The Portrayal of Feminist Ideals in the Media

Indianapolis, IN

For this research project, I chose to consider the feminist theory and how the media may influence college students’ understanding of feminism, and their decisions to identify as feminists. I focused primarily on social media and televised and cinematic media content for purposes of this paper. In looking at how these media may influence individuals’ perception of feminism, I considered the Framing Theory as well as the Elaboration Likelihood Model which considers persuasion tactics. I expected to find evidence supporting my hypothesis that the media influences understandings of feminism, and contributes to individuals’ likelihood to identify as feminists. I conducted primary quantitative research through use of survey data as well as secondary research using academic literature regarding the topic for my project. While my research was not enough to coherently prove my hypothesis, it neither disproved my initial expectation. My research may have been inconclusive, but the academic literature I consulted reassured me that there may in fact be a correlation between media portrayals of feminist ideals and the understanding of feminism within society. Because people’s decision to identify as feminists cannot be attributed to a single influencer, determining the role of the media in this identification becomes more difficult. With additional time and resources, it is possible that further research could suggest a more conclusive answer to my initial research question.