The purpose of this study was to clarify the meaning college women make from their television viewing experiences. The goals were to: (1) present a meaningful work; (2) contribute to the existing research on women and their subjective experiences with television viewing; (3) help bring women's voices into the center of educational and social science theory and research; (4) inspire other female researchers to examine women's experiences; and (5) encourage self-discovery and empowerment on the part of the participants and readers. Phenomenological in-depth interviewing and a demographic questionnaire were used to collect the data. Twelve female college students attending a state university participated in the study. Six participants were 18-23 years old and six participants were 30-45 years old. This study was motivated by the often negative portrayals of women on television, the lack of women's voices in research, and the need for new research methods in relationship to women's experiences. The data show that the participants were angry that women are negatively portrayed on television. Television viewing was linked to the formation and maintenance of negative attitudes and beliefs, especially those related to gender issues and self esteem. Television viewing was positively linked to social learning in relation to television women who served as role models. Television viewing was positively associated with influencing and shaping expectations and beliefs about the world. Television viewing was linked to adopting a view that reflects the violence found on television and to overeating. The participants were critical of the television media and believed that television media focused on the sensational and negative, did not respect people's privacy, negatively affected legal cases and was too powerful in shaping public opinion. The older participants felt that they could control their viewing by shutting off the television, changing the channel, canceling cable subscriptions and encouraging other viewers to take an active stand against negative images. Television viewing increased learning when the participants identified with the television content. Television viewing displaced reading and study time and was linked to loss of creativity and imagination.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-9036 |
| Date | 01 January 1995 |
| Creators | Burke, Karen P |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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