2. Men
Representations of males in the media primarily focus around:
Strength – physical and intellectual
Power
Sexual attractiveness
Physique
Independence
The main masculine genres in television dramas revolve around the following:
Dominant males
Masculine ‘action’
Lack of emotion
Serious storylines
Romance controlled
Male heroes
Sole characters
Male characters are often perceived to be isolated and not to rely on others – this foreshadows the key
representation of strength and perhaps enforces their power over females. In television drama’s, men that are
presented to be apart of a family are conveyed to be a part of the narrative rather than the main focal point of the
show.
As the media has continued to develop, the representations of men have changed. Tradition representations convey
males to be very manly and powerful, for example characters like James Bond and TV programmes such as Magnum
and Stark sky and Hutch. Modern representations show men to be more feminine as they portrayed to take more
pride in their appearance and show their emotions.
3. Women
Representations of women in the media tend to highlight the following:
Beauty
Size/ physique
Sexuality
Emotional
Relationships
Women are usually portrayed in TV drama to play the ‘second hand’ role rather than the main,
dominant acting role. Women are typically depicted to be part of the context –family, friends and
colleagues of the main act. On the other hand, in some dramas such as ‘Sex in the city’ women are in
control of the drama. However, men are still represented to be the main role in specific drama’s with
the average of being displayed three times as more than women.
The representation of beauty and looks plays an important role in the overall representation of women
as they are made up to look appealing/attractive to the audience of the television drama.
