“Evidence” of gender divide
Many gender-related news reports in Australian newspapers seem to derive from studies undertaken to compare and contrast gender characteristics. Most of these types of articles seem to perpetuate the attitude that men and women have different gender-related personality traits and behaviours, highlighting various natural divisions between the sexes.
One such gender-based article, recently published in SMH, was titled Evidence of online sexual divide. It begins with an old cliche - “that men are loath to ask for directions” and states that this cliche “is borne out by facts - on the internet, at least.”
It states that a recent US study found that American men and women use the interent very differently, and for different purposes - while “men probe deeper into the web’s hidden depths and use it for entertainment, women are much more likely to go online for practical purposes and to talk to friends.”
Apparently, men are more likely than women to check weather forecasts, read news, find diy info, track sports scores, look for financial information, research jobs, listen to music, and download software.
Women use the internet more to communicate with others, to seek health and medical support, and to look for religious consolation.
It presents findings that support preconceived stereotypes about gender differences - that more women use the internet to look at maps or to seek directions, and that more men visit adult websites. Hardly surprising…
The exact same article was also published on the News.com.au site, although titled slightly differently - Study probes online gender divide.
And surprisingly, the same article (excluding a bit of additional info at the end), was published in the same paper the very next day, but titled differently - Net difference between the sexes goes all the way down the line. However, this time it was printed in the Technology section of the paper.
Since these articles are the same, it can be assumed the information has not only been sourced from press releases - it’s basically a direct copy of a press release. The byline on all three articles does read ‘Agence France-Presse’. I often read similar articles to this one - facts regarding gender characteristics, derived from studies, and the reports are always similar in terms of the facts and details they present, as well as the style they’re reported in - that is if they’re not exactly the same, as in this one. I’m surprised that they don’t take any time to go out and do some additional journalistic research, even if only to make the information more relevant to an Australian audience…obviously these Ozzie papers wouldn’t be reporting such info if they didn’t think American trends reflect Australian trends. You’d think that if they think the issue’s important enough to print the article, it’d be worth their while to do some extra research and create a more comprehensive report, rather than relying on the press release.
And I guess these types of observations imply that these studies supply evidence for broader gender differences, eg. females’ usage of the internet reflects broader behavioural patterns of females. They perpetuate an oversimplified gender divide, as journalists play a role in “affirming and maintaining the social order” (Barkin, 1984).
HI
is this a reflection of the lack of depth that Australian news gives to gender issues? ie to reprint a press release twice (apparently) without offering any local insight or research on the topic.
I must admit I find most discussions of gender divisions in the media to be over simple & dubious- although relevant - it’s near impossible to be accurate without alienating someone along the line! Of course contention is the order of the day when you’re talking about one of the more important issues of modern sociology or psychology; how we define ourselves & how we should define others, or what is NORMAL behaviour for the category you have been allocated THIS WEEK in YOUR socio-economic enclave/tax bracket/suburb according to your peer group/local member/government think-tank/television commercial…
Comment by sancezsancez — January 9, 2006 @ 5:28 am
Hey sancez,
I agree, I definitely think this reproduction of press releases reflects a lack of deep attention payed to gender issues, not only in news and the media, but also in social and political spheres. It’s slack not to do any additional research, especially for a local perspective, and it demonstrates that our society usually only seeks a superficial understanding of gender issues - despite the fact that they affect everybody’s daily lives.
And it’s true, discussions of gender divisions in the media tend to be oversimplified- it is impossible to offer a accurate “facts” about gender characterstics/relations, when there are so many other factors to take into account, eg. personalities, social class, occupation, career etc…
And I think reports that do try to simplify matters by presenting generalised facts only maintain and perpetuate any gender divisions & inequalities - as you said, to influence us to keep defining ourselves & others, according to what is normal behaviour for the category you’ve been allocated. It seems like such a modernist approach- to rely on scientific method and evidence for research and to present these facts without questioning them as if they are “truth”.
Comment by Administrator — January 10, 2006 @ 11:18 pm