Critical Thinking About Sex, Love, and Romance in the Mass Media

Media Literacy Applications

Mary-Lou Galician, Debra L. Merskin

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2007
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9781135250478
• Subtopic: Popular Culture in Art
• Index: Social Sciences

This distinctive volume explores how romantic coupleship is represented in books, magazines, popular music, movies, television, and the Internet within entertainment, advertising, and news/information. This reader offers diverse theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches on the representation of romantic relationships across the media spectrum.

Filling a void in existing media scholarship, this collection explores the media's influence on perceptions and expectations in relationships, including the myths, stereotypes, and prescriptions manifested throughout the press. Featuring fresh voices, as well as the perspectives of seasoned veterans, contributions include quantitative and qualitative studies along with cultural/critical, feminist, and descriptive analyses. This anthology has been developed for use in courses on mass media and society, media studies, and media literacy. In addition to its use in coursework, it is highly relevant for scholars, researchers, and others interested in how the media influence the personal lives of individuals.

CHAPTER 1: “Dis-illusioning” as Discovery: The Research Basis and Media Literacy Applications of Dr. FUN’s Mass Media Love Quiz^©; and Dr. Galician’s Prescriptions^©*

Mary-Lou Galician
Arizona State University, Tempe

It’s a difficult task to find anything in the media that has much to teach us about the realities of love.

—Robert J.Sternberg, Cupid’s Arrow

Whether we like to admit it or not, the mass media are powerful socialization agents that rely on simplification, distortions of reality, and dramatic symbols and stereotypes to communicate messages from which consumers learn and model many behaviors—both healthy and unhealthy (e.g., see Bandura, 1969, 1971, 1977, 1986; Galician, 1986a, 1986b; Galician & Vestre, 1987; Gerbner et al., 1986; McLuhan, 1964; McQuail, 2000; Potter, 2001; Silverblatt, 1995; Sparks, 2002). One area of social learning or cultivation from mass media concerns sexual socialization and role models for romantic coupleship. In fact, romance and mass media share a long association: The present-day notion of romance, which dates from 12th century “courtly love,” was first disseminated to the masses by troubadours (precursors, in a sense, of modern mass media recording artists) and later by the early chapbooks and romance novels (“romans”) of the very first mass medium—books (for example, see Hopkins, 1994).

Unfortunately, as noted in the epigraph at the beginning of this chapter—a statement by Yale University’s Robert Sternberg (1998), one of the nation’s leading scholars of the psychology of love—the mass media seldom present models of realistic, healthy sex, love, and romance. According to Baran (1976), “If the individuals do indeed depend on the mass media for their sexual socialization, the accuracy of these media portrayals of sexual behaviors becomes critical. If their presentations are inaccurate, their effects maybe damaging”. Laner and Russell (1995) argued that when couples have expectations based on inappropriate or counterproductive impressions from mass media, their judgment could be impaired, resulting in behavioral and/or emotional responses to each other that could be inappropriate. Unrealistic expectations about coupleship can create dysfunctional relationships, including much unhappiness and counter-productivity. Depression, abuse, and violence are among the possible outcomes.

In my own research of what I have termed “The Romanticization of Love in the Mass Media” (Galician, 1995, 1997, 2004), I have found that unrealistic attitudes are linked to both romantic and nonromantic movies as well as to men’s and women’s magazines focused on appearance (i.e., fashion and sports/fitness) and television (including music videos). Moreover, unrealistic expectations are linked to dissatisfaction in actual coupleship. Unrealistic expectations and stereotypes are held by large numbers of women and men. The societal and personal costs of such dysfunctions are enormous, including not merely unhappiness but also serious emotional and physical harm from depression, abuse, and violence.

THE NEED FOR RESEARCH

Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding a truth.

—Ludwig Borne, 19th century German political writer

Because these widely held mass media myths and stereotypes can seriously diminish the personhood of individuals of both sexes and all ages (often socializing them without their knowledge and consent), it is important to study the consequences of the media’s dissemination of unrealistic but normalized portrayals and of the public’s adoption of these portrayals as models. Although considerable scholarly research about love has been conducted in the last two decades and a great deal of research has been conducted concerning the effects of the mass media, very little research tying these two vital areas of study has been conducted. Many researchers have examined mediated images of women, and some have studied images of men. However, when couples are the focus of study, the portrayals are often limited to only one medium: movies, or romance novels, or television soap operas, for example.

