Noormeeste visuaalne eneserepresenteerimine suhtlusportaalis rate.ee
Date
2007
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tartu Ülikool
Abstract
Description
The aim of the present BA thesis “Patterns of Visual Self-presentation at Dating
Website Rate.ee – Analysis of Photographs of Teenage Boys ” is to analyze how boys
visually market themselves on the photographs at Estonian dating site Rate.ee. Are
the self-presentation schemas corresponding to stereotypical media representation of
traditional masculinity and is there any difference in results when comparing the
current study of analyzing all the photos of one account at Rate.ee with previous
studies analyzing only the main photo of each account.
The keywords of this thesis are: impression management, dating website, gender
stereotypes, teenage boys and visual content analysis.
Theorists (Goffman 1979, Gauntlett 2002 [2005]) have argued that the mass media
plays an important role in the socialization process as it can act as one of the tools for
people who are trying to model their own identities. The role of the media and peers
can be felt strongly especially in the case of gender identity and gender roles, since
media representations combined with social feedback can alter reinforcement how
ideal men should behave and look like. Thus we assume that boys at Rate.ee present
themselves in a fashion that is known to them from mass media.
Dating and communication website Rate was opened 1. May 2002 (
www.rate.ee
). The
name of the website is tied to the main idea of the site – rating photos of other users
and getting feedback to your own pictures. One can post their photos and other
personal data in order to receive comments and points from other website users. The
survey “Pupils and the Media 2005” conducted by the Department of Journalism and
Communication of Tartu University in October 2005 showed that Rate.ee is the most
popular website among Estonian teenagers that is used by 76% of the pupils. This
number shows the scale of its popularity and influence.
According to Goffman (1959), individuals tend to emphasize or suppress certain
aspects of the self depending on the context of the situation. Whenever other persons are present, people tend to accentuate these aspects of the self that typically
correspond to norms and ideals of the group the person belongs to, or wishes to
belong to. Thus one can assume that youngsters in Rate prefer to use socially
approved and familiar ways for appealing to the opposite sex.
In my study I focused on analysis of these impressions on photographs uploaded by
teenage boys aged 15-19. Visual content analysis involving elements of Kress and
van Leeuwen s ( 2006) and Bell s (2001) method of “reading images” was carried out
to analyze all the photos of accounts of 96 teenage boys, thus including 660 photos in
all. The method of “reading images” is developed from social semiotic theory and
makes explicit the ways people produce and communicate meaning through the
spatial configurations of visual elements in the western societies.
The results of my study showed that boys mostly prefer to present themselves from
personal distance, they are usually dressed and tend to use
more public settings for
posing.
Still every fifth boy uses at least one picture with high level of body display.
Mostly the boys are passive on the pictures and are engaged in posing – thus
confirming the developments of last decades, where the appearance and not the
functionally has come first in the case of male bodies (Gill 2001). Mostly the boys are
presenting themselves on the photographs alone in order to emphasize the message of
autonomy. Still 40% of boys used at least one picture where they were accompanied
by some girl – usually only to make them more exclusive and add worthiness.
We can say that following the developments in media presentations of last decade and
quite contradictory to traditional Macho man image, boys need to emphasize their
looks in order to get attention.
Still the main conclusion is that boys are using several difference tactics to convey
their message. And from the point of view of gender roles, these messages can be
contradictory. We can see hints of metrosexuality, hints of Mr. Nice Guy or Macho
man - all in case of one account. We can see the pluralism on masculine identities
that can be constantly constructed and played with according to feedback at the
dynamic environment of online community.
Keywords
H Social Sciences (General), bakalaureusetööd, infoühiskond, sotsiaalmeedia, võrgusuhtlus, infoportaalid, sugupooled, noormehed, mina-esitus, kuvand, visuaalne kommunikatsioon