Women and Media International Perspectives

In the last few decades, feminist media scholars have been active in revealing the complex ways in which the gender-media relation is played out in production, consumption, and reception. From an analysis of news media's coverage of women politicians, through the marketing of "girl power", to strategizing for equality in newsrooms, Women and Media: International Perspectives provides important insights into how gender is integrated in media industries.Bringing together original essays by international scholars that explore key concerns between gender and media, Women and Media conveys the dynamism of this issue. Importantly, the theme that runs through the volume - and which serves to unify these otherwise diverse articles - is that media have the potential both to reinforce the status quo in power arrangements in society and to contribute to new, more egalitarian ones. An ideal teaching tool for students, this lively volume includes part-section overviews, bibliographies, key terms, discussion questions, and an introduction by the editors that carefully maps the contours of the international struggle between feminists and the media.

Karen Ross is a reader in mass communication at Coventry University. Her recent books include Black Marks: Minority Ethnic Audiences and Media (edited, 2001); Women, Politics and Change (edited, 2002); Women, Politics, Media: Uneasy Relations in Comparative Perspective (2002); Mapping the Margins: Identity Politics and Media (edited with Deniz Derman, 2003); and Media and Audiences (with Virginia Nightingale, 2003).

Carolyn M. Byerly teaches in the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland. She is the author of numerous chapters in edited collections and articles in journals including Critical Studies in Mass Communication, Journal of Mass Media Ethics, Journalism Educator, and Inter/Sections.