‘Really damn sexist’: a discourse analysis of the language used to portray gender inequality within reality television

Payne, Hannah Mary (2016) ‘Really damn sexist’: a discourse analysis of the language used to portray gender inequality within reality television. Manchester Metropolitan University. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

This study used qualitative techniques to discover whether reality television programmes within the United Kingdom were portraying gender inequality. The process involved studying the content of the three most viewed episodes of the three most popular reality shows in the United Kingdom; Made in Chelsea, The Only Way is Essex, and Geordie Shore. A discourse analysis was used to explore the language within the episodes to gather an understanding as to how gender stereotypes are constructed and portrayed in reality shows. From this, two themes were recognised: differences in the portrayal of emotions between males and females, and the objectification of females. These themes were discussed in reference to Social Learning Theory and Social Construction Theory.