Essay Proposal Post

So it is - we have to post our carefully tailored question and brief essay summary on our blog. Obviously its lacking the five annotated sources, but I'll get to it soon enough. What bum sits at the uni library at 8PM at night to blog? *twiddles thumbs*

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To what extent can ideas concerning gender and sexuality dictate or contribute to media coverage of news and current affairs? How can, if at all, the media impact upon the issue of gender and sexuality in regards to on equality and fairness?

The issue concerning the interconnectivity of gender and sexuality is universal in that it may affect the outcome of not only what can be regarded as news and current affairs, but also the way in which these stories are covered. In my essay, I will attempt to explore how news stories, depending on their medium, are affected by such concepts. I will be discussing how gender and sexuality may affect ideas of equality and fairness in the representation of particular elements of a news story.

Gender encompasses a variety of concepts, in particular stereotypes. By referring to Bascow’s text, I will be able to assess a general definition of the gender stereotype and how it can affect social attitudes and values. This will lead into Flanders view that women are generally a minority when it comes to the media, an issue that panders comfortably with my debate.

Sexuality is an important issue in that it has come to cater towards the ways in which media reaches it audience. I will be referring to the idea of the media using sexuality and sex in general in marketing their publications and programs toward a desired audience. By doing so, I will be using various websites as well as television programs local as well as international publications to assess the role of sexuality in not only a news story but the media as a market.

In discussing equality and fairness, I will be referring to its various definitions as well as the sensitive flaws in the accuracy of reporting in regards to gender and sexuality. The social attitudes toward gender and sexuality will also be discussed in relation to this topic as well as how the media’s coverage of various issues can similarly dictate views on these issues.