The Hills: A Critical Analysis of MTV and their Definition of Masculinity and Femininity

Over the years, reality series have become increasingly popular. MTV is one of the many

networks that has realized the viewership potential that the reality TV market has to offer. Some

of its most recent reality broadcasts include True Life, MADE, Sixteen and Pregnant, Disaster

Date, Run’s House, My Super Sweet Sixteen, Real World, Real World Road Rules Challenge, and

The City. The reality TV show craze is one that‘s turned ―Music Television‖ into a production

plant for ―scriptless‖ shows and The Hills, especially, has become extremely popular among

MTV viewers.

When we initially decided to research The Hills, we were wondering what type of

research had been conducted on it, considering it is a relatively new television program.

However, we found a considerable amount of research that had already been done on the show.

A. Leppert and J. Wilson (2008) have studied the blurred line between reality and stardom on

reality television, and the ability of The Hills to transform Lauren Conrad into a celebrity. In

their article, they explain how viewers connect with Lauren Conrad on a personal level, to a

point where we even address her as ―Lauren,‖ as if we are friends with her. Their point is that so

many of us have grown to relate to Lauren, in spite of the fact that her reality is generally

unrelatable for the majority of us. R.M. Potratz (2007) has taken a look at youth and their

perception of MTV reality programs. To shape her study, Potratz interviewed eight freshmen at

Midwestern University and surveyed 78 other students. With a specific focus on The Real World,

Laguna Beach, and The Hills, she was able to establish that these reality shows play a major role

in their viewer‘s lives, and in many cases even impact their audience‘s view of reality. In another

study, H. Siris (2007) analyzes two episodes from the first seasons of My Super Sweet Sixteen,

Laguna Beach, and The Hills. Siris theorizes that an obsession with materialism, popularity, and

appearance can be linked to the importance of these factors portrayed by these ―dramality‖

(drama+reality) series. She addresses the casts‘ privileged lifestyles, male dominant beliefs, and

casual attitudes towards sex as ways of imbedding within teenage culture certain values that are

actually unacceptable . One study by Curnutt (2009) looked at the making of the ―reality

celebrity‖ by MTV. The study looked particularly at the ―reality celebrity‖ created for MTV‘s

series The Real World. Curnutt‘s work described the difference between reality television stars,

with blurred distinctions between show-participant and television-performer, and film and

television actors. Another study, conducted by Zizi Papacharissi and Andrew L. Mendelson

(2009), evaluated college students‘ general reality television viewing. The study observed

college students‘ reasons for watching reality shows, finding that most of them watch for pure

entertainment. This study pertained to a large part of MTV‘s audience: college students. Loren

A. Seeger conducted a study that evaluated MTV‘s The Hills female fans through online blog

commentary (2009). The study looked at the types of blog comments related to The Hills and its

cast members.

To conduct our research, we decided to employ the tactics used by other researchers

whose articles we‘ve read in and out of class this semester. One of these people is Dylan Tutt,

whose article was entitled ―Where the Interaction Is: Collisions of the Situated and Mediated in

Living Room Interactions.‖ (year). To conduct his research, he recorded three different living

rooms over the course of a year, and analyzed one specific interaction/situation that occurred in

all three of the living rooms he had been recording (Tutt, 2008). While we did not record any

interactions on tape, we did record them onto paper and have chosen to look at one of these

conversations in particular for our study. We have also decided to employ Seeger‘s tactics of

blog research to analyze internet discourse regarding The Hills, specifically looking at blogs and

Facebook groups dedicated to the show and created by the fans (Seeger, 2009). We‘ve also made

reference to the issue of race on The Hills by addressing Yuen and Ray‘s (2009) article entitled

Post 9/11, but Not Post-Racial, and the G. Mantsios (1995) article Media Magic: Making Class

Invisible. Additionally, we have looked at images of men and women that MTV presents to the

public, including those personalities on their other shows, but specifically the men and women

on The Hills. By applying the ideas projected by J. Kilbourne (2000) Killing Us Softly 3:

Advertising’s Image of Women video we watched in class earlier this year, we were able to

conduct our own study of masculinity and femininity as portrayed by MTV and The Hills and

recognize some of their assertions in our own results.

