Gender Representation In Pakistani Print Media: A Critical Analysis

Abstract

The key objective of this study was to examine the representations of men and women in print media in Pakistan. Gender role stereotyping and sexism in print media is not a low-profile gender issue as printed communication and contents still hold an important place in contemporary digital world. Keeping in view the importance of newspapers as the leading source of credible content/messages, this paper examined gender stereotyping and sexism in print media in Pakistan and attempted to highlight whether print media reproduces or challenges gender stereotypes and sexism? Keeping in view the complexity of sexism in print media, content and discourse analyses were performed on four widely read national news papers. The findings have been placed within the socio-cultural context of Pakistani society and feminists theories. The study’s findings indicated that print media in Pakistan reinforces gender stereotypes and provide little challenge to gender stereotyped imagery of males and females.