G325B – Key terms

Here are some of the key terms we looked at during my units on Collective identity:Term/ clever word Meaning How to use it

Homogeneity

Where a group are represented as all being the same, or where a group of diverse people/ things are made to all be the same (they are homogenised).

Homogeneity/ homogenous Nuts magazines creates a representation of males as a homogenous group of heterosexual

HeterogeneityWhere are group are represented as being diverse and varied

Heterogeneity/ heterogenous The wide range of male lifestyle magazines represent the heterogeneity of men within contemporary society

Collective identity

The way in which people create a sense of group identity/ collective identity. This identity could be real or constructed.Here’s a useful website: http://davesmediablog.posterous.com/19164500

Young people’s sense of collective identity comes from their difference to adults.

Female solidarity/ teen solidarity/ male solidarity

All these terms point towards the same idea. There is a notion that the media constructs a sense of togetherness/ collective identity in order to collect people in to target markets (e.g. e4/ Cosmo readers/ etc…) Media texts construct a sense of solidarity that offers the audience a feeling of certainty and confidence (‘constructed certitude’). There is also a notion that masculinity is in a state of crisis and that contemporary media texts (e.g. Nuts magazine/ This Is England) deal with the construction of masculinity, constructing certitude for the audience.

Cosmopolitan magazine seeks to create a sense of female solidarity that Angela McRobbie would describe as ‘false sisterhood’.

Constructed certitude

Media texts offer audiences certitude, constructed by the media text.

Consciously cultivated (fe)male bond/ teen bond

E4 consciously constructs a bond that encourages teen audiences to identity themselves as being part of this group, encouraging brand loyalty, and enabling the channel to construct a target audience for advertisers. In this way the sense of collective identity is actually an artificial construct that collects people into target audiences.

BinaryBinary means a pair of opposition (e.g. male vs female/ black vs white/ etc)

Gendered magazines reassert as male and female as binary and oppositional.

PluralityPlurality has a similar meaning to heterogeneity, where representations are not monolithic but acknowledge diversity and variety. The opposite would be homogeneity (saying all males are the same/ females are the same).Feminities/ masculinities referes to this plurality also.

In representing the diversity of teen identities, and in showing different types of masculinities and femininities, Glee acknowledges the plurality and complexity of teen identity. Femininities/

masculinities

HegemonyHegemony = the dominant ideology at any one time. Hegemony shifts and changes over time.

Hegemonic/ hegemonyAvatar creates a hegemonic representation of gender.