. Ukewise, when stories have becn told about African Americans, Latinos, or Asian Americans, their narratives are usually mitigated by their perceptions and idcnti­ ties as white rather than through di rect or personal experiences from within the communities they arc tf)~ng to represent. While these narf"ath·es and fantasies may not be easily measurabie \'ith comparisons in '"the real world,'" they do tell us a lot about the producers. Across media outlets and genres (e.g., news, business, politics, sportS, prime-time TV, pay-per-vicw, video games), many representations ha\·e cen­ tered the narrative around the experiences of white, straight, middle- to upper·class men. Most other characters in these narratives-induding women- tend to serve as foils against which men test their own values, interests, and experiences. It is not surprising then to find patterns ofidentity Stereotrpes wi thin mainstream media. [n the age ofrealiry TV and cable, however, new stereotypes around prhileged upper­ class women have mushroomed in series like Keeping Up with the Kardashiam Institutional Analysis: Who Gets to Tell Stories of Identity? 233 and various versions of the R~al Houswives of NeR' Jersey or TIle Real Homwives of Ar/t",ta-just pick a city.

Institutions by the NUUlbers

According to industry statistics about gender and race in media operations, women and minorities have made some professional advances, although they remain marginalized in mcdia ownership and production. ,\ len maintain the upper echelons of power by comprising roughly 66 percent of supervisory roles, 58 percent of all copy editors, nearly 62 perccnt of reporters, and 75 percent of photogt:lphers.'o According to the Ass.ociated Press Sports Editors' Racial and Gender ~port Card, member newspapers received a "C+" rating for racial hiring practices and a ~ D+ " for gender hiring practices in 2012. White males continue to dominate sportS journalism, with women serving as 9 percent of sports editors, 17 percent ofassistant sports editors, 10 percent of columnists, 12 percent of reporters, and 20 percent of copy editors/designers. 11 Within American broadcasting, women own less than 7 percent of u .s. com· mercial broadcast TV and radio stations, and people of color own even less, with 5 percent ofTY stations and 8 pern'nt of radio." African American station own­ ership has decreased to less than I percent." According to th(' Center for Media and Public Affairs, less than a third of evening newscasts (ABC, CBS, NBC) were reported by women in 2007. Their statistics also show that since the 1990s, women have stayed at roughly 40 percent in the television news workforce, with a decrease in radio from 24.4 percent to 22 .7 percent." According to the Radio Television Digital News Association, women occupy only 30 percent of news direCTorships. " According to the Columbia Journalism Rel·iew, bylines in America's top intel· leCTual and political magazines are predominantly male. A study of cleven magazines published ftom October 2003 to May 2005 showed fuvorable male differentials, with thirteen-to·one at the National Rev;ew, SoCvcn-to·one at Harper', and the It",Hy Standard, and two-to·one at the Columbia Journalism Rel';ew." In television, the number of women writers on prime-time broadcast progr:Jms declined from 29 percent in the 2009-10 season to a mere 15 percent in the 20 I 0- II season of writers for prime-time dramas, comedies, and reality shows on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and the CWo Women directors also declined to II percent from 16 percent in the previous rear. I, In film , a 20 I 0 stud)' by USC Annenbrrg Professor Stacy Smith revealed that "females in Hollywood continue to be JUSt as significantly marginalized, hypcr­ SoCxualized and underrepresented as they were thirty years ago,"" with males 234 Chapter9 I Representation in the l\ledia holding 83 percent of positions as directors, writers, and producers. The studr also found that the number of f('male characters increased dramatically when women were given control offilm production. 19 A female filmmaker did not win the Academy Award for Best Director until 2010, when Kathryn Bigelow broke through the film industry's glass ceiling br winning for Th. Hurt Lodler, in oyer eighty years of Oscars, she was only the fourth female nominee in that category. Additionally, men write 70 percent of all fi lm reviews published in the top U.s newspapers.'· In all of these media categories, when nondominant groups do not hold the political or economic power to tell their own stories about their identities and experiences, gaps in the reRective function of master narratives appear. Likewise, nondominant groups often han' little control o'·cr the socializing influcnces that come from the media since ther cannot compete with the attcntion received by comm('rcial media messages. If more dil·ersity existed among anists, scriptwrit­ ers, and cultural produccrs, it wouldn't necessarily lead to an overnight r('volu­ tion of identity politics in the mainstream; othcr political and economic struc­ tures would likdy kecp dominant narratives in place. For instance, many women are socialized into male value systems in business, politics, and media production in order to thriVl."' in these industri es. However, increasing the pool of cultural producers across gender, race, ethnicit)" age, class, and sexuality would hdp diversify the pcrspectives from which mainstream images and representations of identity emerge. There are signs of progressive change in identity narr.Jtivcs in cultur.J1 story­ telling. Undoubt('dly, the representations of r.Jce, cIa.>s , gender, and sexuality arc fur more diverse today than they were tWO to three decades ago. Progr:lms like Ceo'lJ' Lopez Touigbr (20 10-1 I), 71Je Ellen Degen,res Sho~' (2003- ), Modern Family (20 09-), and Ewrybody Hares ChriI(2005--Q9 ) represent advances in the depictions of minorities. As new technologies and advances in media lead to morc expansive and diversc channds, genres, and giobal perspectives, there is growing evidence that the cultur:ll dominance of the American broadcast networks and film studios has diminished amid shifting economic realities and a more diverse.' political landscape, altering identity politics.