Since 1993, my own research and teaching have been focused on bringing media literacy perspective to the examination of unrealistic portrayals of sex, love, and romance across all of the mass media—books, newspapers, magazines, movies (including animated features), recorded music, television and videos, and the Internet. My ongoing study encompasses portrayals of coupleship in all three primary media functions: entertainment, news/information, and advertising/ promotion. And the media consumers I study and address include males and females of all ages—from young children to senior citizens—and couples as well as singles. In addition, I have interviewed professionals in the media, in related social sciences and humanities disciplines, and in the helping professions.

Because the chapters in this book are all based on my work, which is intensely personal as well as professional and public, I believe it is important to identify my philosophy. Although I can clearly be considered a feminist with total allegiance to the aim of sexual equity and peer coupleships (which I believe are in the best interest of both sexes), I nevertheless prefer to describe myself as a personist—a term I coined to express my passionate aim and continual effort to extend equal respect, dignity, and opportunity to all persons without regard to their sex. I do not tolerate “male-bashing.” Males who attend my programs and participate in my courses and seminars on The Romanticization of Love in the Mass Media are as interested in this topic as the females. It is my belief that unrealistic, mythic, and stereotypic portrayals of sex, love, and romance adversely affect males to the same degree as they affect females.

Dr. FUN’s Mass Media Love Quiz^©

In 1995 I was invited to appear on one of ABC-TV’s national network shows to talk about my research of how mass media portrayals affect both sexes’ romantic love expectations and satisfactions. To more easily and quickly communicate my complex scholarly studies to a national television audience and to help viewers assess their “romantic realism,” I created my true-false Dr. FUN’s Mass Media Love Quiz^©, based on the major mass mediated myths and stereotypes that my research had uncovered. (See the numbered items in Table 1–1. The Quiz is also available for people to take without charge at www.RealisticRomance.com.)

The 12 myths in the Quiz are numbered in logical order, from the simple (#1) to the more complex (#12), and they are closely interrelated. Here is an overview:

Myth #1 naturally connects to Myth #2 and #3: If someone is cosmically predestined for you (#1), you’ll fall in love the minute you spot each other (#2), and you’ll be able to “read” each other easily (#3). These three myths flow into the perfect, easy sexual relations of Myth #4. The ideal woman for these activities (models and centerfolds—a standard to which many men are now held as well) is described in Myth #5, which begins the delineation of role assignments detailed in Myth #6 (male superiority).

TABLE 1–1. Dr. FUN’s Mass Media Love Quiz^© with Dr. Galician’s Prescriptions (Rxs)^©

From this traditional hegemonic role assignment, it’s an easy step to the Myth #7 victim-persecutor-rescuer roles from the Karpman Drama Triangle that this beautiful (#5) and subordinate woman (#6) can play in passive-aggressive fashion with any beasts who need to be fixed. (Of course, the sex roles in Myth #7 are sometimes reversed.) And it’s easy to see why such couples will engage in battle-mode behavior (#8). (Myth #8 can be viewed as the other side of Myth #2: Both assert that the “proof” of love is unbridled passion.)

Many of the mis-matchings captioned by these myths are contained in the concept of Myth #9, a more complex myth about the supremacy of love, even in the face of different and opposing values. (For example, if you’re preordained, what power would different values have? Further, relationships with unequal power distributions, as in Myth #6, frequently relate to values differences.) In a rational evaluation, of course, it’s apparent that people with different values frequently try to change each other (#7) and wind up fighting dysfunctionally (#8).

Finally, the culminating Myth #10 essentially encompasses all nine of the earlier ones. Myth #11 adds a note about specific real people—actors and actresses—who serve as media influencers for their many fans in portrayals that enact many of the first 10 myths both in dramatic performances as characters and in their highly reported personal lives. And the final myth—Myth #12—is perhaps the most damaging myth of all: If we’re unaware of the influence of the other 11 myths, we’re more likely to fall under their power. (Galician, 2004.)

Although the origin of my Quiz was television’s need for simplification, I have since used it successfully as both a practical and stimulating teaching tool and as a constructive research instrument, as have countless others. Thousands of people nationwide have taken the Quiz as part of my studies, in group administrations in my seminars and classes, and via my Web sites.

It is important to understand that—for the individual taking the Quiz—there are no “right” or “wrong” answers. You either agree or disagree with each of the 12 statements. I always say, “Don’t worry: No one will grade you!” I’m not making a joke when I say this, because the purpose of the Quiz is heuristic (an educational method in which learning takes place through discoveries that result from investigations made by the learner); in other words, the Quiz is really a starting point for individuals and couples to begin to assess their own views and to begin to explore how mass mediated portrayals contribute to these views.

