FSD Newsletter - 2002 Abstracts from ICA

The ICA conference in Seoul, Korea this year showcased many talented scholars. FSD wishes to further applaud those individuals who have worked so hard to produce such compelling and valuable research. Following are half of the abstracts of articles that were accepted by the FSD for the Korea conference. The remainder of the abstracts will be published in the Spring 2003 Issue of Feminist Con/text.

News, Children and the Public Sphere
Dr. Cynthia Carter, School of Journalism, Media, and Cultural Studies, Cardiff University, UK
To date, very little media research has focused on the gendered ways in which children deal with traumatic news events, and how such events might shape children’s perceptions of themselves in an increasingly interconnected (economically, culturally, and politically) world. This paper reports on an ongoing research project investigating this subject by examining a children’s television newscast, and by interviewing key personnel - journalists and producers - involved in its production. It also examines the ways in which children negotiate the significance of the pertinent news reports. Questions posed include: What strategies do broadcasters think are appropriate for children in representing traumatic events? What is the nature of the news and editorial practices in operation? Do boys and girls use different coping strategies to deal with shocking news stories? How do they approach controversial issues, what do they see as their own place in the world, and how do news reports shape their thoughts on citizenship?

Straddling between Progressive and Recuperative Elements: A Critical Analysis of "The First Wives Club"
Chioma Ugochukwu, School of Journalism, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
This paper uses a critical feminist approach to explore the representational strategies employed in the Hollywood film, "The First Wives’ Club." The author argues that while the film co-opts feminist strategies in its progressive goals, it also subverts feminist messages by advocating the recuperation of female characters and the reconstitution of families, even dysfunctional ones. Some of the themes inherent in the text and explored by this author include female solidarity and sabotage, restrained lesbianism, ambivalent ageism, and unattractive masculinity. Looking at these themes collectively, the author highlights ways in which the film straddles between progressive and recuperative elements in its treatment of issues of gender and sexuality.

Chinese Women’s Values, Beliefs, Attitudes Towards Sexuality and Chinese Women’s Magazine
Xiaoru Wang, Department of Communication Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
For years sexuality was promoted only for reproduction and the enhancement of the family and society in china. Sexual pleasure seeking was frowned upon, and this was particularly true for women. Recent surveys, however, show that premarital intercourse and cohabitation and irregular marriages are dramatically increasing. Whether media plays a role in these recent changes, and what role media has been playing, remains unknown. To explore these questions, this study examined scripts for sexuality in a women’s magazine "Friends" from 1985 to 2001 and conducted intensive interviews to detect media effects on young women. Content analysis found that magazine coverage on sexuality and romance has been getting more, but the editorial stance towards premarital and extramarital sexuality stays conservative and women have still been represented as agents responsible for marital fidelity. The interviews found that young women’s attitudes, beliefs and values conform to the magazine’s messages in many points.

Stung by Society and Corporate Culture: The Queen Bee Syndrome in Public Relations
Dr. Brenda J. Wrigley and Raini K. Wright, Department of Advertising, Michigan State University, USA
This essay presents a critical analysis of women managers in public relations, more specifically, the unwillingness of female managers to help other female subordinates advance, otherwise known as the Queen Bee Syndrome. This paper will: overview occupational discrimination against women, explain the Queen Bee Syndrome, discuss the negative implications of the syndrome, draw comparisons to cultural hegemony and racism, provide possible solutions to alleviate sexism in public relations, and provide suggestions for further research.

It’s important to note that this essay is not an attack on women’s advancement nor women themselves, rather it is a critical analysis of patriarchal culture - organizational structure and employee behavior - which exists in public relations and of which the Queen Bee Syndrome is a direct result.