As a network, MTV has been a major staple in this generation‘s culture. It exposes us—

less often, as the years have progressed—to the latest music. It keeps us informed of what our

favorite artists and actors are doing. MTV News and Truth commercials keep us aware of current

events and issues. But less obviously, MTV—through the content it shows and its reality

programs—has defined to our generation what it means to be masculine and feminine in today‘s

culture. The Hills, specifically, demonstrates how blatantly MTV draws the distinction between

male and female, and what it means to be an acceptable version of both.

In 2004, Laguna Beach premiered; a reality television show documenting the glamorous

lives of high school students living as a part of California‘s upper class. It was this show that

introduced the world to Lauren Conrad, a perceivably nice girl burdened by drama-loving queen

bee Kristin Cavallari and an undefined relationship with class heartthrob, Stephen Colletti. Two

years later, MTV audiences followed Lauren to the Hollywood Hills, for what would be become

a phenomena.

Reality shows have a way of turning ―nobodies‖ into ―somebodies‖ just for living their

lives. The sudden and short-lived fame experienced by these reality show casts has deemed them

the title ―celetoid.‖ But Lauren was not the typical celetoid, who drifted from the limelight just as

quickly as she stumbled into it. Instead, she became an undeniable star (Leppert, 2008).

To acknowledge a person as a star, yet portray her to young people as being ―real‖ is an

oxymoron in and of itself. Perhaps spontaneous trips to Cabo San Lucas and $3,000 handbags

are reality for the cast of The Hills, but for the vast majority, this can‘t be considered real.

However, MTV portrays Lauren as relatable, fun, and deserving of our empathy. They portray

her as a ―girl‘s girl‖ dealing with girl problems and turning to her girlfriends for the support that

girls are there to offer one another. And thus begins the line that MTV draws between femininity

and masculinity.

Figure A Figure B Figure C

Above are three pictures of The Hills‘ main characters. In Figure A, (from left) Audrina

Patridge, Lauren Conrad, and Whitney Port are seated by a pool in bikinis, posing without really

posing at all. They come off as glamorous, even when they aren‘t trying. With slouched backs,

bent knees, and straight faces, this moment is portrayed as just another afternoon at the pool.

Thus creating the idea that these girls, with their thin, tan bodies and long waving hair are this

way effortlessly. It suggests that the perfection they portray is simple to attain, and that this is the

standard for girls to live up to.

Figure B is the May 2008 Rolling Stone cover, on which The Hills‘ main characters—at

the time—were featured. (From left) Heidi Montag, Audrina Patridge, Lauren Conrad, and

Whitney Port pose and dance flirtatiously, wearing barely-there panties and micro-mini dresses.

Still skinny, still tan, with seemingly-natural waving hair, the girls appear to be having the times

of their lives while striking no-big-deal poses that leave them looking flawless.

Lastly is Figure C, where the latest star of The Hills, Kristin Cavallari, strikes a pose that

highlights her thin profile, tan skin, and wistful hair. With a hand on her hip and the remnants of

a smile on her lips, she gazes alluringly at the camera while still managing to appear relaxed,

natural, and unfazed.

The major theme that Figures A, B, and C have in common is the portrayal of effortless

beauty. In none of these pictures are the girls appearing pose-y or rehearsed; they don‘t

immediately strike audiences as models. Therefore, their perfection appears natural; these ads

suggest that the women we are watching are just normal girls. Meaning it should be possible for

any girl to look like this; that girls should be able to naturally photograph this way. By portraying

the girls on The Hills, especially Lauren, as ―girl‘s girls,‖ MTV is attempting to make them

relatable.

In comparison, we gathered pictures of the male characters on The Hills.

Figure D Figure E Figure F

Figure D is a picture of Brody Jenner, the show‘s attractive ―good guy.‖ He is portrayed

in the show as a ―guy‘s guy,‖ hanging out with his friends and showing up at all the right parties,

well informed when it comes to L.A. nightlife. But Brody is also a hot-topic when it comes to the

female cast. He has relationship histories with several female cast members and his love life is

always a topic of discussion on the show. In this picture, he‘s just as cool as ever with his relaxed

posture and easy almost-grin. He‘s well-dressed and well-groomed, showing us exactly what it is

that all the girls on The Hills love about him. He defines what it means to be masculine as a

representation of the ideal, attractive, sexy guy that all girls should be looking for, and at the

same time offers for male viewers an example of the type of guy that girls are after.

