Gendered differences in profile pictures on social networking sites
Monday, July 27, 2009 by display name
In Monday’s “Gender in the Digital Age” lecture we discussed the possibility of there being a stereotyped gender representation in the type of picture (posed/ staged, singular, couple, group, humorous, sporting activity) males versus females may choose to upload as their profile picture.
Upon examination of my friend list on facebook.com I have come up with the following set of figures:
Males
3% posed/ staged/ self photo (attempting to look tough, definitely no smiling).
41% single person shots
5% couple shots (males canoodling with their girlfriend).
21% group shots
8% humorous shots
22% activity shots (predominantly sporting: skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding and fishing activities).
Females
7% posed/ staged/ self photo (generally trying profusely to look like a hawt shawtay- hair, makeup, and pout, taken from a high angle)
36% single person shots
11% couple shots (females embraced with boyfriend)
34% group shots
1% humorous shots
11% activity shots (more travel adventure shots, some snowboarding).
Single person shots seemed to be the preferred choice of both males and females which was interesting to see after the class discussion. Certainly there is some distinction between the sexes and the nature of a photograph they choose to display as their profile picture. As we discussed in class the differences do illustrate and support idealized gender representations of masculinity and femininity. For example, it would be fair to say that it is more normalized for males to have activity shots as their profile pictures because skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, and fishing are all male dominated sports that are associated with being masculine rather than feminine, which could be a reason why half as many females choose (or even possess) such action shots to use as their profile picture.
We also discussed the idea that more males would have humorous profile pictures compared to females which turned out to be the case here, and although it was not the dominant choice by males it was far more prevalent in comparison to females, which can again be linked to ideas of males and the acceptance of Tomfoolery in general.
Also worth a note is the female’s inclination to include her boyfriend in her profile shot.
Upon examination of my friend list on facebook.com I have come up with the following set of figures:
Males
3% posed/ staged/ self photo (attempting to look tough, definitely no smiling).
41% single person shots
5% couple shots (males canoodling with their girlfriend).
21% group shots
8% humorous shots
22% activity shots (predominantly sporting: skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding and fishing activities).
Females
7% posed/ staged/ self photo (generally trying profusely to look like a hawt shawtay- hair, makeup, and pout, taken from a high angle)
36% single person shots
11% couple shots (females embraced with boyfriend)
34% group shots
1% humorous shots
11% activity shots (more travel adventure shots, some snowboarding).
Single person shots seemed to be the preferred choice of both males and females which was interesting to see after the class discussion. Certainly there is some distinction between the sexes and the nature of a photograph they choose to display as their profile picture. As we discussed in class the differences do illustrate and support idealized gender representations of masculinity and femininity. For example, it would be fair to say that it is more normalized for males to have activity shots as their profile pictures because skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, and fishing are all male dominated sports that are associated with being masculine rather than feminine, which could be a reason why half as many females choose (or even possess) such action shots to use as their profile picture.
We also discussed the idea that more males would have humorous profile pictures compared to females which turned out to be the case here, and although it was not the dominant choice by males it was far more prevalent in comparison to females, which can again be linked to ideas of males and the acceptance of Tomfoolery in general.
Also worth a note is the female’s inclination to include her boyfriend in her profile shot.