Hunter, Catherine Wood (2005-04)
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis focuses on the representation of women in media aimed at women. A critical examination of visual communication (magazines, advertising and visual story-telling1) will demonstrate that the media may be regarded as highly influential in the way women perceive their bodies, reproduction and sexuality. I begin by examining the presentation of the ‘ideal’ woman as an instance of the Pygmalion complex. This reading of the media’s formulation of the female ideal aims to demonstrate the psychological effects of the Pygmalion complex on women, and illustrates how the resultant striving for perfection drives production and consumption. I shall demonstrate how the image of the ‘ideal’ woman is increasingly more sophisticated and convincingly portrayed through the use of digital manipulation, plastic surgery, excessive dieting and exercise regimes. I propose that the average woman is left feeling inadequate and is undermined by the voice of her own cultural representation. This thesis also investigates the persistence of the virgin / whore binary in the media’s depiction of female sexuality. I propose that this is an essentialist and dualistic presentation of female sexuality as either ‘good’ (surrendered, submissive and conforming – i.e. the virgin); or ‘bad’ (transgressive, explicit, dangerous and destructive – i.e. the whore). I further suggest that this polarised appropriation of women’s sexuality deprives women of ownership of their own sexuality. I also propose that the media’s treatment of female sexuality presents women as being in competition within one another for male attention and approval and that this representation damages female solidarity. Finally I demonstrate that pornography has infiltrated all aspects of popular culture, from magazines to music videos. My hypothesis is that this use of pornographic conventions depicts the rape and abuse of women as normative, commonplace and even entertaining, and that this has a detrimental effect on both women’s and men’s sexual and social wellbeing.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis is gerig op hoe vroue in die media wat op vroue gerig is, verbeeld word. 'n Kritiese ondersoek van visuele kommunikasie (in tydskrifte, reklame en visuele verhaling2) sal toon hoe die media as uiters invloedryk beskou kan word ten opsigte van hoe vroue hul eie liggame, voortplanting en seksualiteit beskou. Ek begin deur die voorstelling van die 'ideale' vrou as 'n voorbeeld van die Pygmalionkompleks te ondersoek. Hierdie beskouing van die media se formulering van die ideaal van vrouwees is daarop gerig om die sielkundige effek van die Pygmalion-kompleks op vroue te demonstreer en illustreer hoe produksie en verbruik deur die strewe na perfeksie wat as gevolg van hierdie formulering ontstaan, aangedryf word. Ek sal toon hoe die beeld van die 'ideale' vrou, as meer en meer gesofistikeerd, oortuigend weergegee word deur middel van digitale manipulasie, plastiese snykunde, oormatige volg van diëte en oefenprogramme. Ek voer aan dat die gemiddelde vrou hierdeur met die gevoel gelaat word dat sy tekortskiet en ondermyn word deur die boodskap van die publikasies wat haar eie kulturele beeld verwoord. Hierdie tesis ondersoek ook die volhardendheid van die tweeledige voorstelling van vroulike seksualiteit in die beelding van maagd en hoer wat in die media aangebied word. Ek voer aan dat dit 'n wesenlike en dualistiese voorstelling van vroulike seksualiteit as óf 'goed' (uitgelewer, gedwee en konformerend – d.w.s. die maagd), óf 'sleg' (oortredend/sondig, eksplisiet, gevaarlik en vernietigend – d.w.s. die hoer) is. Ek stel verder voor dat hierdie gepolariseerde toe-eiening van die vrou se seksualiteit vrouens van eienaarskap van hul eie seksualiteit ontneem. Ek stel ook voor dat die voorstelling van die vrou se seksualiteit soos dit in die media aangebied word, suggereer dat vrouens ter wille van die aandag van 'n man en om goedkeuring te wen met mekaar kompeteer en dat hierdie voorstelling skade doen aan die gevoel van solidariteit tussen vroue. Ten slotte demonstreer ek hoe pornografie reeds alle aspekte van die populêre kultuur vanaf tydskrifte tot musiekvideos binnegedring het. My hipotese is dat hierdie gebruik van pornografiese konvensies die verkragting en mishandeling van vroue as normatief, alledaags en selfs vermaaklik uitbeeld en dat dit 'n nadelige effek het op die seksuele en die sosiale welsyn van mans sowel as vroue.
Please refer to this item in SUNScholar by using the following persistent URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/21213
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