Figure E shows Brody Jenner with friend and cast member Frankie Delgado. The guys

are on a golf course with golf clubs and balls around them, and body language that represents

their easy-going attitudes. The fact that the guys are shown golfing suggests that they are

masculine because they are playing a sport. While the girls‘ pictures feature them ―being girls‖ in

minimal clothing and having fun, the guys are ―being guys‖ by playing sports and dressing

nicely. They continue to represent the ―ideal guy‖ for both male and female fans.

Lastly, Figure F shows Justin Bobby, the shows main ―bad boy‖ that the girls are

helplessly drawn to. The picture perfectly portrays his carefree attitude and messy-yet-sexy style,

with his unbuttoned shirt, muddled hair, and lazy expression. He is a representation of everything

that girls love to hate about guys, but that‘s what makes him so cool.

All of these pictures of The Hills‘s male cast members show us what it means to be

masculine. They show us that masculinity is a well-groomed, sporty, cool attitude that comes off

effortlessly and attractively to females. By defining this type of masculinity through The Hills‘s

cast, MTV shows guys a ―correct‖ way to look and act, and tells girls that these are the types of

guys that they should be attracted to.

The relatability that MTV has successfully created is especially obvious when analyzing

the discourse that takes place around The Hills. From conversations, to blogs, to Facebook

organizations, it is undeniably obvious that viewers see themselves in these characters, even after

MTV has manufactured them in such a way that makes them anything but ―real.‖

Following Tutt‘s study of living room interactions, we decided to conduct our own

ethnographical analysis of discourse surrounding The Hills. Take the following living room

interaction into consideration. During a preview for The Hills that was edited in a way to make it

seem as if Justin Bobby (Audrina‘s ex-boyfriend) was trying to date Audrina and Kristen at the

same time, one of our friends and her boyfriend stopped to pay particular attention to what was

scheduled to be happening next episode. The dialogue following the preview was as follows:

FRIEND: Oh my gosh.

BOYFRIEND: That‘s what‘s up!

FRIEND (angrily): He‘s playing both of them!

BOYFRIEND: That‘s my boy.

FRIEND: Are you kidding me? No, really. Are you kidding me?

(Before he can respond)

FRIEND: Justin has been doing this to Audrina for years. It‘s so messed up. She deserves

so much better than him.

BOYFRIEND: Can you listen to yourself? It‘s just a show. It‘s all fake.

FRIEND: That doesn‘t mean you don‘t sound stupid when you defend stuff like that.

Watching this minor altercation, it was apparent that our friend was one of the many girls

who identify with the girls on The Hills and their problems. She wasn‘t speaking of Audrina

Patridge as if she was a character on a television show, but instead like she was sticking up for a

friend. On the other hand, her boyfriend reacted in support of Justin Bobby‘s decision to date

Kristen and Audrina at the same time, seeing this behavior as not only understandable, but

commendable. After analyzing Facebook texts such as wall posts and picture comments, it is

apparent that many fans speak of The Hills cast as if they aren‘t just TV personalities, but instead

people with whom they‘ve formed relationships; people who they consider to be very real.

Currently, there are about 7,100 fan groups for The Hills on Facebook and 289 pages

dedicated to the show. In one discussion group, fans have made posts regarding Spencer Pratt,

and Heidi Montag‘s decision to remain in a relationship with him in spite of his less than faithful

past. Here are some of the reactions:

Why is Heidi so BLIND about Spencer? Why did she take him back?!?!?! Especially

after seeing him with playmates?!?!?! Omg!

umm spencer is the EPITOME of someone that i knowwwwwww, [it‘s] crazyyy [they‘re]

the same personnn, [look-wise] and [scumbag-personality-wise] toooo.

and i mean [she‘s] like leaving Lauren hanging [she‘s] not trying to work things out at

all. and like spencer is full of shit [he‘s] the cause for their friendship breaking apart.

heidi is so oblivious to everything he does.. and he treats her [a lot] worse [than] jason

treated lauren!

[let‘s all] hope it is the end of spencer! It would be in the best [interest] for the WORLD !

