Gender and Race Portrayals on Spanish-Language Television

Abstract

Gender and racial stereotypes continue to permeate our society and one context in which these stereotypes are perpetuated are the media. Although we have a history of content analysis of gender and racial portrayals on English-language television aired in the U.S., few systematic analyses have been conducted on Spanish-language television that airs in the same country. Our team of coders analyzed 466 characters and 481 2-minute intervals on 19 episodes of Spanish-language soap operas or telenovelas that aired in the Los Angeles broadcast area of the U.S. in the summer of 2002. Telenovelas were the programming type selected as they make up the bulk of Spanish-language network television in the U.S. The programs were coded in terms of how gender and race are presented on these programs by first coding the characteristics of speaking characters (including their race and gender) and then coding what actions these characters displayed in 2-minute intervals. Although females and males were represented in equal numbers, gender stereotypes abound. Physical appearance and nurturing roles were more likely to be the focus for female characters while occupational roles were more likely to be the focus for male characters. In terms of race, the overwhelming majority of characters were light-skinned and characters with darker skin were portrayed in extremes and more sexualized. These representations replicate some of the same stereotypes found on English-language television with some notable differences in terms of number of women represented.

Appendix

The following descriptive information will be completed for each character with a speaking part

• Character’s role—lead/major role would include a character that directs the operations, activity, or performance in the scene that in other words takes charge. They are usually in the introduction of the show. It will be apparent when viewing soap operas. The main characters are couples that are expected to come together in the end.

• Character name—a word that constitutes the distinctive designation of a person, One can usually figure out the name by what others call them or use to distinguish a person

• Gender: M or F—a subclass that is partly based on distinguishable characteristics such as the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with the male or female sex

• Assumed age—Character’s age which we regard as true and genuine without actual knowledge

  • 1=Infant (under 2)—a baby or very young child not yet speaking

  • 2=Toddler/preschool (2–5)—a period of time commencing with a child who walks with short, uncertain steps as is typical in early childhood and ending with the period prior to the commencement of school

  • 3=Middle childhood (6–9)—a period of time marked by a child’s commencement into the school system and ending with the period prior to puberty

  • 4=Tween (10–12)—a period of time commencing with the inception of puberty prior to the beginning of the teenage years

  • 5=Adolescent (13–16)—a period of time starting with the inception of the teenage years through the beginning of the high school years

  • 6=Late adolescent (17–19)—a period of time beginning with the last year of high school through the inception of the college years, during this period maturity is reached

  • 7=Young adult (20–24)—A period of time commencing with the last years of college through the inception of the establishment of a career or the furthering of an education

  • 8=Twenties (25–29)—A period of time coinciding with marriage and the establishment of a family

  • 9=Thirties

  • 10=Forties—middle age between youth and old age 40–49

  • 11=Fifties—middle age between youth and old age 50–59

  • 12=Sixties—the period commencing with middle age (60–69) and ending with the beginning of old age

  • 13=Over 70—old age

• Skin color—the natural color of the outer covering of the human body

  • 1=Light—pale in color (whitish, fair)

  • 2=Black—deep in shade, dark complexion, Black, with African features

  • 3=Mixed Race—made up of different races: Moreno/a, indigenous

• Hair color/type—the natural color of the fine, threadlike outgrowth covering the human head

  • 1=Light—blond (very light in color)

  • 2=Dark—brown (the color of chocolate or coffee), black (the color of coal)

  • 3=Red -

  • 4=Gray—a color that is a mixture of black and white, a typical hair color in an older person

• Social class—a group of people considered as a unit according to economic, occupational, or social status; you can gage this by looks, home, and place of employment or if someone talks about these concerning a character

  • 1=Poor/poverty—one who lacks the resources for meeting basic human needs: shelter, nutrition

  • 2=Working class—industrial or manual workers, blue-collar workers

  • 3=Middle class—the social class between the wealthy and the working class (people in business, professionals, highly skilled workers, well-to-do farmers)

  • 4=Upper class/rich—socially prominent or aristocratic class, one who has more money or income producing property than is necessary to satisfy normal needs

• Relationship status—a continuing attachment or association between persons that determines their standing, you can gage this by conversation indicating a person’s relationship with others.

  • 1=Single—an unmarried person who is not involved in a relationship

  • 2=Dating—to have social engagements with persons of the opposite sex (casual)

  • 3=Committed relationship—dedication to a long term involvement or engagement (living together, engaged)

  • 4=Married—living together as husband and wife, joined in wedlock

  • 5=Divorced/separated—to dissolve legally a marriage with one’s spouse, an arrangement by which a husband and wife live apart by agreement or by court decree. You can use this code in conjunction with any of the others. So you may know a character is divorced but also single, dating or remarried. Use both codes as needed.

  • 6=Unknown—relationship status is not discovered, identified or determined by context in episode viewed

• Parental status—characteristic of a parent or parents, whether a person is a parent or not, can be gaged by their interaction with their children or by conversation. They say things like “my daughter” or someone else mentions their parenting status.

  • 1=Parent—a mother or father

  • 2=Not a parent—not a mother or father

  • 3=Unknown—based on the episode the person’s parental status is not discovered, identified or determined

• Occupation—that which chiefly engages one’s time, (trade, profession or business) you can gage this by actually seeing a character engaged in a line of work or at his/her place of employment. This can also be assessed by the conversation in which a character or others refer to person’s employment or lack of

  • 1=Employed—to work for wages or salary, paid service, list name of occupation

  • 2=Unemployed—not working for wages or salary

  • 3=Homemaker—a person who manages a home

  • 4=Unknown—not discovered, identified or determined

• Clothing worn—apparel (How much skin is showing); what is each character wearing. If a character wears different outfits throughout an episode, code the highest number. That is, the person may be wearing neutral clothes in one scene but is later shown under the covers in an obviously sexual encounter. You would code this character a four and not a one.

  • 1=Neutral—not extreme in type or kind, not provocative in any way

  • 2=somewhat sexy—somewhat exciting or intended to excite sexual desire (tight clothes, muscle shirts, shorter skirts, knee high boots)

  • 3=very sexy—very exciting or erotic, more skin (bathing suit, lingerie, men without shirts, midriffs)

  • 4=nudity—depicting or involving state of undress (can be implied as in a shower scene)

Interval Variables—The following behaviors that occur within a 2-minute interval will be coded. When at the beginning of an episode, set the timer on the VCR to 0:00 by pressing “counter/remain” on remote control. The VCR timer is set at 0:00 for the first 2-minute interval when the timer registers 1:59 the tape is stopped. After the first 2-minute interval, the timer is stopped every 2 min (2:00–2:59, 3:00–3:59). See coding sheet for intervals. For each 2 min interval, code whether each of the following occurred and whether it occurred to a male or female. Once something has occurred in the segment, you are done coding it for that interval. Thus, you are not counting the number of times each thing occurred but whether it happened at all or not. For example: the 2-minute segment begins with a man initiating talk. You check that off in the appropriate box, so you no longer have to worry about a male initiating talk for those 2 min. You would however, still be on the lookout for a female initiating talk.

• Shown with children—The character in the scene must be depicted with a child under the age of 10. The character does not need to be the parent of the child in order to code for this variable.

• Emotional—The character in the scene must be portrayed showing strong emotions such as crying or displays of strong anger.

• Talk of money and power as important. Wealth in terms of money or the ability to act or produce an effect on others is portrayed as a valuable asset.