Media and Masculinities - The Role of Key Media Outlets in Nigeria in Shaping Perceptions of Masculinities

“Through information (newspapers), entertainment (cinema) and print advertising, the mass media promotes stereotypes about what it means to be a man. From all media content analysed,this is particularly evident in cinema (100%) and cartoons (73%), and to a lesser extent, in news media, and advertisements (16%).”

This report, published by the Voices for Change (V4C) project, sets out to explore the influence of Nigeria’s media on the perceptions and behaviours of boys, men, women, and girls around masculinity, and to understand how the media reflects, influences, and perpetuates negative gender identities, roles, and relations within Nigerian society. The study forms part of the V4C project, which seeks to improve the lives and life opportunities of adolescent girls and women (AGW) in Nigeria by helping create a positive context for challenging gender inequality. “Its research specifically seeks to inspire social change by generating evidence that can inform strategic actions that tackle the root causes of gender inequalities and strengthen the enabling environment for AGW.”

The study was conducted over a three-month period between March and May 2015. It analysed newspaper advertisements, news stories and cartoons, and six Nigerian films, and included focus group discussions with media users, media professionals, and the film and video regulator.

The specific objectives of this study were to:

• "Explore the extent to which mass media; traditional and social media) shapes perception and behaviour of boys, men, girls and women in relation to notions of what it means to be a man;
• Examine how mass media information and content promotes stereotypical roles about men and the impact this has on expressions of male dominance, vulnerability and relationships with women and girls;
• Establish any links between media portrayals of masculinity and unequal power relations between men and women, especially in relation to violence against women;
• Explore the extent to which media representations and portrayals promote male dominance inleadership and exclude women from decision-making and leadership;
• Examine the factors that promote or constrain media professionals from promoting gender equitable representations of men in the media;
• Identify and profile selected mass media programmes that reflect gender equitable representations of men as well as examine their acceptance and impact on its audiences;
• Promote practical suggestions and recommendations which address issues around the media’s portrayal of ‘dominant masculinity’."

The following are some of the key findings, which are explained in detail in the report:

• "Some media programmes in Nigeria mirror, or have the potential to mirror, gender equitable images of men, women and gender relations.
• Gender equitable images of men and women in local media in Nigeria impact on audiences by: 1) Providing role models considered worthy of emulation; 2) Inspiring them to overcome challenges and be successful in chosen career fields; and 3) Encouraging them to assimilate equitable gender values, attitudes and behaviours and shun non-gender equitable values.
• Nigeria’s local media news and entertainment outlets promote stereotypical and non-gender equitable images and messages about men and masculinities in a myriad of ways, from use of double standards when reporting on the gender of victims and perpetrators of Violence Against Women and Girls to promotion of dominant masculinities in advertisements.
• Local media outlets promote representations that convey male dominance and leadership in Nigeria. They also tend to exclude women from decision-making and leadership in news reporting activities, and in media outlets’ hierarchies and environments.
• Local media and entertainment portrayal of masculinity reflects and promotes unequal power relations between men and women by: 1) Presenting Violence Against Women and Girls in news reports as isolated events rather than in relation to men’s power over and control of women; 2) Equating masculinity in cinema and in cartoons with the need for control and dominance; and 3) Under-representing women in leadership news reports and using stereotypical images on gender and leadership to frame leadership stories.
• Media professionals are constrained from promoting gender-equitable masculinities by a range of factors that include: prevailing social norms, professional hierarchies and media political economy. Meanwhile, legislative and regulatory frameworks dealing with gender equality issues in the media are weak and ineffectively enforced."

Based on the findings, the report offers recommendations aimed at media professionals, media professional bodies and support groups, media regulators, government, civil society, and international development agencies. For example, the recommendations “highlight the need for media outlets to develop and strengthen internal gender equality policies so they can nurture gender equitable practices (personal and institutional) and identify the roles that professional women and men can play at all levels within media outlets for the promotion of gender equality.” Media outlets also need to build capacity on gender equality issues and build strategies to integrate equality issues. In addition, media professional bodies need to become more effective ethical gatekeepers, regulators need to develop more effective monitoring mechanisms, and government must ensure that the National Gender Policy is adopted by all state media. Civil society must play its part by engaging the media in stories about positive gender roles, and international development agencies should support and invest in building the capacity of Nigerian media to integrate gender equality into their content, institutional structures, and organisational cultures.

The report also makes recommendations for further research in order to deepen understanding and knowledge of the role of the media in promoting gender equality. These include: research into online media, social media platforms, and other web-based channels; reviewing the curriculum of select mass communications and journalism training institutions; and research to understand how societal role models serve as agents of change for the promotion of pro- gender equality norms in Nigeria.