(Zuckerberg, 2009)

Such passionate comments expose just how seriously people take the characters and

situations presented on The Hills. They write about them using all-caps, exclamation marks, and

extra letters at the end of a word, just to portray how passionate they are. They recognize

characters on The Hills in people they interact with on a daily basis; they claim their world

would be better if it was ―the end‖ of certain characters. MTV has created a group of people that

many see as real and relatable, while clearly defining gender roles and what it means to be

feminine and masculine.

The Hills, as such a popular reality series among teens and young adults in America, has

generated a lot of online content and discussion. Numerous blogs exist that allow fans of The

Hills to comment openly on the show‘s content and stars. The MTV website also features

message boards to generate viewer discussion on three topics: Cast, Episodes, and News and

gossip (MTV Networks, 2009).

Internet blogs that pertain to The Hills and the MTV website tend to feature pictures of

the cast members in high-end clothing that usually reveals their bodies and frames them within

very limited, specific concepts of femininity and masculinity. The particular clothing the cast

members are shown in sets them apart, especially the females. The clothing labels and fashion

trends featured online consist of dresses, skirts and high heels on the girls, and jeans and trendy

accessories on the guys. These fashion and appearance standards set by MTV make the cast that

much more attractive to the audience, aiding MTV‘s construction of character for its ―reality‖

stars. Often, the clothing shown on the MTV stars and discussed online makes the females

appear ―feminine‖ and sets an example for the young viewers that take what they see as how

they, themselves, should appear.

The MTV Remote Control Blog: The Hills is another blog site that allows fans of the

series to read, post, and comment on the latest happenings on the show and with its cast. This

particular blog is advertised by MTV as ―insider access‖ to The Hills, so readers will invest their

interest in the website and take its content as truth. The blog features posts that point to much

more than just the drama that occurs on the show‘s episodes. Blog posts such as ―Hills Style

Wars! Jayde and Kristin Face Off in Flannel‖ and ―Hot Shots: Speidi Demonstrate ‗How To Be

Famous‘‖ discuss the ―real lives‖ of the stars on the show. However, the posts, through wording

and pictures, boast an unrealistic normalcy to fans of The Hills. These types of posts make the

stars‘ lives even more fascinating to readers, and make the readers feel that they can relate more

to the cast, but in actuality the lives of the stars are very different from that of the majority of

fans. Blog posts like these serve as a form of advertising for The Hills and its cast; the content

and images especially advertise femininity to the show‘s female audience. Jean Kilbourne (2000)

explains in her video Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising’s Image of Women that mass media

advertising sets a standard of normalcy for females, telling us ―who we are and who we should

be.‖ She says that the mass media makes beauty and the way we look the most important aspect

of women‘s lives, and the content on this blog suggests to girls especially that an appearance

similar to the stars‘ is important to obtain.

The information on The Hills provided by MTV‘s website is organized in a way that

keeps the stars within a celebrity-like status and definable by MTV‘s standards of femininity and

masculinity. The information is subjective, offering opinions for the readers to take as ―correct‖

before they form their own, thus telling the readers what it means to be female and what it means

to be male. Each cast member is featured on the website with a personal bio section. The bios,

however, give descriptions that force readers to frame the characters in a specific way. Kristin

Cavallari, the show‘s main cast member this season, is described as ―not exactly a girl‘s girl.‖

MTV then adds, ―How can you be when all the boys like you?‖ In this description, MTV frames

Kristin within a specific context of femininity in which have men‘s attention is more important

than having your girl friends; that, in essence, boys are more important than girls. Justin Bobby

also has a bio on the site. He is described as ―handsome‖ and ―mysterious,‖ typical terms for

attractive men, and the website says he cannot be pinned down. MTV frames Justin‘s character

by providing his description in a way that may be appealing to the show‘s mostly-female

targeted audience. He has characteristics that females would consider attractive, yet holds on to

that bad-boy attitude that makes him masculine (MTV Networks, 2009).

Adding to the clear division of masculinity and femininity in MTV‘s programming, The

Hills also sets a standard of normalcy when it comes to the upper class. Mantsios (1995)

explained that media indicates that only the wealthy are important to our culture. He suggests

that based on what the media give us, our culture identifies with the wealthy. We think the

concerns of the wealthy are our own concerns, and we take what we see in the wealthy class and

apply it to ourselves. Through The Hills, MTV shows viewers the wealth of the stars, and the

viewers then hope to relate to the luxurious lifestyles they see. Girls in expensive clothing and

guys driving fancy cars appear normal in the show. MTV combines this standard of wealth with

its depictions of femininity and masculinity, making it ―normal‖ to be wealthy, feminine girls,

and wealthy, masculine guys.

