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19
WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE AND STEREOTYPES PERTAINING TO
THEM
Since this research specifically discusses the image of the female publicist, it is
important to note the overall struggle that women in general have faced in the workplace.
Women have been fighting for equality in the public eye long before female
representation in the workplace existed on screen. Originally the women’s movement
focused on the right to vote and eventually shifted into the workplace. This struggle can
be attributed to the phenomenon of the 1970s known as the “Glass Ceiling” (“Women in
Management,” 1998, p. 79), a metaphor used to describe the barrier that prevents women
and minorities in the workforce from reaching top levels of management and chief
positions (Bily & Manoochehri, 1995, p. 33). The single, most important event in the
U.S. labor market in the 20th century has been the unparalleled entrance of large numbers
of women into the workforce (Gini, 1998, p. 17), and this can be attributed to the Baby-
Boomers, whose previously working mothers returned to the home after World War II
and passed on a “sparked interest” to their daughters to work (Bily & Manoochehri, 1995,
p. 33). The general idea of the Glass Ceiling has arisen because women, who have
generally had roles in the past as homemaker and child caregiver, have crossed over into
the work force.
Although the 1990s saw a significant rise in female workers (50% of women held
entry-level positions), the struggle to get to the top still existed, and the Glass Ceiling was
therefore very much in place (Bily & Manoochehri, 1995, pp. 33 – 34). More recently,
statistics show that in 2009, women accounted for 46.8% of the total U.S. labor force.
Object Description
| Title | Power party girls, good looking crowds and one hellish boss: The portrayal of the female entertainment publicist on reality television |
| Author | Hashem, Camille Renée |
| Author email | chashem@usc.edu; chashem87@gmail.com |
| Degree | Master of Arts |
| Document type | Thesis |
| Degree program | Public Relations |
| School | Annenberg School for Communication |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-04-01 |
| Date submitted | 2011 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2011-05-03 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Thorson, Kjerstin |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Floto, Jennifer Saltzman, Joseph |
| Abstract | This thesis is an examination of the portrayal of the female entertainment publicist shown in reality television. With the large success rate of Samantha Jones from Sex and the City in the 1990s, female interest in public relations has increased, and good or bad, Jones has served as one of the predominate images of the publicist in the entertainment industry. Those who have performed critical analysis of the image of the public relations practitioner have deemed these representations as showing negative characteristics of those in the profession. While there has been previous research on the image of public relations in media, analysis of the female entertainment publicist in reality television has been left untapped.; The project consisted of a content analysis as well as interviews with various women in entertainment public relations. Three reality television shows featuring female entertainment publicists were watched: MTV's PoweR Girls (2005), Bravo's Kell on Earth (2010) and E! Network's The Spin Crowd. After conducting this analysis, the author found that the female publicist is put in one of two gender categories, the masculine bitch or the overtly sexy "PR Bunny." Other findings inferred that the dominant images within each series suggested that public relations is overall an easy field to enter, with little or no experience or professionalism needed. Finally, although the three series had some subtle differences, public relations is still shown as a glamorous job.; Interviewee responses showed that the negative representations of entertainment publicists on reality television are not indicative of the real life job itself, but that media's representation of it has led others to believe false or skewed images of the profession. Since these three shows' target demographics include young women about make a career decision, the impact they may have on this demographic, and how it may affect the future of public relations and the expectations of those about the enter the industry, is also discussed. |
| Keyword | communication; entertainment; media; public relations; reality television |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA |
| Coverage date | 1990/2010 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3875 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Hashem, Camille Renée |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Hashem-4503 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume26/etd-Hashem-4503.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 19 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 19 WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE AND STEREOTYPES PERTAINING TO THEM Since this research specifically discusses the image of the female publicist, it is important to note the overall struggle that women in general have faced in the workplace. Women have been fighting for equality in the public eye long before female representation in the workplace existed on screen. Originally the women’s movement focused on the right to vote and eventually shifted into the workplace. This struggle can be attributed to the phenomenon of the 1970s known as the “Glass Ceiling” (“Women in Management,” 1998, p. 79), a metaphor used to describe the barrier that prevents women and minorities in the workforce from reaching top levels of management and chief positions (Bily & Manoochehri, 1995, p. 33). The single, most important event in the U.S. labor market in the 20th century has been the unparalleled entrance of large numbers of women into the workforce (Gini, 1998, p. 17), and this can be attributed to the Baby- Boomers, whose previously working mothers returned to the home after World War II and passed on a “sparked interest” to their daughters to work (Bily & Manoochehri, 1995, p. 33). The general idea of the Glass Ceiling has arisen because women, who have generally had roles in the past as homemaker and child caregiver, have crossed over into the work force. Although the 1990s saw a significant rise in female workers (50% of women held entry-level positions), the struggle to get to the top still existed, and the Glass Ceiling was therefore very much in place (Bily & Manoochehri, 1995, pp. 33 – 34). More recently, statistics show that in 2009, women accounted for 46.8% of the total U.S. labor force. |
