The body and visual boundaries: A study of patient images in televised sexual health news reports
Abstract
This dissertation's focus involves formerly private medical examinations/procedures in television sexual health news reports. Based on post-structural theory, this dissertation includes a consideration of social concerns related to body boundaries, privacy, medical paternalism, and medical dependency. In particular, these concerns serve as the theoretical backdrop for an investigation of patient images depicted in television sexual health news reports. This dissertation uses Critical Discourse Analysis as a methodology. The first phase in this methodology involves a content analysis of the patient images in television sexual health news reports. Included in this analysis is a comparison of differences between male and female patients. The second phase draws on a comparison between image coverage on ABC, CBS, CNN, and NBC. Additionally, a historical/contextual interpretation suggests theories regarding how and why the patient images are portrayed as they are. The content analysis results supported some theoretical premises undergirding this study. In particular, the inclusion of patient body invasions, depiction of patients in medical clothing and undergoing procedures, and the greater number of physician portrayals than patient portrayals in the sample supported theoretical concerns related to privacy, surveillance, and medical paternalism. Additionally, the results indicated that male and female patients were portrayed differently, particularly in the clothing, physician touching activity, and body invasions categories. Finally, the results evidenced a high degree of uniformity across the networks which concurred with reported concern of uniformity in news production. However, the results contradicted theoretical concerns in a number of ways. For example, the results indicated that more female than male physicians were included in the sample which contradicted numerous mass media and gender studies citing a dominance of males portrayed in authoritarian positions. Likewise, more stories directly related to female-specific health issues were included in the sample which countered arguments of male-centered bias in health news reporting. Similarly, contrary to media and gender critiques, although female patients were shown receiving more body invasions than male patients in the sample, male and female patients received body invasions in intimate areas (based on Western modesty norms) to the same degree. Finally, in addition to the results, the history of medical education, current medical practice, industry constraints, and feminist theories are presented as possible reasons for the image choices.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Stewart, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Mass media|Journalism
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