If The Hills was what it was supposed to be—an unbiased, inside look at the lives of

wealthy twenty-somethings living in LA—an unconvincing argument could be made that MTV

is drawing the lines between men and women by editing the show in a way to highlight certain

themes and ideas. But for years, speculation has been swirling about just how authentic The Hills

really is, and in June 2009, Lauren Conrad (after leaving the show herself) confirmed while

being interviewed on The View that a scene in which Spencer apologizes to Lauren over the

phone in an attempt to get her to attend his and Heidi‘s wedding was fake and never actually

happened (Reality Tea, 2009). Which This adds truth support to what many had been thinking all

along: that The Hills is a mesh of predetermined drama and loosely written scripts.

Because of this, a completely new light can be cast on The Hills, and what MTV is

inherently choosing to show its audiences. Looking solely at the past eight episodes of this

season, an undeniable gender distinction can be drawn. With Heidi and Spencer finally married,

she (Heidi?) immediately adopts the homemaker position and decides that she wants a baby.

Spencer, being a man in his early-20‘s, declares that that is something he absolutely will not

tolerate. In a different storyline, Justin Bobby spends the majority of the first episodes carelessly

dividing his time between Audrina and Kristin while each girl speaks to her friends about how

she is the one that Justin Bobby is really after. Although Kristin finally does stand up for herself

with Justin Bobby, it takes her four episodes to do so and as soon as she finally does, she gets

herself caught up in another love triangle between Brody and his girlfriend, Jayde. Again, the

two girls are the major players in the conflict, while Brody (as did Justin Bobby) separates

himself from the drama and allows the two girls to literally fight it out themselves (Mast, 2006).

We have yet to witness this season an interaction on The Hills between two women

where a man‘s name is not ultimately brought up. More often than not, the exchange is solely

about a man, whether he‘s a new crush, an old flame, cheating, hard to read, etc. These

conversations usually happen over a lunch date at a swanky café, although at times the girls will

be talking while sitting on the couch, laying by the beach, or getting pedicures. When the men on

the show are interacting, however, they are almost never discussing women the way that their

female cast members are discussing men. If the women are even brought up, it‘s usually because

they‘ve been annoying lately, ―bitchy‖ lately, or ―crazy‖ lately. And when they do happen to be

talking about the girls, it‘s usually over some sort of physical activity, like golf or pool (Mast,

2006).

There are no overweight characters on The Hills, and most of the women would probably

be considered underweight. Everyone profiled is extremely wealthy, and the only person of color

is Brody‘s best friend, Frankie, a Hispanic male. Thus, we can apply Yuen & Ray‘s (2009) study

on race, and their conclusion that minorities are becoming more prominent in the media but are

still not the desirable race, and that Caucasian men are consistently portrayed as the strong,

dominant character.

Because The Hills is not as real as its ―reality show‖ categorization makes it sound, these

messages about men and women become MTV‘s messages to us. What we are seeing is what

they want us to see, and on The Hills, they want us to see women talking endlessly about men,

desiring babies, fighting amongst themselves and meeting the extremely high standards of beauty

with a certain ease. They are also suggesting through instances between Audrina and Justin

Bobby, Jayde and Brody, and situations in past seasons between Spencer and Heidi, that women

will not only be cheated on by their men, but that they should be willing to forgive them and take

them back afterwards. Meanwhile, characters such as Brody, Spencer, and Justin Bobby (the

main male presences on the show) are examples of stoic, emotionless men who tend to discuss

women only to complain about how dramatic they can be. They flirt with other women

regardless of their relationship status, and are shown much more often than their female costars

playing pool or golf, partying, and in other more active scenes.

