AES/COM/WOMEN 389

Race, Gender, and Sexuality in the Media

Course Introduction

Scope of the Course

This course looks at the U.S. mass media's coverage and portrayal of gays and lesbians, people of color, and women since 1960, with a particular emphasis on the period from 1980 into the early 21st century. The majority of the course is spent critically examining the mass media's coverage, practices, and values, and seeking practical workplace solutions.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to

• demonstrate, using examples from the media, readings, and anecdotal evidence, how the U.S. mass media portray gays and lesbians, people of color, and women;
• describe the consequences of mass media programming decisions;
• analyze the influence of the U.S. mass media's economic environment, production and workforce values, and information-gathering practices on media content;
• propose and identify ways to improve media coverage, practices, and values; and
• evaluate the roles and values of media created by and for gays and lesbians, people of color, and women.

About the Online Environment

Your online course offers several advantages to the traditional classroom, including the comprehensive Online Student Handbook, the ability to communicate electronically with students and with your instructor, and links to a rich array of online resources.

Online Student Handbook

This handbook answers questions about your online learning course, such as how to purchase your text, schedule an exam, obtain a transcript, and get technical help if you need it. The handbook also provides additional resources, such as how to order books or journals from the library and how to study for an online course.

Communication with Your Instructor and Student Peers

• Online Discussion Forums, designed by the University of Washington award winning Catalyst team, allow you to communicate with other currently enrolled students and with your instructor. We encourage you to use the discussion forum to exchange ideas, resources, and comments about your course work with other students in this course. This unstructured forum is monitored by your instructor.
• You can use e-mail to ask me a question or preferably post your question on the discussion forum. I will reply to all discussion forum questions on the forum, and to e-mail questions via e-mail.

Online Resources

As an online student, you have access to a wealth of Web resources compiled to provide fast, easy access to information that supports your online learning experience. Organized by subjects, Online Resources link you to sites with help for writing and research, study skills, language learning, and library reference materials. All links have been assessed for credibility and reliability, and they are regularly monitored to ensure their usability.

Course Overview

The following are some of the goals I hope to accomplish for anyone who takes this course. Generally, they are things that will benefit you throughout your life, in addition to any work you do in this course.

Media Portrayal

First, I would like you to develop an understanding of how the media portray gays and lesbians, people of color, and women. Historically, the major media (television networks, major newspapers, radio, magazines, books) in the United States have dealt with these groups in two ways.

1. The media have generally ignored them. The result is media content that largely reflects the limited view of only a few (primarily white) males, not the full diversity of views in the United States. This effect has been referred to as symbolic annihilation—the idea that those who are invisible do not matter.
2. When the major media have paid attention to these groups, they have done so in stereotypical and demeaning ways. From the stereotypical shiftlessness of African Americans on the Amos 'n' Andy show to the emotional fragility of women and the limp-wristedness of gays, the major media have presented us with a wide array of images that consistently devalue the lives and experiences of gays and lesbians, people of color, and women, and thus they facilitate discrimination and continued devaluation.

We need to have a sense of the extent to which invisibility and stereotyping exist in our media today. While we do so, however, it is crucial that we keep in mind that these stereotypes are not true to life.

Media Operations and Values

Second, I want you to develop a fairly sophisticated sense of how major—that is, commercial—media programming is shaped by the mass media's economic environment, production and workforce values, and by the media's definition and gathering of "news." This sense of media operations will provide us with insight into how and why there are stereotypes in the media concerning gays and lesbians, people of color, and women. I use the term commercial media to denote the large-scale, advertising-supported media businesses that form the central components of the U.S. media system: the television networks (such as ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox), well-respected metropolitan newspapers that have national prominence (such as the New York Times and Washington Post); regionally prominent metropolitan newspapers (such as the Seattle Times, Seattle Post Intelligencer, Portland Oregonian); and major magazines such as Newsweek, Time, People, and Vanity Fair. In addition to the more traditional broadcast and print media, new media—including cable television and the Internet—continue to evolve and change the way we receive information. On one hand, media have become more concentrated as fewer and fewer owners control more print and broadcast outlets. On the other hand, the quickly-changing new technology has decentralized our sources of information, offering a vast array of new ways to access news and seek entertainment.

This second goal—understanding media operations—is crucial because it lays the foundation for changing media images of gays and lesbians, people of color, and women. Once we understand the specific details of how the media operate, and how we receive and interact with technology, we will be better positioned to advocate reforms that will substantively improve how the media cover our society.

