аналитика - Literature analysis, gender studies - # Female objectification in novels

Quantifying Female Objectification in 19th and 20th Century Novels

Q: What factors beyond author and narrator gender might influence the presence and degree of female objectification in novels?

Beyond the gender of the author and narrator, several other factors may influence the presence and degree of female objectification in novels: Historical and Cultural Context: The time period and cultural milieu in which a novel is written can shape the societal attitudes and norms reflected in the text. Novels from more patriarchal or misogynistic eras may be more likely to exhibit higher levels of female objectification. Genre and Narrative Conventions: Certain literary genres, such as romance or erotica, may be more prone to objectifying female characters due to their narrative conventions and tropes. Genres that typically feature male protagonists, such as adventure or crime fiction, may also be more likely to exhibit agency bias. Intended Audience: Novels written for a predominantly male readership may be more likely to cater to the "male gaze" and objectify female characters, whereas novels targeting a female audience may be less likely to do so. Authorial Intention and Perspective: Even within the same gender, individual authors may have varying degrees of awareness and sensitivity regarding gender representation and objectification. Some authors may intentionally subvert or critique objectification, while others may unwittingly perpetuate it. Character Roles and Archetypes: The specific roles and archetypes assigned to female characters (e.g., love interest, femme fatale, mother, etc.) can influence the extent to which they are objectified or granted agency within the narrative. Intersectionality: The intersection of gender with other identity factors, such as race, class, or sexuality, may further shape the representation and objectification of female characters in novels. By considering these additional factors, researchers can gain a more nuanced understanding of the complex dynamics that contribute to the presence and degree of female objectification in literary works.

Q: How do the findings of this study compare to the representation of gender in other forms of media, such as film, television, or social media?

The findings of this study on female objectification in novels are broadly consistent with the patterns observed in other media forms: Film and Television: Similar to the male-gaze perspective found in many novels, research has shown that female characters in films and television programs are often depicted as objects of visual pleasure, with a disproportionate focus on their physical appearance and sexuality rather than their agency and subjectivity (Agarwal et al., 2015; Singh et al., 2023). Social Media: Studies on gender representation in social media platforms, such as Twitter and internet memes, have also documented the prevalence of objectifying and misogynistic language and imagery directed at women (Anzovino et al., 2018; Fersini et al., 2022). Consistency Across Media: The consistent findings across different media forms suggest that the objectification of women is a pervasive cultural phenomenon, rooted in patriarchal norms and power structures that transcend specific artistic or technological mediums. Potential for Intersectionality: As with the novel study, the representation of gender in other media may be further shaped by intersections with other identity factors, such as race, class, and sexuality, leading to compounded forms of marginalization and objectification. The similarities in the findings across media types underscore the need for a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary approach to addressing gender bias and promoting more equitable and empowering representations of women and other marginalized genders in cultural production.

Основные понятия

Novels written from a male perspective systematically objectify female characters, while novels written from a female perspective do not exhibit statistically significant objectification of any gender.

Аннотация

The study proposes a quantitative framework for analyzing female objectification in text, based on two bias metrics: agency bias and appearance bias. The framework is applied to a dataset of 79 English-language novels from the 19th and 20th centuries.

The key findings are:

Directory:

Introduction
- Defines the concept of the "male gaze" and its implications
- Outlines the goals of the study: to quantify female objectification in literature
Measuring Female Objectification
- Agency Bias: Measures whether male entities are more likely than female entities to appear as grammatical agents
- Appearance Bias: Measures whether female words are more closely associated with appearance-related words than male words
The Male Gaze in Literature
- Experimental setup: Analyzing a dataset of 79 novels, controlling for author and narrator gender
- Hypothesis testing: Determining whether systematic female objectification is present
Results
- Overall, the dataset exhibits evidence of systematic female objectification
- Novels written from a male perspective (by male authors or with male narrators) consistently show both agency bias and appearance bias
- Novels written from a female perspective (by female authors or with female narrators) do not exhibit statistically significant objectification of any gender
Related Work
- Discusses prior studies on gender asymmetries in grammatical agentivity and the use of word embeddings to capture cultural biases
Conclusion
- Summarizes the key contributions and potential applications of the proposed framework
- Acknowledges limitations and future work

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Статистика

"Novels written from a male perspective systematically objectify female characters, while novels written from a female perspective do not exhibit statistically significant objectification of any gender."
"Novels with a female author or a first-person female narrator do not exhibit statistically significant levels of either agency bias or appearance bias—some are strongly biased, but most are weakly biased in the opposite direction (i.e., they exhibit mild levels of male objectification)."
"Novels with a male author or a first-person male narrator consistently exhibit both agency bias and appearance bias."