The Hills is merely a byproduct, however, of the expansive concept that MTV creates as

a network about men and women. The Hills is broadcasted on MTV, a cable channel owned by

Viacom. Viacom owns all of MTV‘s programming and MTV Productions, MTV radio, MTV

mobile, MTV online, and several other cable television stations, like Nickelodeon, BET, CMT,

Comedy Central and VH1. The wide variety of outlets for MTV and the large ownership by

Viacom allows The Hills to be advertised and connected to several different media outlets. One

way MTV advertises for The Hills, and builds on its stars‘ reputations, is through other series

broadcast on MTV. Whitney Port was a star on The Hills and then moved from Hollywood to

New York City. When she moved, MTV created a reality series very similar to The Hills, titled

The City, in which she could be the lead. Brody Jenner also had a reality series of his own,

Bromance. On the show, Brody met a handful of guys from which he would pick one to be his

new best friend. The MTV website explains the way contestants on Bromance go through

challenges and get eliminated. The website describes, ―Each bro is placed under intense scrutiny

when it comes to the search for bromance. Who's got game? Who's keeping it real? And who's

always got Brody's back, no matter what?‖ Bromance definitely defined what it means to be

masculine in today‘s culture.

Episodes of The Hills from past seasons do appear on different networks, such as CBS,

which is a large organization in media ownership on its own. In this way, MTV not only spreads

The Hills‘ cast and messages across media outlets it owns, but it also advertises its newest season

by reaching a larger audience on other networks through older episodes. By selling past seasons

of The Hills on DVD through its own production companies, MTV expands viewer access to the

show and creates an even larger statement of influence on young American culture.

Take into account the faces we see when we turn on their channel:

Alexa Chung, It’s on with Alexa Chung Whitney Port, The City Shane Sparks, America’s Best Dance Crew

P. Diddy, Making His Band and I Want Rob Dyrdek, Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Vanessa and Angela Simmons, Daddy’s Girls

to Work for Diddy Factory and Run’s House

Mario Lopez, America’s Best Dance The Cast, The Ruins

Above are the main characters on the majority of the shows listed on MTV‘s website.

While the personalities have become a little more diverse than when strictly focusing on The

Hills, that is just about the only noticeable change. In all but one of the pictures, the men aren‘t

smiling, and instead are appearing laid back and unaffected, much like the laissez-faire attitude

of the men on The Hills. The women are all still thin and portraying much softer personalities,

much like the dainty lunches and pedicure dates the girls on The Hills share. In The Ruins

picture, the men stand in front with folded arms and straight faces; muscular bodies and

sweatbands. The women are behind them smiling and appearing much less intimidating; one cast

member even wears a flower in her hair. And thus the MTV portrayal of men and women

continues over the expanse of its network: that femininity focuses on appearances and emotions;

masculinity concerns toughness and no-nonsense attitude.

Through our research of the media surrounding MTV‘s reality series The Hills, we

discovered that the show does have narrowly constructed representations of femininity and

masculinity that viewers consider both accurate and relatable. The images of the stars that MTV

provides display the ideas of females as beautiful and flawless and males as active yet carefree.

These constructs of femininity and masculinity may be accepted by viewers, yet are not realistic.

By creating an ethnographic analysis of a living room situation where people were watching The

Hills, we found that female viewers sympathize and relate to female stars, while male viewers do

the same with the male stars. In accordance with the findings from the living room analysis,

online Facebook pages and blog sites show that viewers feel as if they know the cast on a very

personal level. The Hills fans feel that they can relate so closely to MTV‘s stars, that they talk

about their lives as if they themselves were involved in them. As fans sympathize with the cast,

they accept the distinctions between male and female concerns: males annoyed by feminine

drama and wanting to party, and females upset about their love-lives while maintaining their

beauty. Blogs, in particular, expand viewer concern with the stars to events not aired on The

Hills, but maintain the lines of what is ―masculine‖ and what is ―feminine‖ by telling fans what

the stars do, and what aspects of their lives are important. As speculation about the reality of the

show has grown, it has become more obvious that MTV producers construct episodes of The

Hills to distinguish masculinity and femininity for young American culture. If the show does not

represent complete reality for the cast, MTV is constructing its programming to tell viewers what

is feminine and what is masculine by showing ―what girls do‖ and ―what guys do‖ when it

comes to day-to-day life. The loosened concept of reality in the series makes the influence of

MTV production on viewer beliefs much stronger. Since MTV continues to expand its ability to

reach viewers, with online media and access to its shows across multiple networks, MTV is able

to affect its viewers‘ concepts of femininity and masculinity to a greater extent. The network has

become a large part of what is considered young American culture, and through carefully crafted

representation of the cast on all of its programming and across all forms of media, is even able to

redefine that culture in terms of femininity and masculinity.

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