To gain this understanding, we will focus extensively on

• production values (the values and production processes that determine how media content is defined, gathered, produced, and presented);
• the economic environment of the media (e.g., advertising revenue and the concomitant values of Least Offensive Programming); and
• workforce values (the dominant workforce values and assumptions that influence media production).

We will use these criteria to examine how gays and lesbians, people of color, and women have fared in the commercial media workplace. In addition, we will look at the commercial media's genuine efforts over the past 30 years to diversify their hiring practices, existing barriers to job satisfaction, and how news and entertainment values have changed with the influx of a more diverse staff and new technologies.

Ethnic and Community Media

Third, I want you to become familiar with the incredibly rich world of ethnic and community media. I use the expression ethnic and community media to refer to media created by and for gays and lesbians, people of color, and women. Faced with a commercial media that either ignores or devalues them (through stereotypes), many people have created their own media systems to give voice to their concerns, hopes, and the creation of community. These are vibrant media, ranging from small weekly newspapers to radio shows, magazines, and Web sites. All of these media attempt to meet the needs and interests of people who are not satisfied with the mainstream commercial media.

Even with change in commercial media content, the ethnic and community media continue to serve their communities in special ways. We will examine how these ethnic and community media operate: what function they serve, how they define news, and how they define their role in their community.

A Word about How We Characterize People

While our focus in this course is on gays and lesbians, people of color, and women, it is important to remember that there is tremendous diversity within each of these groups. "People of color," for example, can refer to many different ethnicities: African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans (American Indians), Latinos, and so forth. The terms "Asian American" and "Latino" also refer to a wide diversity of ethnic groups. "Asian American," in turn, encompasses Japanese Americans, Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, and many other ethnic groups, while "Latino" is commonly used to refer to people from Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, Spain, and Central and South America. Similarly, "women" refers to a variety of experiences, based on ethnicity (European-American women, women of color) and social class.

Throughout this course, it is crucial that we examine our assumptions, stereotypes, and thinking. We cannot let ourselves assume that all gays and lesbians, all people of color, or all women are alike. Recent waves of immigrants coming to the United States from Southeast Asia (e.g., Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos) bring a huge range of vastly different historical and cultural experiences. The immigrants arriving from these countries are not all the same, nor do they share the same past. There is tremendous diversity present within the Asian immigrant communities.

For those of us who are European Americans, it is useful to think about ethnicity in terms of our own heritage. An Irish American, for instance, recognizes that his or her cultural background is very different from that of an Italian American or a German American. Here, too, there is a great deal of diversity that must be considered. The key point here is to recognize the diversity that exists within our society. We need to gain an appreciation and respect for this diversity; in particular, we need to avoid making over-generalizations about "groups." We should not assume commonality in these broad groups—that one gay or lesbian individual, one person of color, or one woman, characterizes or represents the entire group. Indeed, the assumption that all members of a group are completely alike is central to the demeaning stereotypes that pervade our society and media. While recognizing the value of diversity, and the dangers of stereotyping, has always been important, I believe that it's particularly vital to understand the messages we receive about race and gender in this post-September 11 era. As media technologies become more complex, and both domestic and international news more important to our perceptions of the world, we must think actively and critically about how news and entertainment present images of ourselves and others.

A Word about Coverage: Ethnic Invisibility

This tremendous diversity means that we will not provide equal treatment to every possible group. For some groups (e.g., Pacific Islanders), there is not much written, while for others (e.g., African Americans) much more has been written. Consequently, it is relatively easy to find examples that illustrate key points about how the media deal with African Americans. When we examine television coverage, for example, we will find that many ethnic groups (such as Latinos and Asian Americans) are nearly invisible in contemporary programming.

I have attempted to deal with the problem of ethnic invisibility in two ways:

1. First, in the assignments, I have attempted to provide some flexibility. When I ask you to examine television content to analyze key gender or ethnic portrayals, for example, you also have the option of looking at films or videos.
2. Second, throughout these online course materials, I have attempted to focus your attention on universal patterns and concepts that can be applied broadly to an understanding of media interaction with less well-known and less-studied groups and communities. I have also chosen to focus our efforts on three central communities about which the most information is available, with the intent that the you will be able to transfer your knowledge and understanding to other applicable circumstances.