I HISTORIC ANALYSIS, HOW ARE STORIES OF IDENTITY SHAPED BY CULTU RE?

It is often harder to critically examine how identities are constructed within contemporary socicty becallsc, like fish in water, we have become accustomed to H istoric Analysis: H ow Are Stories of Identity Shaped br Culture? 235 the '1sual and textual cultural codes surrounding us. This makcs it harder to detect thl' process of how and when such images were created and whose visions ther represent. One important way of understanding how representations of identity arc socially constructed is to look to the past. A historic approach allows us to see how the represent:.l.tions of todar have el"Oh·ed as a result of adaptations in cultural beliefS, ('vents, and institutional power. In this section, our historic analysis will take place within tWO of the most potent message purvcyors of our time: ad'·ertising and television. Both offer us ways of exploring narr.J.tivc storrtelling de\1ces through a ,·anet)' of nK-dia texts. Through critical historical analysis, we will better understand how these forms of media simultaneously create powerful narrativcs and adapt to emerging changes in sockty. Going back to John Berger's analysis of women as they have been visually repre· sented in paimings, we will begin with representations of women within the mid­ twentieth century, as these narratives coincide with the emergence of television as 3 ground breaking medium. Since television's origins in the mid-19 50s, producers and executives have often courted their audiences br appealing to an idealized image of the quintesscntial, wholcsome American family. Women have figured prominently in this idealized narrative, particularly in their role as mothers. Although images of women ha,·e changed considerably over the course of the last fifty rears, the ico· nography of wonJ("n continues to carry profound implications within visual culture and our social lives. Exploring these images of gender as they intersect \\1 th race, class, and sexuality will help us better understand how representations of identity both reflect the culture Irom which they emerge (thl' reflective power of media) and shape the culture through their power as dominant storytellers (the socializing influence of media).

Happy HOlnelnakers, Power MOlns, and SuperwOlnen In early- to mid-twentieth·century ads, women were portrared in traditional roles----as happy and attractivc housc.'wives, homemakers, and mothers who were predominantly white--IIithin a domestic realm that honored suburban femininity. Ads praised women's virtues offumily caretaking through household goods and ap­ pliances. A 1925 advertisement for Perfl"{:tion Oil Cook Sto\·cs & Ovens extolled a product that ~makes mother a companion" as she can now turn ~kitchen time into pla}'t:ime \lith husband and children.~l l Westinghouse appealed to women's modernity in 1935 by inviting them to ~ I merpr('t the modern spirit of beauty and efficiency" through a washer that would replace their hard toil with ~Electric servants for modern homes.~" Notice how, in the second ad, the Term ~dectric scrv a ms~ served as the idiom through which race and class were conjured. As Lynn Spigd explains, when the 236 Chapter9 I Reprcsentation in thc l\lcdia then-emcrging technology of tclevision became a national medium, ~the nctworks cominuallj' drew on the image of the whitc, middle-class fumily audience whcn dcvising programming and promotional strategies.~' l In addition to analyzing such ads within a historical COntCX t as post-industrialization celebrations of consumer-oriented caricatures, we can cxplore how the production of such media rcpresentations was abolll maimaining hegcmonic power or leaving undisturbed the "normal"- that is , portraying whitc, middle-class women in thc homc, rear­ ing their children and supporting their husbands- inasmuch as it was about the capitalism of sclling goods. This approach also includa a socioeconomic critique that analyzcs how thcse idcalizcd notions of femininity and motherhood promoted the mythic idcal of the middlc-class, white, suburban, American fumily, and how minorities werc generally cxdudcd in such representations since they werc nor pcrcci\'cd to be cconomically viab!c or integral to the myth of the Amcrican Dream- nor were they in positions of power with any control o"cr who got to tcll the culturc's stories. Prior to thc 19705, TV programs and commercials rarely rcprcscntcd women Out­ side of the domestic environmelll. But whcn cconomie changcs!cd to an increase in womcn's ""ork oursid(· the home, post-1970s constructions of thc modcrn woman within thc media assumcd that women wcre only beginning to elller the paid labor furce as a resul t of social progress. H istoric analysis hclps dcbunk this media mj'th. According to feminist scholars and historians, although womcn \Vcre nor the domi­ nant gcnder in paid labor, thcy werc among the first to cam wages in this coulllry as a result of increased urban industrial production alicr the carly-twcntieth-celllury tran­ sition from farm and small-town economies. OVCf time, thc proportion ofwomcn in paid cmploymcnt has grown: Women's participation in the paid workforce incrcased from 10 to 20 percclll tx·twecn 1850 and 1900, and from 30 percelll to over 50 perccnt betwcen 1947 and 1980." Despitc the plcthora of cultural images of married mothers who Stay at homc, two-thirds of all mothers haw been in the work­ furce since the mid-1980s, and 58 percem of all married couples with children have both parents working." [n addition, according to a 2008 study by the U.S. Burcau of Labor Statistics, employed adult womcn spent nearly an hour more per day than emplo)'cd adult mcn doing houschold acti\~ties and caring fur household members.'6 Evcn with the great stridcs women havc made in thc twenty-first CCntury within the workplace, rcprcselllations of professional workers favor men in the culture. In an important study of 128 programs that examined one episode of every situ­ ation comcdy, drama, and reality program airing on the six broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, UrN, WB ) during the 2005-06 prime-time season, nctwork tc!cvision was found to rcinforce gcnder Ste reOTYpes: Female characters enactcd illlerpersonal roles invoh'cd with romancc, fumily, and friends, while male characters were more likely ro enaer work-related ro!cs. Thc findings of this study comradict mcdia-induccd hype that ~women arc back, ~ as ~broadcast webs have Historic Analysis: H ow Are Stories of Identity Shaped by Culture? 237 rediscovered the joy of the fairer scx,~ or that ~the New \Voman~ ll f('presems a more progressive type of character. Unfortunately, media claims of fairer repre­ sentations of women arl' not supported by social scientific research. One reason for this schism:

