From “Women and Media” to “Gender and Media”: Reviewing the Development of Media Studies through Online “Flame Wars”

Abstract

The growth of social media has brought about an increase in so-called “flame wars” wherein people lodge protests against gender bias in media expression from feminist perspectives. The protests are widely circulated online, ending up as a “flaming” incident. This paper reviews the development in media studies, from “women and media” studies of the 1980s which mainly focused on biased depictions of women in mass media to “gender and media” studies prevalent today, thereby demonstrating current issues surrounding online “flame wars”.

One of the characteristics of modern “gender and media” type of studies is that the focus is placed not only on the process through which media constructs the categories of “man” and “woman” but also on the diversity within these categories or intersectionality between gender and other categories （e.g., ethnicity, class, sexuality, disability）. Among the various categories, this paper especially looks at sexual and gender minorities to discuss the importance of incorporating queer studies’ perspectives.

As criticism towards gender biases in media expression continue to spread online and bring about frequent “flame wars”, studies that explore the issues arising from online communication as well as the potentials of such communication are necessary than ever before.