What You Must Do to Succeed in This Course

To succeed in this course, you must complete all five assignments and pass the final essay examination at the end of the course. Accomplishing these six parts of the course requires you to read the online course materials, complete all of the reading assignments (including four to six issues of an ethnic/community publication), work out answers to the study questions, and give some thought to the issues discussed. Homework will account for a little over two-thirds of your course grade. The final examination accounts for the remaining third.

I hope, however, that the true measure of your success in this course will be based on how well you understand the media, and your ability to critique and offer alternative solutions to the mainstream media's coverage and content decisions.

Required Texts

The following texts are required for the successful completion of this course:

• Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Text-Reader, 2nd edition. Edited by Gail Dines and Jean M. Humez. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2002.
  
  I chose Dines and Humez's Gender, Race, and Class in Media because it will give you a broad conceptual overview of the many key issues pertaining to media, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation that we want to deal with in this course. The many short articles will urge you to think about three key components: production (who creates media images, what their values and concerns are); content/text (what are the images that appear); and audience analysis of content. The 2002 edition offers updated and expanded sections on advertising, media and violence, gay and lesbian studies, and new technology. I've found the essays informative and enjoyable to read. I hope you do, too. Please feel free to comment on the readings as you work your way through the course.
• Two Supplemental Readings, to be purchased at the time of registration. The Supplemental Readings contain nearly all of the following two issues of the Media Studies Journal. The Freedom Forum Media Studies Center, which published the Media Studies Journal, is located in New York City and is one of the leading media "think tanks" in the United States. The two issues you will be reading contain essays by some of the leading media scholars in the country.
  1. "The Media and Women Without Apology." Media Studies Journal 7 no. 1–2 (Winter/Spring 1993).
     
     I chose this Winter/Spring issue of Columbia University's Media Studies Journal for two specific reasons. First, it deals well with a wide variety of issues relating to gender and the media. Second, it specifically addresses the one major issue that Dines and Humez do not—namely, the news.
  2. "Race—America's Rawest Nerve." Media Studies Journal 8, no. 3 (Summer 1994).
     
     I chose this issue because it deals with race in the context of news gathering and reporting.
     
     Though much research has been done on gender, race, and news reporting since these two issues were published, the central themes and findings are still very relevant to journalism and diversity in the 21st century.

• The last "text" is an ethnic or community-oriented newspaper of your choice. I want you to subscribe to one ethnic/community publication for the duration of this course, as you will need to be reading regularly in this area for Assignment 5. Please start reading one of these publications as soon as possible.

These ethnic/community publications are created by and for groups that do not find the major commercial media (daily newspapers, television, and radio news shows) paying much attention to their community. I have picked this type of newspaper as a text for this class because they are extraordinarily rich examples of the communication systems created by and for people who do not see their experiences and reality reflected in the mainstream media. I want you to come away from this course with a sense of the content and function of these publications, as well as a sense of the richness and diversity of the communities they represent.

Possible Ethnic/Community Publications

In the Seattle area, some of these ethnic/community newspapers are Northwest Asian Weekly, International Examiner, Filipino-American Herald, The Facts, The Medium, The Kitsap Chronicle, and The Scanner. (These latter four are African American publications); La Voz (Latino), Seattle Gay News, and the Lesbian Resource Center's Newsletter. There are dozens of other publications in the Seattle area, just as there are many publications on a regional or national level. Some of these national publications—mostly magazines—include Ebony and Jet (African American), The Advocate and Out (lesbian, gay), Hispanic (Latino), and A Magazine (Asian American).

Finding an Ethnic/Community Publication

The Seattle-area newspapers are all in the telephone book, so you could call to arrange for a subscription. Many of these publications can be found regularly at local newsstands as well. The regional or national publications, such as Ebony, Hispanic, or The Advocate, can be found at newsstands in most cities.

If you want to look at a publication that I have not mentioned here, that is alright. But you need to let me know what it is as soon as possible so I can be sure it meets the requirements for this course. Some publications, such as Seattle's Stranger, certainly address issues of concern to some communities (in this case, the lesbian and gay community), but that paper is not by and for the community in the same way as Seattle Gay News or the Lesbian Resource Center's Newsletter.

Lesson Eight and Assignment 5 both deal with ethnic/community newspapers, so you should read those sections of these online course materials for further guidance about selecting which newspaper you want to read.

 

Using the Online Course Materials

The online course materials are an essential component to Communications/Women Studies/American Ethnic Studies 389. They are designed to assist you as a student in this course by providing you with background information, a context for the readings, and a conceptual framework for the course.