lin I th~ir zeal or perhaps desperation to find a new angle for reporting on tdevi­ sion programming, critics and writers often owrstate th~ magnitud~ of change in portrayal •... rdyling] often on high-profile ret anecdotal examples of the fortunes of just a fe"' programs, such as Grey'. Anaromy, to make their case."

The findings of this study support the conclusions of previous research on prime­ time programming airing on the broadcast n(·tworks from 1990 to 1998 in which male characters were more likelr to work than female characters, \\~th males also having a "ider range of jobs than females. N While most early depictions of women kept them at home, important shifts hal'e since taken place in media, echoing (if perhaps belatedly) historical changes. For example, representations of career·driven fcmales in the 19805 and 1990s reflected a change in the StatuS of women. A popular article in Working Mother magazine described how women drasticall), altered the American workplace in that decade:

They've led the entrepreneurial boom, starting businesses at twice the national ,,·erage. They've raised their family's standard of living and American's gro:o;, national product, incr~a5ing median income by 25 percent oVCT the last three decades, according to the Census Bureau. They've redefined the office environ­ ment, compelling companies 10 introduce child care and flextime initiati,''''. And they'w altered the look of the boardroom, with a 79 perccnt increase ovcr the last four years in the number of companies boasting thre<' or more female directors, according to thc nonprofit research group Catalyst.'"

As for the rise of th(' TV career woman, as Andrea Press explains in her 1991 book Women Wauh;,w Tckvision: ~Changes in television images have not always paralleled actual changes in society ... particularly with regard to the depiction of women.~" Although Press's research had its roolS in the decade prior to the new millen· nium, this importam study was one of the few to explore issues of gender, class, and generation in the Anlerican television experience. Using categories that help situate women's roles historically, Press used three distinct modes offeminism to examine women and television from the 1950s to the 19905. First, "pre fe minism~ emerged from images of fumily women almost exclusivelr in the domestic or private realm. Examples include I Love Lucy ( 1951-57), which on the one hand, showed Lucy---cand sidekick Ethcl---as resourcefi..tl and rebellious 10 the expectations or rules laid down 238 Chapter9 I Representation in the l\ledia by their husbands Ricky and Fr("d but, on th(" oth("r hand, showed th("m at hom(" \\ith their ambitions ddlat("d. Although women oft("n dcmonstrat("d their authority and compctenc(" over their husbands, thc middk·c1ass programs of the. pr("feminism ("ra of telcvision-for ("umple, I Love Lucy, The George B"rns and Graeie Allen Show ( 1950-58 ), I Marn"ed Joan ( 1952-55), The Dick V,," Dyke Show ( 1961--66), 71K Donna Reed Show ( 1958-1966), and Father Knows Bur{ 1954-1963)--nc\"erthel("ss assign("d fumill' authority primarily to the husbands, while women held sway over issues concerning the home. Press notes that only in a few programs d("pining the working class were families shown to oc ~gO\'("rn("d bl' strong, decisive femaks"­ for installce, Alice in 11" Hon eymooners ( 1955-56) or th(" titk charactCf in M"ma {1949-1957)." In the "feminism" ("ra {late 1960s to the ("arly 1980s), television ofT("rcd women som(" n("w roles, but not without setbacks. In 1968, J"/i,, pres("nted what was consider(·d at th(" time to be an anomaly: an African Am("rican, singk-parelll, professional nurse who succeeded gracefully-but not without embodying tradi­ tional West(,,1"Il standards of beauty and whit(" middle-class s("nsibilities. In 1976,

