Violence against women has increased on TV programs, according to a new study by the Parents Television Council.
"Women in Peril: A Look at TV's Disturbing New Storyline Trend" found that incidents of violence against women and teenage girls increased 120 percent on television in the in the past five years, while overall violence on primetime broadcast entertainment programs increased only 2 percent in the same time period. Violent incidents against teen girls on television programs increased 400 percent since 2004.
Television programs depicted violence or the "graphic consequences of violence" toward women 92 percent of the time, compared to the 5 percent that it was implied and the 3 percent it was described.
The PTC singled-out Fox for its increased use of violence against women as comedy.
Analysts at the PTC found that beatings were the most frequent type of violence against women depicted on television programs, followed by, in order, threats of violence, shooting, rape, stabbing and torture.
Just one week ago, AP reported that actress Nicole Kidman "conceded that Hollywood has probably contributed to violence against women by portraying them as weak sex objects."
PTC President Tim Winter noted that with these depictions of violence against women, "the broadcast networks may ultimately be contributing to a desensitized atmosphere in which people view aggression and violence directed at women as normative, even acceptable."
That "desensitized atmosphere" is the backdrop to the gang-rape and beating of a 15-year-old girl at a high school homecoming dance last weekend in California. Reports claimed 20 people either participated in the assault, which lasted for over two hours, or watched as it happened rather than call the police.
CNN's Stephanie Chen asked the obvious question in an Oct. 28 article, "Why didn't anyone come forward?" She referred to theories like the bystander effect, in which witnesses "can be less likely to report a crime because they reinforce each other with the notion that reporting the crime isn't necessary." Or, they think another person in the group reported the crime.
Other theories proposed in Chen's article included fear of retaliation by the perpetrators and that as adolescents, the witnesses failed to recognize victimization.
But the cultural impact of the Hollywood factor may be a part of this as well and was a point Chen ignored in her exploration of the topic.
—Colleen Raezler is a research assistant at the Culture and Media Institute
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Comments Policy
It would be interesting to
October 28, 2009 - 16:23 ET by balboaIt would be interesting to see where these acts of violence occurred. Because one trend in TV since the advent of Buffy and Xena is more women are being written as strong action types who are more naturally going to face more violence, not necessarily as helpless victims.
Yes, tough women
October 28, 2009 - 16:32 ET by cajun2Women are being portrayed as strong fighters more and more. The reason is because women are having to do so due to ever growing violence against women. One in 5 women are victims of domestic violence. Women die every day due to domestic violence. Society is accepting of this behavior as shown in movies and tv. This is one reason femenism is dying and women like Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin are becoming more respected and popular.
One million children are missing or being exploited. One million children are abused or neglected every year. Yet, Nancy Pelosi spends 34 million to save a marsh mouse. What is happening to women and our children in this country is the true epidemic, not the swine flu.
The fault for this
October 28, 2009 - 16:58 ET by Roger the ShrubberThe fault for this obviously rests at the feet of the George Bush administration.... :p
What other networks
October 28, 2009 - 17:12 ET by Kekela WardI see they name Fox, but no other network.
How about Lifetime, Oxygen, etc? They are constantly showing women getting abused or murdered, then the culpret getting his violent comeuppance from either the victim or a female friend of the victim.
Sam: "I hurt somebody's feelings once"
Of course there is increased depictions of
October 28, 2009 - 17:30 ET by BO STINKSviolence against women on TV. When the so-called defenders of women (NOW and the male/female Demoncraps)fund and promote the murder of un-born girls, other violence and depictions of violence are not far behind. Only the mentally ill and self-destructive could fail to see a correlation.
"How strangely will the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning of Words!" Sam Adams
Even kids
October 28, 2009 - 17:52 ET by ammo johnWe were flipping channels last night and we watched a few minutes of a sitcom on CW that involved a dad screaming at his son "YOU SUCK!", repeatedly, because the boy doesn't play the saxophone very well. And then he slapped(!) his son and later tried it again (he ducked). All the while, the audience thinks this is funny and laughs. Go ahead and call me racist, but it was like a bizarro world Cosby Show (had a cast of African-Americans).
