Advertising and popular media have an influence on our perception of masculine and feminine gender definitions.  Sociology  has applied the scientific method to the study of gender and media analysis is one area that has been insightful in understanding the perpetuation of gender stereotypes.  This is the approach you will use in doing this paper.

Write a paper (3-5 pages) about images of men and /or women in which you analyze the presentations of men and/or women in the media. You will be shown two films in class: Killing Us Softly and Dreamworld which will present analyses of these media sources to help you with this assignment.

This assignment has two parts:

1) Develop an hypothesis of what you expect to find in the media presentations.

The hypothesis must be turned in for approval by the third week of class (January 21, 1999).  If your hypothesis is not previously approved, your paper will not be accepted.  Your approved hypothesis statement with my initials will be stapled to your paper.
Identify and define each of the concepts in your hypothesis.  Then indicate which kinds of information you will collect to operationalize the concept.

2) Analyze the data which you collected in terms of your hypothesis.

The data collection process must relate to the hypothesis and you must include a section in your paper where you discuss how you chose which items you would consider for your data.

Discuss the definition of positive and negative images and explain why you see some images as positive and some as negative. Do not write only about the images you collected. Write about the definitions of male and female and your hypothesis. You will have two options for data to complete this assignment:

Option 1 is to analyse the presentation of adult women and/or men in the media.

Option 2 is to analyse the presentation of male and female in programs aimed at children.

The paper you turn in must have the following sections clearly indicated:

    A.  Hypothesis. (state it here)
    B.  Concept definitions. each concept in your hypothesis defined.
    C.  Data collection.  where you collected your data and why you chose that source.
    D.  Results.  Was your hypothesis supported or unsupported by your data, demonstrate.
    E.  Discussion. of the research process and what you learned from your data.

Contact me if you have any questions: bmori@oboe.calpoly.edu

Return to Soc 311.