Lucy and Ethel often conAin with the expectations of Ricky and fred on I u •• L,,'7. Historic Analysis: H ow Are Stories of Identity Shaped by Culture? 239

Charlh's Angds showed that strong career women could seduce audiences, even when occupying roles traditionally allocated to men, but not without Haunt­ ing their sexuality and following the orders of an omnipresent ofFscrcen patri­ arch (much like the disembodied voice in domestic product 1V ads-that deep­ ,·oiced male narrator who seemed to know his way around a woman's kitchen better than she did). Like TI",t Girl ( 1966-1971 ), Mary Tyler Moore ( 1970-77) afforded a new image of the city-bound carecr woman. Yet a glass ceiling pre­ vented Moore's career as a news producer from surpassing her male colleagues or her male boss. Hn body image, emotions, and insecurities crl'ated a con­ tradictory Storr about the ability of women to succeed as professionals. In the working-class sitcom Ali&< ( 1976-1985), a working mother is shown in more complexity. As is typical of man)' shows in this feminist era, women are shown together working in unison rather than as isolated individuals. Thus, Alice and coworkers Flo and Vera collaborate to O\'eTcome the patriarchal tendencies of their boss, MeL" Finally, the "postfeminism Hera ( I980s to 1990s) of television constitutes a backlash against the social gains obtained in the women's movement. As feminist scholars Andrea Press, Susan Faludi, and Susan Douglas explain, media represen­ tation of this vcrsion of POSt feminism has occurred in three forms: first, through the proliferation ofncgativc images of the women's movement; second, by per­ sonalizing or individualizing solutions to the problems of women; and finally, by commercializing femininity. But the portrayals in network sitcoms ofprofes­ sional women, such as the title character of Murphy Brown ( 1988-1998) and Clair Huxtable in TIle Cosby Sho~' ( 1984-1992), as well as characters on Design ­ illg lVomm ( 1986-1993), are hyperfeminine. In the casc of Clair Huxtable and Murphy Brown, these are "supermom/superwomen H who embody a feminine m),stique for the 1980s and early 1990s. While both supcrmoms are always in control of their familial or work domain, Clair is hardly ever shown at work and Murphy is hardly ever at home'" Herein lies the nel'd for the representation of both possibilities-professional woml'n shown at home and at work in all of their complexities. Such images arc virtually absent from traditional network sitcoms, as cable and network TV in general have become overrun with less expcnsive reality programs. Joanna Pow­ ell in 2000 explained the network sitcom dilemma in the lead article for lVorking MOTher magazine: HAlicc. Roseanne. Cybill. Murphy. Grace. There used to be lots of working mothers on TV. These days, we've all but vanished, and when we do show up we're often job-obsesscd, kid-ncglecting harridans. What's up with that?~" Hence, whereas Roseanne ( 1988-1997) and Cybill (1995- 98) once occupied opposite working positions on the 1V sitcom dial in terms of socioeconomics (one was working class, one uppcr middk class), real-life working moms began being 240 Chapter9 I Representation in the l\ledia replaced by attractive single gals (HBO's Sex jtl tile City) who only have their per­ sonal aspirations to worry about. Which cable creating more opportunities and competition with successful shows like Riz:wli and hies and 71,e Closer, the networks countered with strong and often complex female characters in dramatic hits such as CST, Grey's A",.tomy, Botlu , and 711e Good lVife. Th("" slew of reality shows like E~"'eme Makeover, AmeNeatl Idol, and Dancing ~,itll til. Sta rs also f(""J.ture strong and talented women, although characters in th(""sc progt:lms sometimcs play OUt dramatic conventions or to embody normative cultural standard s. One of the few programs to address the sacrifices of working moms at home and th("" workplace is 11u Middle, featuring Patricia Heaton as Frances ~Frankie~ Heck. Frankie's character breaks tWO important stereotypes associated with TV moms: Sh("" has a full-time job as a member of th("" working class and h('r employ­ ment as a ca r salesperson is within a maic-dominat(""d field . Whereas Patricia H(""aton's character in Everybody Loves Raymotld demonstrated the Struggles asso­ ciated with raising a family as a stay-at-home mom, ha current role shows a work­ ing mom providing for th("" family. On the program, Frankie is the quintessential middle-class Midw(""stern American sUpC"rmom who is OI'erwork(""d at hom("" and at h(""r job. There is little glamour for Frankie, who stresses o\'er her school-age children's lives, her husband's inconsistent (""mploymenr, elder car("" , and the buf­ foonery of her boss and CQwork(""rs. Long-time matriarch of th("" cartoOn world, Marge Simpson ( 711< Simpsons, 1989- ) has repC"atedly tried to follow her heart and pursu("" a career on and off for over tWO dcrades. Yet pC"rsonal guilt combined with the ineptitude of her son Bart and h(""r husband H omer oblig("" her to Stay at honJ(' to keep the family intact. Like­ wise, on the long-standing com(""dy serics Everybody LOl'es Raymotld, the only Top 10 sitcom from 1996 to 2005 to feature parents with children, \,if("" Debra Barone is clearly the rational stronghold of both th("" nuclear and ext(""nd(""d family. Despite her str(""ngth as a strong mOTh(""f who r(""gularly outfoxcs Raymond and his family, sh("" also struggles to find a career and orren compC"tcs with her mOTh(""r-in-law. Mt(""r deconstrueting the narrat!\'("" dements of such progt:lms and applying evalu­ ativ("" criticism ofthcir socialization function, postfeminism programs may seem more problematic than the d(""pictions of stereOTypical lI"om(""n , such as Donna Reed of The Donna Reed Show and Carol Brady of TIle Brady Bu"ch ( 1969-1974 ). While the judges, attorneys, invcstigators, news reporters, for(""nsic anthropologists, and actresses on tekvision and in advertiscments oft(""n can delude us into believing that gender StereOTypes arc a thing ofth("" past, and that wom ... &a n do it all in much the same manner that Nike ads once encourage us to ~JUSt Do It, ~ such roles also assert a contradiction: that women must remain dedicated nurtllrers or sex s),mbols at all times, even if it means denying thdr own pC"rsonal and professional ambitions. Joan Peters (""xplains that, "whereas the feminists of th("" sixties and seventks rejected the Historic Analysis: H ow Are Stories of Identity Shaped by Culture? 241

