FRAMING FEMINISMS: FEMINIST CRITIQUES OF PATRIARCHAL NEWS MEDIA Suzanne Monique Strutt B.A., Simon Fraser University, 1987 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the School of Communication a Suzanne Monique Strutt 1994 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY May 1994 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Suzanne Monique Strutt Degree: Master of Arts (Communication) Title of thesis: Framing feminisms: feminist critiques of patriarchal news media Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Martin Laba ~r..Robert A. Hackett Associate Professor Senior Supervisor Dr. Alison Beale Assistant Professor Dr. Stephen Kline Professor DC D%% H. Currie Associate Professor of Sociology Department of Anthropology and Sociology The University of British Columbia External Examiner PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis, project or extended essay (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of Thesis/ProjectlExtended Essay FRAMING FEMINISMS: FEMINIST CRITIQUES OF PATRIARCHAL NEWS Author: signature Suzanne M. Strutt name ABSTRACT The thesis evaluates feminist media critiques in terms of their capacity for promoting sufficient systemic change to correct the patriarchal optic of hegemonic media institutions. It analyses how media interpret and frame feminisms and it probes the evolution of a feminist critique committed to producing a paradigm shift in news - .-" production. Media critique traditions are reviewed primarily within the context of feminist interventions with the Canadian state. The development of these critiques is explored by extracting contributions from three theoretical frameworks. The thesis examines, in a first instance, feminist theory and its various conceptualizations of gender which have influenced political strategies. Secondly, features of the Gramscian hegemony theory are considered, particularly as they acknowledge the agency of social movements in the negotiation of both hegemony and oppositional practices, as well as the role of news media in the process of ideological hegemony. Finally, feminist contributions to communication theory are reviewed. Subsequent to the identification of the theoretical constitution of a feminist media critique, the thesis correlates the evolution of this critique with analogous cycles in feminist epistemologies. It proposes that the direction of feminist analysis and advocacy related to the 'women and the media' question corresponds to initial stages in the feminist critique of traditional epistemology and could therefore be informed by the trajectory of this arguably more mature critique. The thesis identifies within a feminist media critique, the tension between traditional empiricist values of dualisms and of objectivity and more critical analyses located in the social construction of knowledge. It points to the value of current liberal feminist interventions but sees their influence as confined within a transitional stage of deconstruction of sexist practices in media industries. It suggests that liberal feminism must experience fully its inherent contradictions before it can assist the feminist project of paradigm replacement. The thesis argues that to achieve a paradigm shift in the news discourse, feminist interventions should proceed to the second stage of reconstruction, and mobilize for the infusion in media industries of a critical mass of female journalists articulating feminist politics. DEDICATION To Michael, Oliver and the memory of our son and brother, Nathan. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the members of my supervisory committee, Bob Hackett, Alison Beale and Steve Kline, for their compassion, intellectual support and critical feedback. I sincerely appreciate the guidance, insights and confidence of Alison who supervised my work until her extended research leave in Australia. I am grateful to Bob for so readily and enthusiastically taking over the supervision of my thesis at that time. 1 thank also Martin Laba for his encouragement and understanding when I confronted particularly difficult personal circumstances. I am grateful to supportive and caring friends and colleagues inside and outside the School of Communication. I am particularly indebted to the members of my reading group - Dorothy Kidd, Nick Witheford and Eleanor 07Donnell,and to the many members of Mediawatch whose theoretical insights, political commitment, and dedication to the feminist project inspired me throughout my own involvement in the organization and beyond. I would like to acknowledge the assistance of Lucie Menkveld and Neena Shahani as well as the financial support of the SFU Senate Graduate Awards Committee, CanWest and Cable Television Pioneer. TABLE OF CONTENTS .. APPROVAL .............................................................................. ii ... ABSTRACT .............................................................................. 111 DEDICATION ............................................................................ v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................. vi INTRODUCTION ................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1 THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT. FEMINIST POLITICS AND THEORIES Introduction ............................................................................ -6 Feminism and Politics ............................................................... -6 First Wave of the Women's Movement ................................... 7 Second Wave of the Women's Movement ............................... -8 Feminist Politics and Theory ........................................................ 15 Liberal Feminism ............................................................ -16 Radical Feminism ............................................................. 19 Socialist Feminism ...........................................................-22 Feminist Theory and Ideology ....................................................... 23 Sex and Gender ..............................................................-26 Gender Equality .. Gender Difference .................................... -28 Beyond Gender .. Beyond Women? ........................................ 31 Conclusion ............................................................................. -34 CHAPTER 2 SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES. OPPOSITIONAL PRACTICES AND THE Introduction ............................................................................ -36 Theoretical traditions of contemporary social movement analyses ............ -36 Reflections on theoretical approaches and their limitations ...................... 38 vii Resource-Mobilization Theory ..............................................38 New Social Movement Theory ............................................. -41 Hegemonylcounter-hegemony ............................................. -47 The role of media in ideological hegemony ...................................... 53 The news paradigm .......................................................... -54 Media .. movement dialectic ............................................... -58 Feminism-Media Dimensions ........................................................61 The Concept of Patriarchy ................................................... 61 Patriarchal Ideology .......................................................... 64 Patriarchal Media ............................................................. 66 Conclusion .............................................................................. 67 CHAPTER 3 MEDIA FRAMES OF FEMINISMS AND FEMINIST MEDIA CRITIQUES Introduction............................................................................ -69 From empiricism to ideology .. the shift in feminist media critique ........... 70 Regulating gender equity ....................................................71 Legislating gender equity .................................................... 79 Feminist responses to legislation and regulation .........................80 Research and activism within gender communication frameworks ....82 From 'symbolic alienation' to 'frames' ...........................................-86 Some implications of news frames on the feminist movement ........ -87 Framing devices .a case study ........................................... 90 Conclusion .............................................................................-96 CHAPTER 4 TOWARDS A NEW PARADIGM? Introduction ............................................................................ -99 The critique of conventional epistemology ......................................... 100 Feminist epistemological approaches ............................................... 102 ... Vlll Feminist empiricism .......................................................... 102 Feminist standpoint .......................................................... -105 Postmodern tendencies