This Bud's For You
October 28, 2009 - 18:17 ET by CaringwhiteguyThen there's this little Bud Light commercial. Imagine trying to air this with the guy driving and the woman as the passenger.
http://www.youtube.c...
Talk about desensitizing violence.
Feminists
October 28, 2009 - 18:25 ET by iveseenitallThe true feminists are those who want women to have the respct they deserve. These thinkers (men and women) have expressed their views for centuries. They do so by telling the truth. Today's "feminists" are hypocrites who present fantasy, but in reality never live what they profess. These are modern relativists who are trying to "change" the world by presenting human beings (through hyperbolic sex and violence) in their lowest form. Their ugly presentations appeal particularly to the young and impressionable. It's done with purpose and it is casting the nation to the gutter. Nothing works better for them. It's ironic, because they are not "feminists" by any stretch of the imagination. They are just the opposite. Sad.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
This is why so-called
October 28, 2009 - 18:33 ET by Radical1979This is why so-called feminists like Joy Behar hate Sarah Palin with a passion. If anyone is liberated to pursue her dreams of family and career with a supportive husband and faith, it's Palin. But her agenda doesn't meet with lowering man and womankind, so they vilify her.
Liberal Hollywood always wants the cake and wants to eat it, too
October 28, 2009 - 18:51 ET by rebel_outlawLiberal Hollywood always wants the cake and wants to eat it, too.
Hollywood loves to make women into action stars where they obliterate good and/or evil male characters (seriously, it is such a joke), but rarely receive a beating themselves (and if they do, it is off camera and implied).
Then again, at the same time, Hollywood loves to push the notion that women are eternal victims that can never rise about victim status, nor should they want to have this handicap status removed because of all the goodies that come with it. This angle/agenda works for both sides of the aisle (Dems and Repubs) when it comes to votes in Congress.
The same mentality extends beyond fiction now, too. The US military, as well as local and state police/fire departments, have fallen prey to the feminists. Women are rewarded with the public perception that they face the same risks as their male "counterparts", but, anyone with brains knows realizes that this is all smoke and mirrors. Female soldiers are not allowed in direct combat situations, but the average American would never know it based on the MSM war coverage and military recruiting commercials. The same can be said for police and firefighting.
No other group is allowed a duality to this extreme level, not even blacks.
Are the fitness/strength
October 28, 2009 - 19:06 ET by Radical1979Are the fitness/strength requirements still adjusted for women? If you can't meet the same standards as the guys you shouldn't get the job.
There are some women who want to be in combat situations, but I can't fathom why.
The reason they want to be
October 28, 2009 - 22:16 ET by motherbeltThe reason they want to be in combat situations is promotion.
For officers, the experience of combat duty is a plus when being graded for promotion. Women claim that because they can't be in combat, they are denied points that are important for promotions.
Liberal Hollywood vs.beyond fiction
October 28, 2009 - 23:08 ET by matthewdeanReb:
You make some good points.
I cannot speak to female soldiers and combat situations, but reference police/fire: I spent many years in the Fire Service as a firefighter, engineer, and arson investigator. I was an instructor at our Sheriffs Academy for twenty years, and a Reserve Deputy Sheriff for that same length of time.
While entry level requirements have, over the years, been sometimes shaved, and sometimes shaded, I witnessed first hand the fact that technique, properly learned and applied can elevate females with less upper body and overall "brute" strength right up there with the best of male professionals.
Besides, who ever met a gal that could'nt out-talk some nimrod jerk of a guy.
No one ever came down the pike who was more of a male chauvinist than I was, but, fair is fair.
The problem as I see it, that you properly alluded to, is that while the Hollywood Honey can kick ass all day long on the movie set, all bets are off, when off the set and in the real world.
MD
"I may not agree with what your bumper sticker says, but I will defend to the death your right to stick it. (Unknown)
re: Liberal Hollywood vs.beyond fiction
October 29, 2009 - 17:33 ET by rebel_outlawHollywood, the MSM and Liberals, in general, want to shape the image of women as being as tough as men; however, they conveniently leave out the part that tough guys usually take a beating, too. Today’s “tough woman” gets a pass when it comes to taking a beating. She can be tougher than any guy, and yet still get to play the “you can’t hit me because I’m a girl” card…and nobody is allowed to call her on it. How convenient?!?!