Donna Reed model of womanhood, many of their daughters, rejecting in turn the feminist model, have beeome 'power moms' or 'super-moms"":

Power mom, may ha\-e been ",I", reps or run companies before their children were born; now, cell-phones in hand, they run their homes. Super-moms can spend the day trading bonds or processing, but they ,till preside over thei r homes, making birthday cakes and Halloween costumes e\"en if it takes .taying up all night. Belin'­ ing themsclws to be the equals of men, and their motherwork to be more impor­ tant than any job, these new moms hardly identify with that icon of domesticity who never troubled her pretty little head with bottom line •. They resemble her nonetheless."

Given th~ reemerging cultural contradictions for wom~n on tekvision, newer representations of women provide complex identities \\~thin alternative gender role depictions. Contemporary programs disrupt the evolutionary trajectory for women from prefeminist to feminist to postfcminist represenr.ltions thtough self-reflexive critiques of traditional gender roles. For instance, ABC's Mod.,." Fllmily (2009-) pro'ides a divrfSC set offamily types and represenr.ltions across gender, generation, and sexuality {ifnot class}. In ashow ,\ith perhaps one of the most diverse cast of characters, Grey'r Anatomy(2005-) portrays a set of strong and qualifit'd professional women in a medical drama. The show's producer, Shonda Rhimes, has stated that her intention was to reflect the broader spectrum of America's diversity on network tcl(\~sion. 17 Although innovative identities do not always emerge consistently across the tra­ ditional broadcast networks, cable television and the Internet have beconw alternate venues fur exploring identity. For example, AMC's multiple-award-winning drama Mild Men has promulgated a significant amount of discussion and debate about the progr:Jm's unadulterated sexism in the 1960. workplace. In spite of complex female characters represented in the program, "the men dominate with their infidel­ ity, overt double standards and unchecked sexual harassment."" The program fuds gender politics as the men working in the show's ad agency are preoccupied with what women want and how to !.ell it to them in sexist and stereotypical representa­ tions in advertisements. Interestingly, a 2008 study underscored the fuct that, even toda)" few women reach the top kvels of advertising agency creative departments, despite the fuct that there are a rdativdy ('qual number of women and men who enter the field as copywriters and artists"· Similar disparities exist in film; there are only a handful of active female writer­ dirt'{;tors making big-studio movies. In a 2009 New York Timer MII I/llzi". feature L about women in film, Daphne Me rkin wrote "in Hollywood, the glass ceiling is more shatterproof than Illany in other industries, giving war only when the pres­ sure ofaccumulated ('\idence is brought to bear.~ " As an exception to the rule, the 242 Chapter9 I Representation in the l\l edia article featured the succcsses of Hollywood director Nancy Meyers, whose fi lms speak to an important demographic usually ignored in film: middle-age women. Despite the predominance of Caucasian characters, Meyers's films , such as It's Com­ plicllud (2009) and Something's COUll Give (2003), celebrate middle-age women who embrace feminist independence alongside romance and sexuality. Meyers unabashedly explores the sexual appc.·aJ of middle-age women in domestic and work­ place settings, moving beyond a movie culture dominated by depictions of youth sexuaJity (e.g., superheroes, vampires, werewolvcs , and slackers). Although they arc in the minority, H ollywood directors such as Nancy Meyers and Nora Ephron have pushed the boundaries of gender and age through films that have grossed well o\"er $200 million each worldwide. As with fictional depictions, network news, commentary programs, and cable comedy shows (especially 11" Dllily Show ~,ith Jon SreWll rt and 11" Colbert Report) cannot ignore identity politics within cont('mporary COnteXTS. For example, in the 2008 election, there were tensions between race and gender as older generations of feminists who supported H illary Clinton could not understand why rounger generations of women supported Barack aOOma. In rum, a younger generation of women- many of whom uphold feminist ideals-----<:ould not understand why gender (and race) mattered more than the strengths and qualifications of a presi­ dential leader. Regardless of generational or idt'Ological pet;pective, the media ,,~ll undoubtedly continue to shape society'S understandings of race, class, gender, sexu­ ality, and other markers ofidentity as wdl as reAeer the evolution ofidcntity politics in rears to come.

