Driving Towards Equality: Gender Representations in Philippine Motoring Print Journalism

Title: Driving Towards Equality: Gender Representations in Philippine Motoring Print Journalism

Author: Froilan Victor Tan Bacungan Jr., B.A. Journalism, U.P. College of Mass Communication

Abstract: The thesis looks at how genders are unequally represented in the Philippine motoring media. Historically, automobiles and motoring culture have become associated with heteronormative masculinity. This is a relationship that has been codified by socio-cultural factors, such as established gender roles and the mass media. As a result, women and non-heterosexual genders (such as gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals and other classifications) are often ignored, discriminated against or “commodified” in these texts simply to attract heterosexual male readers. Considering that automobiles are commodities that everyone uses, the thesis aims to uncover how and why the local motoring media plays a role in reinforcing the unjust gender-role hierarchy in three ways: (1) the textual and visual analyses of two popular car-magazine brands (Top Gear Philippines and Autocar Philippines) to find discriminatory gender representations, (2) interviews with the top editorial staff of these publications to understand their editorial policies involving gender, and (3) looking at the role of the motoring industry in the production and reproduction of these gender stereotypes. The ultimate goal of the thesis is to find ways to make the local motoring beat more sensitive to and more inclusive of non-heterosexual male genders.

Key Words: gender, representation, Philippine, motoring, print, journalism, media