Gender Representation in the Media

Develop critical skills for analysing the media through a gendered lens

From Beyoncé performing in front of a lit up ‘Feminist’ sign to the #MeToo movement, feminist issues have never seemed so popular in the media. However, research still consistently highlights the under-representation of women in the media, especially amongst marginalised groups.

On this course, you’ll be introduced to key gender issues. You’ll explore female representation in areas from news to sports to feature films, and discover why equal representation still looks a long way off.

You’ll also consider what can be done to offer alternative depictions of women to the mainstream media.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: On this special extended version of the course the Educators will continue to join the discussions and respond to individual comments but less frequently; this will likely mean that they will not be able to respond to each individual comment or question. Please also note that there will not be any Live Stream sessions during this run, however links to recordings of previous sessions will be included for your benefit.

This course is designed for anyone who wants to be able to engage with media more critically, or anyone who wants to learn more about gender inequality, female media representation, media studies, feminist activism and feminist analysis.

This course is designed for anyone who wants to be able to engage with media more critically, or anyone who wants to learn more about gender inequality, female media representation, media studies, feminist activism and feminist analysis.

• Develop an understanding of key concepts for studying gender in the media, with a particular emphasis on how we understand gender in relation to other structural inequalities including race, age, sexuality and disability.
• Develop critical skills for analysing contemporary media texts through a gendered lens.
• Explore how the approaches considered in this course play out in your own regional contexts.
• Investigate how feminist and women’s organisations have worked to challenge and change mainstream media representations.