Women in Sport Broadcasting: A Case Study of Malaysian TV
Hamisah Hasan and Latiffah Ibrahim, Communication Department, Universiti Putra Malaysia, MALAYSIA
Since the birth of broadcasting in Malaysia, women have played an important role in the development of the field. Yet today, 38 years after television was introduced, the number of women in the industry remains small. This study was conducted to examine women’s involvement in the broadcasting industry, particularly sport broadcasting. The study aims at identifying the factors affecting their involvement in the field. In-depth interviews were conducted with four female sport broadcasters currently working at the three television stations in the country. The study showed that there are seven factors affecting women’s involvement in sport broadcasting namely interest in sports, personality, opportunity, sportswoman, confidence, flexi-working hours and family. There are three factors impeding their involvement in the field - job suitability, the odd working hours and the challenge of the job.

Latina Stereotyping and New Mestiza-Womanism in Rosie Perez Films
Dr. Diana I. Rios, Department of Communication Sciences, University of Connecticut, USA
This research describes, critiques and evaluates the character traits and character types with reference to age-old Latina stereotypes and the application of a mestiza-womanist framework. Mestiza-womanism is a new feminist approach for assessing the construction of Latina images in the films of Rosie Perez. This work has concerns with the injurious distortions of Hispanic females that have continued for decades. The analytic framework and interpretive applications will assist other scholars in their assessments of twenty-first century Latina images and the images of women of color in film, television and other forms of mediated communication.

Boys Don’t Cry: Cartooning and Gender-Based Stereotypes in the Aftermath of Sept. 11
Vincent F. Filak and Scott Abel, University of Missouri - Columbia, USA
Feminist theory posits that patriarchal cultures have placed men and women into specific gender roles, often using these roles to subjugate women to men. While women are deemed emotional, passive and weak, men are cast in roles of strength, authority and power. An analysis of 142 cartoons (n=142) drawn in the three weeks following the Sept. 11 terrorist attack shows that gender-based symbols of the United States are cast into these roles. Lady Liberty is more often portrayed as grieving, fearful or a victim, while Uncle Sam is more often portrayed as vengeful, aggressive and stalwart. Implications regarding gender bias and stereotypes are discussed.

Femme Fatale in Films: A comparative study of "Basic Instinct" and "Tell Me Something"
Ji-young Jung, Hee-jung Lee, Jae-jin Lee, and Song-hee Park, Department of Mass Communication, Ewha Woman’s University, Seoul, KOREA
This paper started with a great volition to have a new perspective of Femme Fatales in movies, especially women in film noir. The typical and most representative role of women in these films had attractive visages and voluptuous bodies to entice male characters. By movie custom, audiences see the Femme Fatale through men’s eyes and evaluate them according to men’s values. However, in the 1990s, Feminist studies approached this area of inquiry by re-interpreting the new image of the Femme Fatale. Analyzing the main story structure, character, dialog, camera moves and scenes of a Hollywood movie "Basic Instinct" and a Korean movie "Tell Me Something," both released during the 1990s, we discovered the subjective side and the active side of the Femme Fatale. We found that sirens in these films were more professional and had a higher social status than women in older film noir. In addition, women in these films were not punished. Our research also suggested that women in recent film noir were the main subject of the movie and played an active role. We hope that this paper will contribute to the field of Feminist studies, helping them make a better systematic analysis of women not only in film noir, but also of all women characters in other films.

Cultural Difference of Male Dominance in Television Shows: An analysis of interactions between male and female show hosts on Japanese and Korean television
Dr. Joohan Kim and Yoo-Sun Hwang, Department of Communication, Yonsie University, Seoul, KOREA
The purpose of this study is two-fold: one is to find degrees and patterns of male dominance in television shows, particularly in the relationship between male and female hosts; the other is to see whether and how much male dominance differs from one culture to another. To test our hypotheses, we collected more than 400 television programs from Korea and Japan, and analyzed the introductory segments (two to four minutes) of each program. The results generally supported our hypothesis: male television hosts dominated the shows in both Korea and Japan, but the degrees and the types of dominance were different between the two countries. Generally, male hosts dominate the shows by delivering opening remarks more frequently, introducing main topics, taking the left side of the television screen, spontaneously speaking to their female partners, and talking longer, while female hosts more frequently show compliance by repeating and nodding to their male partners’ comments. We found that male dominance was stronger and clearer in Japanese programs.