Media Illustration: Institutional Control and Hegemony

Media Illustration:

Institutional Control and Hegemony

Bret Zingula

            My presentation covers the section Institutional Control and Hegemony in chapter six of our text Communicating Gender Diversity (DeFrancisco & Palczewski, 2007).  This section examines the role our social institutions play in influencing our gender identities, and the functions they serve.  These institutions organize daily life in the form of school or work, advance the development of people within business trade and education, protect people within the reach of law, and address social evils, and give meaning to life through religious and gendered/sexed cultural identities (pg. 144).  However, as social institutions serve these functions, they exercise a great deal of power through social control.  DeFrancisco and Palczewski state that, “…the ideology of gender differences is widely believed and accepted as truism”, and that “social institutions are largely created and maintained by the predominate groups within particular historical, cultural, and political environments” (pg. 144).  Inherently, these social institutions help perpetuate the values and ideals of the predominant groups. 

            Here, the application and use of the term Cultural Hegemony is very important.  This describes the way that “…the interests of a dominant group become dominant by establishing their beliefs as common sense” (pg. 144).  DeFrancisco and Palczewski explain that the effectiveness and power of these institutions come from the subtle forms and application of control that many people do not perceive as acting upon them; rather than from a single act of enforcement that everyone immediately identifies as an exercise of social control (pg. 144).  And if they do realize it, they assume their conformity to be voluntary (pg. 145).  I think it would be foolish to assume these entities or social institutions act uncoordinated with respect to each other, or that the intent is merely a product of random subconscious.  That would be comparable to a puppet show without a puppet-master; however conspiratory it may sound.  The primary tool of social institutions is the least obvious, Cultural Ideology (pg. 145).  We as a society readily accept and integrate cultural ideals, beliefs, values, and paradigms that ultimately guide our behavior.  We must learn to recognize social institutions as tools of cultural ideology, gender being one of those tools (pg. 145). 

            The media examples provided illustrate how several of our social institutions today extend power and influence over the identity of individuals by regulating and normalizing issues of race, gender, socio-economic status, etc.  This constructs not only how others grow to view us, but also how we should view ourselves; thus influencing our behavior.  The two videos are ethics studies performed by the International Studies Association (ISA).  The first depicts how women are sexualized and labeled in our patriarchal society, providing a poll among high-school students.  The second video has a similar structure, but demonstrates how Latin Americans and Hispanics are unfairly depicted in the mainstream media.  The mounting prejudices build false realities concerning both groups that can lead to their mistreatment.  

References:

DeFrancisco, V. P., & Palczewski, C. H. (2007). Communicating gender diversity: A critical 

approach. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.