Representation of women in electronic visual media: Bangladeshi context

Abstract

Stereotyping based on gender is a very common phenomenon around the world since early days of civilization. Physical difference might be the basic reason of male-female division, but the distinction evolved into an ideological one that established a misogynistic tradition of putting women as nurses for men. Seeing women only in terms of their body also emerged in visual media as the division was already established as form of culture. Bangladesh is not an exception in viewing women in similar ways in the media. Electronic form of popular visual media projected women in a traditional way in which women are represented as objects rather than an individual. Though women are coming out of traditional roles and working equal or more than men but visual media is encouraging women to follow male dominated culture. Women are shown based on their body and traditional gender image in popular media while women are also consuming such representation as fact. This paper aims to look for such representation in the contemporary visual media that do not encourage women in intellectual practice, rather make them agents for men.