Цитаты

"Novels written from a male perspective systematically objectify female characters, while novels written from a female perspective do not exhibit statistically significant objectification of any gender."
"Novels with a female author or a first-person female narrator do not exhibit statistically significant levels of either agency bias or appearance bias—some are strongly biased, but most are weakly biased in the opposite direction (i.e., they exhibit mild levels of male objectification)."
"Novels with a male author or a first-person male narrator consistently exhibit both agency bias and appearance bias."

Ключевые выводы из

Reflecting the Male Gaze

by Kexin Luo,Yu... в arxiv.org 03-27-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2403.17158.pdf

Дополнительные вопросы

What factors beyond author and narrator gender might influence the presence and degree of female objectification in novels?

Beyond the gender of the author and narrator, several other factors may influence the presence and degree of female objectification in novels:

Historical and Cultural Context: The time period and cultural milieu in which a novel is written can shape the societal attitudes and norms reflected in the text. Novels from more patriarchal or misogynistic eras may be more likely to exhibit higher levels of female objectification.

Genre and Narrative Conventions: Certain literary genres, such as romance or erotica, may be more prone to objectifying female characters due to their narrative conventions and tropes. Genres that typically feature male protagonists, such as adventure or crime fiction, may also be more likely to exhibit agency bias.

Intended Audience: Novels written for a predominantly male readership may be more likely to cater to the "male gaze" and objectify female characters, whereas novels targeting a female audience may be less likely to do so.

Authorial Intention and Perspective: Even within the same gender, individual authors may have varying degrees of awareness and sensitivity regarding gender representation and objectification. Some authors may intentionally subvert or critique objectification, while others may unwittingly perpetuate it.

Character Roles and Archetypes: The specific roles and archetypes assigned to female characters (e.g., love interest, femme fatale, mother, etc.) can influence the extent to which they are objectified or granted agency within the narrative.

Intersectionality: The intersection of gender with other identity factors, such as race, class, or sexuality, may further shape the representation and objectification of female characters in novels.

By considering these additional factors, researchers can gain a more nuanced understanding of the complex dynamics that contribute to the presence and degree of female objectification in literary works.

How do the findings of this study compare to the representation of gender in other forms of media, such as film, television, or social media?

The findings of this study on female objectification in novels are broadly consistent with the patterns observed in other media forms:

Film and Television: Similar to the male-gaze perspective found in many novels, research has shown that female characters in films and television programs are often depicted as objects of visual pleasure, with a disproportionate focus on their physical appearance and sexuality rather than their agency and subjectivity (Agarwal et al., 2015; Singh et al., 2023).

Social Media: Studies on gender representation in social media platforms, such as Twitter and internet memes, have also documented the prevalence of objectifying and misogynistic language and imagery directed at women (Anzovino et al., 2018; Fersini et al., 2022).

Consistency Across Media: The consistent findings across different media forms suggest that the objectification of women is a pervasive cultural phenomenon, rooted in patriarchal norms and power structures that transcend specific artistic or technological mediums.

Potential for Intersectionality: As with the novel study, the representation of gender in other media may be further shaped by intersections with other identity factors, such as race, class, and sexuality, leading to compounded forms of marginalization and objectification.

The similarities in the findings across media types underscore the need for a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary approach to addressing gender bias and promoting more equitable and empowering representations of women and other marginalized genders in cultural production.

How might the proposed framework for quantifying female objectification be applied to analyze the impact of interventions or policies aimed at promoting more equitable representation in literature?

The framework developed in this study, which measures agency bias and appearance bias as proxies for female objectification, could be a valuable tool for evaluating the impact of interventions or policies aimed at promoting more equitable gender representation in literature:

Baseline Assessments: The framework could be used to establish baseline levels of female objectification in a given literary corpus or publishing landscape, providing a benchmark against which to measure the effectiveness of future interventions.

Longitudinal Monitoring: By applying the framework to literary works over time, researchers and policymakers could track changes in the representation of women and other genders, allowing them to assess the long-term impact of initiatives designed to address gender bias.

Targeted Interventions: The framework could be used to identify specific genres, publishers, or authors that exhibit the highest levels of female objectification, enabling more targeted interventions and educational efforts to address the issue.

Comparative Analysis: Comparing the agency bias and appearance bias scores of works before and after the implementation of an intervention could provide quantitative evidence of the intervention's effectiveness in reducing female objectification.

Intersectional Insights: By incorporating additional identity factors into the analysis, the framework could also shed light on how interventions impact the representation of women and other marginalized genders at the intersections of gender, race, class, and other social identities.

Informing Policy and Guidelines: The findings from applying this framework could inform the development of industry-wide policies, guidelines, or best practices aimed at promoting more equitable and empowering representations of gender in literature.

By providing a systematic, data-driven approach to quantifying female objectification, this framework can serve as a valuable tool for researchers, policymakers, and literary stakeholders to assess the progress and impact of efforts to address gender bias and promote inclusive representation in the literary landscape.