Trophy Wives, Masc uline Heroes, and Metrosexuals Whereas women were often judged according to their fumilial roles and professional ambitions in previous decades, todar beauty and sexuality are the new, more pervasive standard by which women---and increasingly men- arc judged wi thin media represenrations and culture at large. In the family, the shift from domestic nurturance to sexual fulfillment is best embodied in the new media iconography of ~hot mamas~ and ~trophy wi\"es~ whose sexuality affords husbands libidinal satisFaction within domestic realms and sanctioned heterosexual marriages. The term ~trophr ,,~fe~ conjures up the image of a powerful man's wife who is rounger, beautiful, and sexual while retaining the sllccesses of the superwoman/ sllpermom incarnate of the previous generation. Perhaps the most visible if not extreme trophy-wife image to circulate in the mainstream media was th(' tabloid stories surrounding oil magnate /. Howard Marshall's marriage to former Pillyboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith: H e was eighty-nine rears old and she was twenty-six at the tinl(' of their marri age." While excessi\'(', the icon of the trophy wife suggests H istoric Analysis: H ow Are Stories of Identity Shaped by Culture? 243

B

Anna Nicole Smith

that some women 's moral strengths as nunurers and perseverance as superwomen/ supermoms may not be enough: They must now be physically attractin- and sexually pleasing within both the domestic and public spheres, regardless of marital or childbearing Status. Such sexuali7-cd iconogr:Jphy is the by-product of an infantilized, sexualized ideal wi thin the media at large. Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth, has explained how contemporary media representations exploit rounger girls as the new sexual­ ized ideal:

The notoriom Calvin Klein ad campaigns eroriciz.cd sixteen-rear·old, when I ,,-as a teenager, then eroticized fourteen·year-old modds in the early nineties, then twc1\"C·year-olds in thc latc nineties. GUESS Jcans ads now pose what look like nine-year-olds in provocative settings. And the latest fushions for "-"\'cn- and eight­ rear·olds re·create the outfits of pop .ta ... who dre," like sex wo"'e... ."

Wolf documented in 2002 how the mainstream media are part of a system of pow· erful industries that profit from myths of pertCction, beauty, and eroticism that annually procure $33 billion through the diet industry, $20 billion through the 244 Chaptcr9 I Representation in the l\lcdia cosmetics industry, $300 million rhrough the cosmetic surgery industry, and $7 billion in the pornogr:Jphy industry." Pamda Paulnotcd a similar trend in her book Pornifod (2005), documeming how the mass media have comributed ro a ~porni­ lied" culture as a result of hypereroticized sexual represenrations:

It's on Maxim magazine coven where n 'en women who ostensibly want to be taken seriously as actresses pose like Pmthouu pinups. It's in women's magazine. where readen arc urged to modd them,eh'es on ,trip pen, articles explain how to work rour sex mm'c, after those displared in porno" and columnists counsel bored or di ....ri,ficd roung women to rent pornographic films with their Im'en in order to ~cnli\"Cn" their sex lives. It'. on VH-I show. like The}OO Horun Hotti

