'Sluts' and 'shaggers': media discourse, gender and sexual behaviour

"Motivation Although the confluence of the #MeToo movement and the fourth wave of Western feminism have ushered in a new era of equality-focused activism, recent scandals involving the Metropolitan Police, British MPs and the Russell Brand allegations demonstrate that structural misogyny remains endemic.

The mass media play a key role in shaping cultural ideologies through public discourse, so how it disseminates sexual behaviour guides societal interpretation (Conboy & Eldridge, 2017; Cotter, 2010).

For many years, Russell Brand was just one of many public figures subject to widespread media coverage that was far from censorious.

Rather, he was celebrated; repeatedly winning Shagger of the Year' in a tabloid and asked if he was a 'successful sexual predator'.

The context underpinning these was humorous, enabling him to 'hide in plain sight', as widely reported now: "Brand's raptorial sexuality was his personality...and for a long time he was handsomely rewarded for it" (Gilbert, 2023).

Brand is one of scores of famous men who have been accused of historical sexual assault, including Noel Clarke and Harvey Weinstein.

Conversely, women and girls have been asymmetrically judged by both explicit and implicit sexual standards; Ulrika Jonsson, Charlotte Church and Britney Spears amongst many facing public censure (Attenborough, 2014).

Sociolinguistics increasingly recognises the dynamic relationship between media and community language, enabling us to explore how contemporary ideologies are expressed through language use from a macro and micro perspective (Androutsopoulous, 2014, Machin & Thornbarrow, 2003).

Linguistic discourse analysis gives us the tools we need to unpick, analyse and understand these implicit social meanings.

How influential language is in shaping our collective realities is a key tenet; Foucault's theory positing people may only understand their world through the linguistic descriptions available (Waitt, 2005).

The presentation of media discourse, such as lexical choice and schema can influence opinions of its participants' actions (Van Dijk, 1983).

They act as a "popular tour guide" for the public, fact and opinion mediatising how people should respond (Berns 2004).

How behaviour was presented could therefore explain why such predatory actions went contemporaneously unchecked and are only now being reassessed. Research Objectives 1.

Examine narratives of sexual behaviour in media discourse Narratives are how we make sense of life, the world and our own place within it, they shape and underpin our expectations, values and what we feel is right, normal, or desirable (Irvine & Gal 2000, Valentine 2016).

By analysing the dominant mass-media narratives, we can uncover, unpick and challenge the embedding of gendered ideologies and contribute towards a shift in the narrative. 2.

Survey and interview readers about sexual behaviour Whether media discourse creates or reflect realities, it is important to understand how readers perceive the messages conveyed to them via the media.

This research aim will capture and examine the perspectives of a cross-section of the public and investigate the ways that language impacts their belief systems around sexual behaviour. 3.

Survey and interview media creators about sexual behaviour discourse As well as analysing reader perception, this project would interview key media creators (journalists, editors, columnists) to understand the cultural context and motivations behind sexual behaviour discourses.

The student would interview authors of specific discourses under study (such as the former editor of Nuts magazine, Phil Hilton) to fully explore the societal context, as well as examining linguistic choices made.

As a former journalist, Becky has existing links with relevant people and will be able to therefore explore both sides of this discourse: production and perception. 4. Create a series of public and organisation facing resources to support medi