Keywords
Television, fiction, woman, gender, feminism, work, analysis, socio-semiotics
Abstract
During the sixties and seventies the limited presence of women in the public sphere was reflected in the restricted repertoire of roles played by female characters in television fiction (mainly those of mothers and wives). The strengthening of the feminist movement in the following decades increased and diversified the portrayals of women in the workplace, and further encouraged academic research on the social construction of working women. Despite the relevance of female professionals in current TV shows, the importance of romantic relationships and sexuality has led to a decreasing number of studies on the subject. This article summarizes the results of a study on working women in Spanish TV fiction, part of a larger project on the construction of female identities. The research uses an original methodology that combines quantitative techniques and qualitative methods (socio-semiotics) to analyse the sample of 709 female characters. The results show a coexistence of the traditional stereotypes of working women in customer service and care-giving positions with those of highly skilled female professionals. However, the empowerment of women in positions of responsibility is often associated with a negative portrayal of the character, while the problems of reconciling family and work are systematically avoided.
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Technical information
Received: 14-10-2015
Revised: 30-10-2015
Accepted: 23-11-2015
OnlineFirst: 15-02-2016
Publication date: 01-04-2016
Article revision time: 16 days | Average time revision issue 47: 35 days
Article acceptance time: 40 days | Average time of acceptance issue 47: 62 days
Preprint editing time: 125 days | Average editing time preprint issue 47: 147 days
Article editing time: 170 days | Average editing time issue 47: 192 days
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Lacalle, C., & Gómez, B. (2016). The representation of workingwomen in Spanish television fiction. [La representación de las mujeres trabajadoras en la ficción televisiva española]. Comunicar, 47, 59-67. https://doi.org/10.3916/C47-2016-06