Each lesson includes a reading assignment, a list of key terms, objectives for the lesson and reading assignment, commentary or overview of the issues covered, and a list of study questions. Some of the key terms will be found in the lesson, while others will be found in the reading. They are intended to give you an idea of which concepts are important to focus on. Assignments follow immediately after the lesson.

Read the Online Course Materials before the Readings

The purpose of the online course materials is to help you in reading and thinking about the subject matter of the course. I also see them as my major link to you, so I will try to give you my best ideas and insights into media as it pertains to gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Reading the online course materials for each lesson before you tackle the reading assignment will give you a context and overview of the issues you will encounter in the readings.

Avoid Skipping Ahead

If you skip ahead without following the online course materials in sequential order, you will miss some of the basic ideas, and you may find your task much more difficult. We need to build a structure for analysis as we progress through the course material. Consequently, we will begin with some key concepts and move from there. So, please start at the beginning and continue by following the order of the lessons. I know you may get impatient to focus on some topic of particular interest, but we need to build from one lesson to the next.

Work Consistently

Set a pace you find efficient and stick to it. If you stop, for whatever reason, it may be difficult to begin again. I have found that my most productive work is done in small—almost daily—increments. I may not get a vast amount done every day, but the work tends to get done when I stick to it. Also, take note of the rules regarding course completion time limits. If you wish to complete this course by a specific time—in time for graduation, for example—please inform me on the student information sheet or by letter via the UW Distance Learning office. If you find yourself falling behind, let me know immediately. Extensions to complete the course will only be granted in the case of documented emergencies.

Carefully Follow Assignment Instructions

When you start an assignment, read the assignment's instructions twice. The second reading will help you pick up points you may have missed on first reading, and the basic ideas, concepts, and principles will be better fixed in your mind.

Lesson Overview

The following overview is intended to provide you with some general information about the lessons in these online course materials.

• Lesson One: Freedom and Privilege
  
  This lesson familiarizes you with the concept of privilege. This concept provides the basis for our understanding of inequality within our society. Your first assignment will ask you to take part in a survey and examine your knowledge about privilege in our society.
• Lesson Two: Key Issues in Media Diversity
  
  This lesson focuses on three basic concepts in the course: production values, textual analysis (image), and audience reception/media effects. These terms will play an important role in this course's analysis and discussion of diversity (or the lack thereof) in the media.
• Lesson Three: Advertising: Images and Production
  
  The purpose of this lesson is to provide an analysis of production values and media images as they are influenced by advertising. Advertising presents a large number of images to us with the clear production value of persuading consumers (that's us!) to buy the advertised product. Assignment 2 is designed to give you practice evaluating advertising images from an analytical perspective.
• Lesson Four: Pornographic Images
  
  This lesson introduces you to feminist critiques of pornographic images in the mass media. This lesson also asks you to think not only about pornographic images, but also about potential audience reception and the effect pornography may have on those who view it.
• Lesson Five: Entertainment Images
  
  This lesson introduces you to the critical analysis of entertainment images. Many entertainment images use humor, often at the expense of others, to disarm the audience's critical thinking. Assignment 3 will provide you with an opportunity to critically evaluate entertainment television and film media programming.
• Lesson Six: Race and News
  
  This lesson explores key issues regarding news and race. In particular, this lesson focuses on production practices and media images, and explains how production methods and processes influence the media's image of race in this country.
• Lesson Seven: Gender and News
  
  This lesson focuses on the production values and processes that influence the media images and portrayals of gender. Assignment 4 gives you an opportunity to apply ideas from both Lesson Six and Lesson Seven and to critically examine several of the key issues surrounding the production of news and gender. Specifically, it asks you to suggest reforms or improvements in news production practices and values that ideally would create more realistic images of gays and lesbians, people of color, and women.
• Lesson Eight: The Ethnic/Community Press
  
  This lesson explores the functions and content of media created outside of the commercial mainstream. This lesson focuses on media created by and for gays and lesbians, people of color, and women. Assignment 5 asks you to identify how one particular ethnic/community newspaper serves its community and how it differs from the commercial media (e.g., daily newspapers and television news programs).
• Lesson Nine: Preparing for the Final Examination
  
  This final lesson helps you review course material for the final examination. The lesson includes several practice examination questions as well as several model answers.

Assignments Overview

You will be expected to complete five assignments over the course of this class. Each assignment, drawing on your reading in the online course materials and textbooks, will ask you to apply the principles, critical approaches, and media skills you have learned in the previous sections. I have attempted to make the assignments practical and, where possible, give you hands-on experience with workplace problems and issues that you will encounter in the mass media industry.