Remember also that myths and stereotypes are not necessarily or entirely false. The problem is that they are usually atypical rather than the norm, so they are poor and even dangerous as models for our real-life thoughts, feelings, or behaviors. They are often better understood metaphorically, in which case they are not apt to be as potentially harmful and can even be beneficial. (For example, we might better understand the “Beauty and the Beast” myth as a metaphor for integrating our own good and bad sides, rather than trying to change lovers we think are beastly or “bad” while presuming ourselves to be saintly and “good.”) Further, although myths and stereotypes are sometimes applicable within their originating culture and their own time, they are usually not transposable to our own modern day: They do not necessarily describe 21st century relationships.

As you use the Quiz and read the chapters that address different aspects of it, keep its purpose and these distinctions in mind. And be aware that not everyone answers the items honestly and that some people genuinely “agree” or “disagree” in their mind though their actual related behavior might be just the opposite.

Dr. Galician’s Prescriptions^© for Getting Real About Romance

The Quiz focuses attention on unrealistic media portrayals. However, in and of itself, it is incomplete. To conduct a complete analysis and criticism, it is crucial to compare the unrealistic portrayals against a standard that offers a healthy alternative. That is why each of the 12 mass media myths about love in the Quiz has a related “antidote” from Dr.Galician’s Prescriptions^©; for Getting Real About Romance (see Rxs in Table 1–1), which are based on the rational models discussed in my textbook (Galician, 2004), my own research and personal experience, and the advice of other experts, including my husband, Dr. David Natharius.

The Prescriptions encapsulate the realistic relationship models that constitute the benchmarks for analysis and criticism of media portrayals of sex, love, and romance. They are also helpful as you seek to identify the rare media manifestations that are constructive. And the Prescriptions are also useful as guidelines for real-life romantic relationships.

Please note that realistic does not mean lowering your ideals: It is actually about raising your personal standards, as you will see when you study the Rxs. And it does not mean giving up romance—or FUN. The Prescriptions are about pRE-SCRlPTing unproductive and negative beliefs and behaviors with successful relational strategies.

The Quiz and the Prescriptions are at the center of my research and teaching, including the Sex, Love, and Romance in the Mass Media course I inaugurated several years ago (with 200 students per semester). They are the centerpiece of my textbook Sex, Love, and Romance in the Mass Media: Analysis and Criticism of Unrealistic Portrayals and Their Influence (Galician, 2004), which was honored as a Recommended Resource by The Center for Media Literacy (CML). For the book you now hold, Critical Thinking About Sex, Love, and Romance in the Mass Media: Media Literacy Applications (Galician & Merskin, 2006), 30 scholars wrote research-based chapters addressing the Quiz and Prescriptions.

Everything I learn from my ongoing research and teaching continues to convince me that as consumers in our 24/7 global media world, we must all learn to empower ourselves with facts and truth rather than enslaving ourselves with images and illusions.

THE NEED FOR MEDIA LITERACY APPLICATIONS

Media literacy is not so much a finite body of knowledge but rather a skill, a process, a way of thinking that, like reading comprehension, is always evolving. To become media literate is not to memorize facts or statistics about the media, but rather to raise the right questions about what you are watching, reading or listening to. At the heart of media literacy is the principle of inquiry.

—Elizabeth Thoman, “Mission Statement,” Media&Values

As a media literacy advocate, I believe that media literacy (activist) strategies can empower media consumers (preferably, beginning at an early age) through the development of critical thinking skills. The Alliance for a Media Literate America (2004) has declared, “Being literate in a media age requires critical thinking skills, which empower us as we make decisions, whether in the classroom, the living room, the workplace, the board room or the voting booth” (n.p.).

But as a nation, we are not media literate. Unlike Canada and the United Kingdom, for example, we have not embraced media literacy education. If we—as individuals and as a society—want to empower ourselves to use the media rather than having the media use us, if we want to control our media rather than having our media control us, then we must make a serious and long-term commitment to stamping out the media illiteracy that is rampant in this nation.

The pioneering Center for Media Literacy (2004)—a nonprofit educational organization that continues to serve as a leading force in the movement—has long ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Preface
• Chapter 1: “Dis-Illusioning” as Discovery: The Research Basis and Media Literacy Applications of Dr. Fun’s Mass Media Love Quiz© and Dr. Galician’s Prescriptions©
• I: Attraction
• II: Hegemony
• III: Conflict
• IV: Completion
• Appendix