By: Jeiny Ruiz
Process-oriented engineer with a Certificate in Public Relations, and Researcher at the Canadian Association for Equality
Context, circumstances, environment, situation. If you pay attention to what media outlets say, you would probably have noticed that over the past decade or so these words have appeared increasingly frequently. Additionally, the influence of women’s rights movements has become very prominent over the past several years. You may wonder how the two previous statements relate to each other. Quite simply, the influence of extreme feminism is a fact in the so-called first-world countries and, in the majority of these countries, capitalism is the dominant and accepted economic system that makes the world turn. As a result, the media sells whatever it needs to sell, or whatever is in vogue at the time in order attract an audience and money. It is beyond doubt that there are many places in this world where women’s rights are neglected, and a girl’s birth is viewed as a source of bad luck and shame for the family. But not here, not in Canada, not in our great O, Canada!
The Canadian Association for Equality (CAFE) recently conducted a study which compared the way in which the media, specifically The Globe and Mail, portrayed gender in its reporting of violent events during a period of almost three decades (1990 vs 2018) (1). The purpose of this research was to explore gender-specific language in the discussion of violent victimization and acts of violent victimization in Canadian society.
The study showed that, during 1990s, there was a clear bias towards discussion, or mention, of female victimization. During 2018, however, a significant proportion of articles which were reviewed were gender-neutral. Still, though, depictions of violence, as in cartoons, showed a strong association of violence perpetration with males, and violent victimization with females. Additionally, stories in which the perpetrator of a violent act was male tended to receive significant prominence.
Also, there has been a factual, objective transformation in describing violent acts in news stories, even if not in other representations. That is good news, and it is worthy of being recognized and celebrated.
However, this comparison has been based on what was probably one of the most significant gender-related topics for several decades. Other current, popular, and discussed first-world issues include such topics as the income gap, professional representation, and opportunities to climb the corporate ladder.
Therefore, CAFE decided to review a sample of Canadian-print media – the CBC news, the Toronto Star and the Huffington Post – to identify gender-bias indicators of any sort in our more contemporary situation (2).
Findings from the second phase of CAFE’s study were as follows:
- Women were described much more sympathetically than were men.
- Headlines that described women engaging in illegal or socially unacceptable behaviour were very fact-based and straight to the point, while men who engaged in similar behaviour tended to be described in far more negative and antagonistic terms.
- Articles that referred to female empowerment were very prominent.
Therefore, findings of this study suggest the existence of gender bias in print media in Canada. The ease with which our media outlets publish such reports, and the apparent comfort with which the public reads and accepts those reports, should give us pause to think about what this means for the development of our society and daily life. We have already seen it influence criminal law in Canada (3,4), and its influence may also be seen in other fields such as family law (5). We should encourage everyone who is concerned about the future of our society to become more aware of gender bias in media. A better-informed public would lead to a more inclusive and caring society.
References
- Ruiz J. and Alvarez A.(2018). Media Bias: A Study on Gender-Specific Approaches to Reported Violent Acts. Retrieved from https://equalitycanada.com/media bias report/
- Ruiz, J. and Kyriakakis, T. (2019). Gender Bias in the Huffington Post, Toronto Star and CBC. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LcKVfLCVkWi8wEN 4xGZ3592Vw85x9CS/edit#heading=h.gjdgxs
- Michael Spratt, “The Ghomeshi rules: Bill C-51 creates unprecedented case of reverse disclosure,” Canadian Lawyer Magazine, June 19, 2017, accessed March 2, 2020, https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/news/opinion/the-ghomeshi-rules-bill-c-51-creates-unprecedented-case-of-reverse-disclosure/270519.
- “Trial and Error,” Canadian Bar Association National, September 3, 2019, accessed March 2, 2020, https://www.nationalmagazine.ca/en-ca/articles/law/hot-topics-in-law/2019/trial-and-error.
- Gene C. Colman, “Gender Bias in the Family Courts of Canada: Fact or Fantasy?” Presentation to Fathers Are Capable Too ( F.A.C.T.), Tuesday, March 16, 1999, accessed March 2, 2020, https://www.complexfamilylaw.com/Featured-Articles/Gender-Bias-in-the-Family-Courts-of-Canada-Fact-or-Fantasy.shtml.
Gender Bias in Canadian Media: An Objective, Equality-Driven Perspective.
By: Jeiny Ruiz
Process-oriented engineer with a Certificate in Public Relations, and Researcher at the Canadian Association for Equality
Context, circumstances, environment, situation. If you pay attention to what media outlets say, you would probably have noticed that over the past decade or so these words have appeared increasingly frequently. Additionally, the influence of women’s rights movements has become very prominent over the past several years. You may wonder how the two previous statements relate to each other. Quite simply, the influence of extreme feminism is a fact in the so-called first-world countries and, in the majority of these countries, capitalism is the dominant and accepted economic system that makes the world turn. As a result, the media sells whatever it needs to sell, or whatever is in vogue at the time in order attract an audience and money. It is beyond doubt that there are many places in this world where women’s rights are neglected, and a girl’s birth is viewed as a source of bad luck and shame for the family. But not here, not in Canada, not in our great O, Canada!
The Canadian Association for Equality (CAFE) recently conducted a study which compared the way in which the media, specifically The Globe and Mail, portrayed gender in its reporting of violent events during a period of almost three decades (1990 vs 2018) (1). The purpose of this research was to explore gender-specific language in the discussion of violent victimization and acts of violent victimization in Canadian society.
The study showed that, during 1990s, there was a clear bias towards discussion, or mention, of female victimization. During 2018, however, a significant proportion of articles which were reviewed were gender-neutral. Still, though, depictions of violence, as in cartoons, showed a strong association of violence perpetration with males, and violent victimization with females. Additionally, stories in which the perpetrator of a violent act was male tended to receive significant prominence.
Also, there has been a factual, objective transformation in describing violent acts in news stories, even if not in other representations. That is good news, and it is worthy of being recognized and celebrated.
However, this comparison has been based on what was probably one of the most significant gender-related topics for several decades. Other current, popular, and discussed first-world issues include such topics as the income gap, professional representation, and opportunities to climb the corporate ladder.
Therefore, CAFE decided to review a sample of Canadian-print media – the CBC news, the Toronto Star and the Huffington Post – to identify gender-bias indicators of any sort in our more contemporary situation (2).
Findings from the second phase of CAFE’s study were as follows:
Therefore, findings of this study suggest the existence of gender bias in print media in Canada. The ease with which our media outlets publish such reports, and the apparent comfort with which the public reads and accepts those reports, should give us pause to think about what this means for the development of our society and daily life. We have already seen it influence criminal law in Canada (3,4), and its influence may also be seen in other fields such as family law (5). We should encourage everyone who is concerned about the future of our society to become more aware of gender bias in media. A better-informed public would lead to a more inclusive and caring society.
References