Archive notice: This article was originally published on November 17, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Whether on television, in computer games, on the internet, in magazines, or in advertising, the image of women portrayed by the media has a major influence on girls’ gender identity.
At the “Images of Girls in the Media” professional conference organised by the Saarland State Media Authority (LMS) and the Specialist Centre for Work with Girls at the Paritätisches Bildungswerk (PBW), nationally renowned girls’ researcher Dr Maya Götz, head of the International Central Institute for Youth and Educational Television, gave the educators present a wealth of current, compelling, and highly illuminating insights into role models for girls conveyed through the media.
Through discussion and film excerpts, the conference powerfully addressed the effects that desires and needs awakened in girls can have on the development of their identity. It also demonstrated ways in which media-education projects can expose and critically examine stereotypical roles in the media. The two practical afternoon workshops in particular, focusing on image editing (“I Am Me, We Are Us—Different Images of Girls”) and computer games (“Games 4 Girls”), gave participants insights into practical media work with girls and enabled them to develop ideas for their own projects.
“The LMS has a statutory duty to promote active and informed engagement with media content. Media role models often present an excessively stylised feminine ideal that makes it difficult for young girls to develop a realistic self-image,” said Dr Jörg Ukrow, Deputy Director of the LMS. “With today’s professional conference, the LMS is supporting youth and girls’ workers in Saarland so that they can provide expert guidance to adolescents on gender orientation and socialisation in relation to their media experiences.”
“We are delighted that, with the help of the State Media Authority, we have succeeded in organising such a valuable professional conference for people working with girls in Saarland,” explained Jürgen Stuppi, Managing Director of the Paritätisches Bildungswerk Rhineland-Palatinate/Saarland. “For next year, we are also planning a corresponding conference together with the LMS on the subject of ‘Boys and Media Use.’”
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