Mexico. The qualitative study on the inclusion and representation of male audiences in audiovisual media and content and the Qualitative Study on gender inclusion and representation in audiovisual media and content, from the perspective of girls and boys, was presented by the Federal Institute of Telecommunications, IFT.
Regarding the analysis focused on male audiences, the purpose is to know how and why men approach the different media, in what context they receive the messages and what use they give to them in their daily lives.
Meanwhile, as a result of the follow-up given by the IFT this year to the audiovisual reception studies, a new qualitative study was carried out on the inclusion and representation of gender in audiovisual media and content, from the perspective of girls and boys, where gender configuration is prioritized from conception, realization and analysis of results of the same. Its objective is to know the different models of appropriation of content and the role they play in the construction and reproduction of gender roles in this group.
The set of results and findings of qualitative efforts allow us to have a comprehensive vision of the current situation of audiences and their representation in the media, based on the gender perspective.
Among the main findings of the Qualitative Study on gender inclusion and representation in media and audiovisual content, from the perspective of girls and boys are:
- They spend more than 4 hours watching audiovisual content in front of various screens.
- Preschool children are the group of children where the consumption of content on television is more in line with their age because parents remain attentive to what their children see; so cartoons, animated series and children's movies are the usual.
- At this stage, infants are more flexible, they do not yet have gender prejudices.
- The contents present characters that iconographically are girls (pinks) and boys (blues), but have non-stereotyped attitudinal and emotional characteristics. For example, bravery and kindness are represented by both female and male characters.
- Although dad or mom set a limit, such as "they can only see it if they are accompanied" or that there is an explicit prohibition to consume certain content, minors claim that "they see it secretly" or "secretly".
- It was also detected a consumption from gender that adults assume "natural" and do not question, because they believe that it is "normal" that girls are more interested in fashion, paint their nails, and boys in action games and competition.
- The guide of dad and mom in terms of the choice of content is decisive, since from their conception of the feminine and the masculine, they guide girls to the pink world of princesses and boys are taken to the world of superheroes.
- However, among preschoolers the consumption of other formats such as series, telenovelas, unitary dramatized and contest programs, shows a great influence of the adults with whom they live or of the older siblings.
- The entrance to primary school marks an important change in the lives of girls and boys. Peer interaction begins to be segmented from gender; the games are divided by the interaction proposed by the teachers.
- At this age, girls who like superheroes and boys who express their taste for a princess begin to be questioned.
- Although the consumption of content at this age retains a certain similarity with the preschool stage, that is, they have fantasy components, girls and boys begin to look for programs that talk about physical abilities, stories that develop in "real" environments, more everyday, where strong gender stereotypes are appreciated.
- Among the students of first and second grade there is greater diversity in the contents that are consumed unlike preschoolers, access to the tablet or cell phone increases and the supervision of parents begins to decline, because they assume that their children already know the rules and respect them.
- Tweens in fifth and sixth grade are consuming a lot of content that does not seem to be designed for their age, however, for the most part, parents do not realize what they see on the Internet and, when they live around some medium, they promote adult content.
- To carry out the Qualitative Study on Gender Inclusion and Representation in Media and Audiovisual Content, from the perspective of children, 28 focus groups were carried out with 168 infants, 18 focus groups with 144 mothers and fathers, 20 observations directed with 80 family members, 24 interviews with teachers, in 12 entities of the Mexican Republic, between April 11 and May 11, 2018.
On the other hand, the main findings of the Qualitative Study on the Inclusion and Representation of Male Audiences in Media and Audiovisual Content are:
- Among the men participating in the 64 focus groups and 16 targeted observations, the indication of media consumption through the Internet and, secondly, pay-TV channels was predominant.
- Radio was mainly mentioned as a medium whose contents are consumed while performing other activities, such as transportation or while working; in this medium the news, sports and musical contents stood out.
- The consumption of free-to-air television was initially rejected in most of the groups carried out, however, it was evident that most of the participants in the eight cities where focus groups and observations were made watched more open television and knew more current content of this medium than they initially accepted.
- Men easily identify expressions in the media of violence and gender discrimination against women, especially those linked to the sexualization and objectification of their bodies, however, they justify them from the consideration that it is what "sells" because they recognize that this is what they like to see.
- They do not easily recognize violence or discrimination in the media against them on the basis of gender. The most widely recognized expressions are for reasons of race, class, disability status and sexual orientation.
- It is possible to identify in a preliminary way that there are certain incipient openings around gender that the media are promoting, such as: coexistence with homosexuality, a certain gender discourse or a change of roles. However, contradictions or resistance are perceived, both in the contents of the media and in male audiences.
- Prior to the realization of these two studies, in March 2017, within the framework of International Women's Day, the IFT presented the results of the "Qualitative Study on gender inclusion and representation in Media and Audiovisual Content", prepared in order to understand the dynamics of female audiences with radio and television media and content, and to study the elements that reduce the gender gap through the participation of women in the direction, management and media production.
It should be noted that, since joining UN Women's HeForShe campaign in November 2016, the IFT committed to a series of actions in support of public policies on gender equality and non-discrimination of girls and women from the perspective of telecommunications and broadcasting.
These commitments include, among others, the preparation of studies and research on this subject in the media, in order to generate information that allows detecting the aspects that require greater attention and action to integrate the gender perspective.
Both studies can be found by clicking here.
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