Fellows from the Center on Communication Leadership and Policy (CCLP) have co-authored an essay in a report released today by award-winning broadcast journalist and author Maria Shriver (pictured, above left). Shriver is working in partnership with CCLP and the Center for American Progress on an ambitious research project examining how women's changing roles are affecting government, businesses, faith communities and the media.
Findings are being released in The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything (http://www.awomansnation.com). It “outlines how these institutions rely on outdated models of who works and who cares for our families, and examines how all these parts of the culture have responded to one of the greatest social transformations of our time.”
The Shriver Report features the essay Sexy Socialization: Today’s media and the next generation of women, authore
“Whether looking at animated films approved for general audiences, R-rated blockbusters, or innovative video games, girls and women often appear as eye candy,” they write. “These ever-present idealized portrayals may be inescapable for female viewers, whether they are 8 or 18 years of age. Of equal concern is what boys and young men might be learning about girls and women and how to relate to them. All this will inform the future workplaces of America.”
The impact of these portrayals may affect girls’ “perceptions of self-worth,” “thoughts and feelings about their bodies” and how they “construct their identities virtually in the public sphere.”
The CCLP fellows identify possible ways to address these issues. They write “The main hope lies on females working behind the scenes across media platforms in production, distribution, and exhibition. Research demonstrates that when women direct films, write/produce TV shows, or even cover the news, the way in which females are presented changes dramatically.”
A Woman’s Nation will share its findings with the nation, Congress and President Barack Obama, who signed an Executive Order earlier this year to establish a Council to coordinate the federal government's efforts to address the needs of women and girls.
"For the first time in our nation's history, women represent half of all workers and are becoming the primary breadwinners in more families than ever before," Kennard said. "The shift is generating a transformation in the American family and this report outlines the changes and the impact and potential impact on society."
"Despite these shifts, our essay in The Shriver Report substantiates that the media still often overlook portrayals of girls and women," Smith said. "Females appear less frequently than males across many media outlets, and are routinely shown in a hypersexualized light."
“We are delighted to have joined with Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress on this project which is providing an important examination of the status of American women as we move into the 21st century,” said Geoffrey Cowan, USC University Professor and director of the Center on Communication Leadership and Policy whose parents, Lou and Polly Cowan, participated in the development of the 1963 Shriver Report produced by Sargent Shriver for the Kennedy administration. “The exceptional work done by our research team will help illuminate and perhaps lead to systemic changes in one important area: the ways in which the media is influencing the lives of girls and women.”
About the Center on Communication Leadership and Policy
Based at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, the Center on Communication Leadership and Policy (www.communicationleadership.org) conducts research and organizes courses, programs, seminars and symposia for scholars, students, policymakers and working professionals to prepare future leaders in journalism, communication and other related fields. CCLP focuses its activities in two areas: The Role of Media in a Democracy and Communication Leadership. Current projects include Public Policy and the Future of News; New Models for News; The Constitution and the Press; Media and Political Discourse; Children’s Media and Ethics; Women and Communication Leadership; and Photographic Empowerment.
CCLP essay published in Shriver Report reveals gender bias in media
October 15, 2009
Updated November 18, 2016 5:38 p.m.