By the way, I should add that I love women…I just hate double standards…by anyone or any group.
"Women are being portrayed
October 28, 2009 - 19:22 ET by chessplayer"Women are being portrayed as strong fighters more and more."
Watch the Sci-Fi channel on a Saturday night. In virtually every movie, women are portrayed as stronger, faster, more agile, and more intelligent than men. Especially if the men are white.
Women are usually portrayed
October 28, 2009 - 19:34 ET by Radical1979Women are usually portrayed as being smarter than men too. The truth of that is on a case by case basis, Olberman and Behar top the list of any stupidity ranking.
As far as physical attributes women are generally more agile than men, but men are designed to be stronger and faster. Simple fact of biology like life beginning at conception, that liberals refuse to accept.
True story
October 28, 2009 - 19:46 ET by iveseenitallAnd in the "real" world---I once witnessed the aftermath of a fight in a high school. When the principal arrived, a girl was out cold on the floor. "She swung at me" the boy said, "so I decked her". He thought it normal and natural. True story.
Isn't it ironic that after all is said and done, it is the women and other "minorities" who continue to suffer. Tells you something about the fantasy propaganda and pathetic ideology the "liberals" push on all the true victims.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
isia, Catholic Popes, in
October 28, 2009 - 22:20 ET by motherbeltisia, Catholic Popes, in their pastoral letters and encyclicals, have pointed to abortion as the beginning of the devaluing of human beings, and of life in general. Maybe it's something that should receive more attention and study.
Yeah isia
October 28, 2009 - 22:39 ET by shawn228So its liberals and there ideology that is responsible for violence toward women?
"I think we're kindred spirits."~Mr Shy to Sergeant ROCK
Shawn
October 30, 2009 - 08:39 ET by iveseenitallYes, Shawn. For example, Gore Vidal just blamed Polanski's rape on the victim --for being a teenage whore. Look at the lefty's defense of that pig. An entire culture has been affected by modern relativism. Open your eyes, Shawn.
BTW, I blame the entire media for its negative influence on the culture. It could be a force for good in so many ways, but it chooses to go with what sells. However, anyone who believes that it has no affect on people, especially the young, is in denial.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
~It's feminism, shawn
October 29, 2009 - 11:48 ET by choselife3xFeminist ideals have produced hostility between men and women. At the very heart of feminism is an antagonism towards men.
In the rush to prove 'equality' feminism has only pushed women into a role they weren't meant to play. That of an aggressor.
When men grow up around aggressive women they see as their 'equals', a lot of women are going to end up with bruises.
That said, the sexes are equal. Each simply has a different set of strengths and weaknesses.
In order to be pro-choice, one must first be born. Ah, the irony.
http://themessengerd...
This kind of violence
October 28, 2009 - 20:00 ET by bse5150This kind of violence against women is OK because it's not like it's violence-violence.
Personal Responsiblity Colleen
October 28, 2009 - 22:26 ET by shawn228Hollywood is no more responsible for violence against women than Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck are to violence against abortion clinics. Guns don't murder people, its stupid people with guns that kill people.
"I think we're kindred spirits."~Mr Shy to Sergeant ROCK
There's No Correlation Between Media Violence And Real Violence
October 28, 2009 - 23:17 ET by The7SticksI guess I'm one of those mentally-defective people who believes that the media has no responsibility whatsoever for a correlation between on-screen violence and real violence. Yet I figured it out by reading studies that prove my point. Does anybody believe that the two kids who did the Columbine massacre were motivated because of some South Park episode or WWE wrestling? It just so happens that they were also planning to bomb Columbine High School with their own makeshift explosive devices, which were powerful enough to potentially cause the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil up until 9/11. It could have actually outdone the Oklahoma City bombing. But it didn't happen because the perpetrators were killed before they had a chance. This is not the kind of thinking that is motivated by media influences in violence, so stuff it already.
-Lois: "You can't hit me, I'm a girl!"
-Peter: "Sometimes I wonder..."
From Family Guy