While I have attempted to prepare assignments that will not require a lot of time to complete, you should be aware that the amount of time will vary from assignment to assignment. For this reason, I recommend that you review the assignment before beginning each lesson. Estimate the amount of time it will take you to complete the lesson and any assignment that might accompany it, and give yourself a deadline toward which to work.

As you work through each lesson and its readings, keep a log or notepad to write down any ideas, thoughts, or responses that arise. Having a record of your responses will not only help you complete the assignments, but will also help you personalize the issues and formulate your responses.

Guidelines for Completing Assignments

You should make sure to adhere to the following guidelines in working on your assignments for this course:

1. Closely follow the directions for each assignment. Read the instructions several times so that you know exactly what is required. If you still have questions, send me a message using e-mail or call me.
2. Illustrate key points and responses with examples from your course readings, film or television viewing, or personal experience.
3. Your papers and assignments should demonstrate your ability to think critically about the issues. While I want you to be able to refer to your reading and ideas drawn from your reading, I do not just want "bottled" answers; I expect to see evidence of your own thinking and ideas on these topics.
4. Write clearly and concisely. Proofread your assignments for typographic and spelling errors.
5. All assignments must be computer-generated. Finally, please be sure to have your name on all assignments.

Study Questions

When you have completed the readings, examine the self-study questions at the end of each lesson. I have prepared these study questions in an effort to help you focus on the key ideas and monitor your level of understanding. The study questions will also help you prepare for the final examination by providing an overview of the issues discussed throughout the course.

Spend time thinking about the questions. I recommend that you write out your answers. I know from experience how easy it is to skim through the questions and think, "Oh, I know that," when you may not know the material as well as you suppose. Writing out your responses, though it takes a little more time, will pay off in better answers and greater confidence in what you actually know.

The Final Examination

There is only one test in this course—a two-hour, closed-book, final essay examination. The study questions in each lesson are designed to help you find the key points in each reading. Lesson Nine will help you review key issues, as well as prepare you for broad questions that require you to synthesize information from the readings. Lesson Nine also contains a practice examination with sample questions and answers to help you prepare and review.

For the final essay examination, you will be asked to apply your understanding of the issues and solutions discussed throughout the course. You will be required to complete two essays out of a list of 3–5 possible topics. One essay will be a "General Knowledge" question and the other will be a "Role-Playing" question. In both essays, you will need to be able to cite authors, essays, and provide examples in support of your responses.

Preparing for the Final Examination

There are several things you can do to prepare for the final examination.

1. Take the study questions seriously. Write out your answers to these questions so you think about them carefully, and so you can refer back to them when you are getting closer to taking the final examination.
2. Review key concepts and terms emphasized throughout the course.
3. As you are nearing the time to take the final examination, look at the course organization as a whole and at each lesson. Close attention to the course structure will give you an overview or sense of the important issues in this subject area.
4. Review any notes, homework assignments, and instructor's comments that you have taken, completed, or received during the course.
5. Pay close attention to Lesson Nine. It is designed to help you organize your thinking for the final examination. Take the time to complete the practice examination, because it will provide you with a good sample of the questions you will encounter on the actual final exam.

Criteria for Course Grading

The requirements for the course and their relative weight in determining your final grade are as follows:

Your decimal grade will be based on the following standard: 95 percent = 4.0; 94 percent = 3.9; and so forth. Based on 150 possible points, here are some sample percentage points and grade-point equivalents:

About the Developer

Gerald J. Baldasty received his B.A. degree at the University of Washington, his M.A. at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and his Ph.D. at the University of Washington. He has taught in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington since 1978, and in 2002 was named chair of the department. He is also an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Women Studies.

Dr. Baldasty's research deals extensively with the media's business and news practices in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He has written a number of articles and book chapters on media history and is also the author of The Commercialization of the News in the Nineteenth Century, published by the University of Wisconsin Press in 1992, and E. W. Scripps and the Business of Newspapers, published by the University of Illinois Press in 1999. Dr. Baldasty believes that it's essential to identify and understand racial and gender stereotypes perpetuated by media. "I do not want you to accept these stereotypes; rather, I want you to be as outraged about them as I am," he says. "By identifying them, we learn the nature of the problem we confront in changing the media. By identifying them, we can sensitize others to the problem as well."

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