This developmellt has been especially pr(·'":.I.lem in th(' music industry, where rock, rap, and pop musicians have used porn as standard vernacular in their marketing. As Paul documems, performers such as Eminem, Kid Rock, Blink 182, Metallica, Everclear, and Bon 10vi have included porn aCTresses in their music vidcos. Younger female artists, such ... Brimey Spears, Kal)' Perry, and Christina Aguilera mimic porn star moves as part of their media performances." The fuct that the pornography industry is predominamly supported by men is not just a measure o f women's subjugated position in the culture: It also attests to new standards men arc pressured to stril'e for in order to assert their hetcro­ sexualil)'. It's imporralll to keep in mind that changes in media representations often signal a change in the sociopoliticaljsocioc.·conomic culture. In much the same way that hypermasculine body I)'pes emerged in sportS, media, and com­ mercialism at a rime when women were elllering the workforce and demand­ ing equalil)', th(' represelllation of hyperscxualizcd males in media products has transpired at the momelll that images of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender identities have become mor(" mainstr("am in popular culture, but ("sp('cially in advertising imagery. Within media narratives rhat appeal to a heteronormative audience, ads for Viagra and Cialis are now standard nre, and men ar(" routindy measur("d by their s("xnal pot("ncy and physiqu(" through id("aliz("d mak models and body-bnilders. Shari l.ce Dworkin and Faye linda Wachs explained in "Th(" Morality/Manhood Paradox: Masculinitl', Sport, and the Media ~ that in sportS, male athletes \I1th musckd bodies have been associat("d with moral superioril)' and heroism, which brings about social and economic privileges in addition to those of gend("r. Y("t a gender paradox persists with the het("roscxual maie athlete: Historic Analysis: H ow Are Stories of Identity Shaped by Culture? 245

Print media coverage r~rdr if c\w acknowledge. norm, in .ports or in U,S. culture at large that equates mas.:ulinit), with sexual prowess. Sexual access to women is a cultur~1 privilege associated ,,;th ocing a [heterosexual] man , yet, in turn, the pow­ erful then u.., thi, pri\;legc to stigmatize subordinated masculinities [gay men] and women [while dominant m<'n remain invisible to the \\·~tehfi.J1 media eve ] ....

There has been a shift in media coverage of high-profile cases featuring the sexual misconduCT of athletes, coaches, and politicians. Added scnltiny to such male figures reflects important shins in media coverage of gender and sexuality. Even so, some men accused of sexual misconduCT, such as Tiger Woods and NeWT Gingrich, eventually gt't a "pass~ by returning to male-dominated realms of sports and politics, while members of non dominant groups often find it more difIicult to overcome such privilege. While the dominant masculine hegemony is predicated on old cliches of sexual potency and muscular physique, the acceptance of gays and lesbians in the media has changed to some degree \\;th the ad\'ent of the ~metrOSCxual~---an urban male \\;th a strong aesthetic sense who spends a great deal of time and mont]' on his appearance and lifestyle. The alliann' between and among identity groups regardless of sexual orientation signals a growing acceprance of gar' among rounger gencrations. In fact, according to media scholars, gays and lesbians have achic\'ed an equality far greater in mainstream media than that found in the political and social realm." Communica­ tions scholar Kathcrint, Sender examines how ad\'Crtising and marketing geared to the gay community since tht, early 1990s have helped memocrs of the LGBT com­ munity gain visibility while also constituTing an imagined community through a com­ merciall), driven media system. While she acknowledges that niche marketing leads to problems of stereotyping and commodification, she explores how gal' marketing has ultimately helped advance a sense of community and political activism within the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community." Despite such gains in queer visibility, such positive depictions enhance profits also. As Fred Fejes explains:

While in the past other marginalized group, haw attaincd political power through the marshaling of economic rcsource" for Icsbiaru and gay males it i. not in their role", producers or controllers of capital, but in their rok as consumers, particu­ larly '" a defined market niehe attracriw to advertisers, that they are offered the sure.t route to equality."

Marguerite Moritz goes further in her critique by analyzing trendy discourses of ~lesbian chic~ in mainstream media that glamorize lesbianism through a focus on normative standards of beauty, appearance, and sexual attracth'eness as a means to titillate straight male viewers instead ofyalidating marginalized identity. She explains 246 Chapter9 I Representation in the l\l edia how such strategics arc pan of the mainstream media's attempt not only to ~deny lcsbians a real ,-oice in the culture but also to constnlct them in the same sexualized and sexist ways that [images of] women in general ha,'e been furmuJ.ued."'· She warns that, while we may want to celebrate lesbians' inclusion in the media as a sign of social progress, they can JUSt as quickly di&J.pJX'ar from mainstream cultural repre­ sentation if the), arc not viewed as a liable market or demographic. 51

