Feminization of Media Content

Abstract

The term “feminization” tends to be used in communication studies in two basic ways. On the one hand, it describes any increases in the proportion of women working in a particular media profession. On the other, it refers to a process in which communication norms, values, and behaviors coded as “masculine” are becoming gradually modified, if not replaced, by others associated with the “feminine.” Some communication researchers use the notion of feminization to refer, for example, not only to increases in the number of women working in particular media but also to what they regard as a trend toward media organizations gradually acquiring a “feminine image,” i.e., undergoing a shift toward norms and values coded as feminine, with their attendant lower professional status (→ Femininity and Feminine Values; Gender and Journalism).

Where are the missing girls? Gender inequality, job precarity, and journalism students’ career choices in China

“…The "feminization of journalism" has been a global trend since the 1980s (Dorer, 2008). The term has been used to refer to the increase in the number of women working in this profession (e.g., North, 2009North, , 2016Van Zoonen, 1998).…”

“…It has been speculated that women’s increasing participation in journalism could help create gender-neutral newsrooms, challenge sexism in the mainstream media, and promote more humanized and diverse news-reporting styles (Franks, 2013; Van Zoonen, 1998). The hard truth, however, is that gender-based segregation and discrimination remain in the industry: female journalists are more likely to work on less prestigious news beats, they earn less than men, and they rarely rise to the top of the profession (Dorer, 2008). For example, female journalists work more on soft news topics, such as culture and entertainment, while male journalists are stereotypically believed to be more rational and therefore more suitable for covering politics and economics (Liao and Lee, 2014; North, 2016).…”