Gender, Media and Development: The Role of the Media in the Cultural Struggle of Gender Transformation in Tanzania

The mass media sees social change through gendered spectacles, which often puts women at risk of negative representations. The author addresses how gender is constructed in Tanzanian newspapers and local television drama against the backdrop of political and economic reforms. The movement from socialist to capitalist principles, starting in the mid 1980s, fueled public distress concerning the effects of Western influence and commercialization on local culture and morality. This book shows that conflicts and tensions arising from this process reverberate in the mass media, as can be seen in the massive coverage of women as victims of gender violence and sexual abuse, recurring images of women as prostitutes, as well as the ?gold-digger? girls. This work offers an original contribution to research on Tanzanian media and gender issues; linking representations of women to power, empowerment and development. With its explorative view and comprehensive empirical analyses of cultural representations, including examination of audiences? interpretations, this book will be essential reading for students and scholars of communications, development studies and women?s studies.