I BECOMING THE MEDIA, PARTICIPATORY CULTURE AND NEW IDENTITIES

As we have learned, master narratil'cs ofter powerful stories that can colonize our conceptions of identity- but also liberate our imagination as lI'e explore nell' possibil ities fur our ~se l l'cs" as indiliduals and community members in the twenty-first century. The emphasis in this chapter has been to offer this broad analysis of media's represcnrational power and to affirm an approach that recognizes the media's reflective and socializing influence. We've suggested that, through the prisms of gender, r.J.ce, class, and sexuality, the media often rcproduce master narr.J.til'cs using Sterl~t)'pcs and exclusion. We hal'e examined the ways in which historic traditions, pr.J.ctices, and perspectivcs of marginalized groups, in rdation to dominant cultures, arc reprcscnted in popular culture. This process has allowed us to identi!)', analrze, and understand how these structures of identity politics are interpreted, created, manifCsted, represented, and claimed in contemporary commercial culturl'. Although identity exclusions and misreprcscntations in mass-produced culture remain visible, there arc discernible shifts that serl'e to loosen the media's grasp of traditional femininity, hegemonic masculinity. middle-class ideals, privileged white­ ness. and normath-e heterosexuality. First, media scholars recognize that identity politics are products of media representations and arc therdore unstable and subject to change. Sl'Cond, attention to dil'er.lity and multiculturalism have prompted new social discourses ofindusil'ity and visibility lor nondominant groups in mainstream media, even if propelled by thl' commercial quest for increased r.J.tings, niche mar­ keting. and profitability. As a result, while stereotypes persist across media, there are openings in the scamlessness of dominant narr.J.tivcs and representations. ~Sensitive new-age guys" (SNAGS ) arc morc prevalent across media, as more and more men arc interested in family life and meaningful relationships. " Ien-often ponrayed as dummics and losers in adl'enisements and TV programs- suggest the need fur competent women to sal'e both them and the world from their idiocy! Minorities are more lisibJc as leaders and equals, panicularly in reality shows, news reponing, and niche Becoming the hIcdia: Participatory Culture and New Identities 247 marketing. Homoscxuals arc afforded their sharc of representation through niche marketing and specialty programming. And the poor and working class are oftcn shown as deserving of government aid whcn disasters likc Hurricane Katrina and the subprime loan crisis occur or whcn hard times prompt the media to participatc in community·bascd charitablc causes (e.g., ABC's F.wreme Makeover and Oprah). While dominant discourses are in place as the primary strucrurcs of powcr in main­ stream media, these alternatc narrativc texts---cspecially enabled by thc wide·open and noncommercial seCTOrs of the Imcrnet--offcr a more nuanced way ofnegotiat· ing identity politics and modeling real cultural change. Third, in addition to cracks and fissures within mainstream texts, audiences play an important role in dctcrmining the impact of media discourses. They can rdy upon thc media TO dcfine their own sense ofselfand view of the world (the prcferrcd hegemonic reading), they can bc skeptical and sa\'\")' about thdr content and influ­ ence while also rdying on them to heIp them navigatc their social understandings (negotiated rcadings), or thcy can COntest and reject thcm (resistant readings)." Incrcasingly, ncwCT gcnerations view the mainstream media as straitjackcts that restrict mobility and creatil'ity in defining oneself and others. Through media literacy and a proficiency in mcdia production, today's generation is increasingly ~bccom­ ing the media" rathcr than solely depending on it. Ncw technologics----<:omputers, smartphones, Web sites, onlinc social nctworking, wikis, blogs-havc complicatcd identity politics, as indiliduals and subcultural groups crcate more complex and detailed sell'es through intcrconncctivity and play. From Facebook to iMovie to YouTube, pl"Opie arc using popular music, films , 1V episodcs, dips, and sites from mainstrcam and aitcrnative mcdia TO express them­ sell'es and create multiple idemitics. This influences the function and mcaning of mainstrcam culture: Audiences intcract and play with social discourses and media content, while simultaneously altering meaning through collagc, poetry, parody, and personalizing the narrative dements that shapl' cultural stories. Using a mClangc of alternative and mainstream media from both original and borrowed fragmcnts of culture, our seh'es and our idcnrities arc continually constructed in the practices of everyday life by active, participatory audiences who consume and interact lvith a variety of mcdia texts. Today's 3udiences--often aided or dril'cn by newer forms of social media-are electronic global Trekkers who I'enture to new tcrritorics to discover innovatil'c identities and cultural influences whcre thcy can interact with othcrs across new temporal and spatial lines. Whilc thc powcr and perl'asil'cncss of mainstream media will forel"("r shape our cultural understandings of ourselvcs and others in society, participatory cultural pro­ duction lI'iIlundoubtcdly continue TO alter the course and terrain ofidcmity politics, cultural reprcsentation, and mastcr narratives in the coming years.