Media, Sexism and the Patriarchal War System: Why Media Literacy Matters to Peace Education

Abstract

We live in media-saturated societies, and media organizations now have unprecedented power to shape our world views, influence our behavior and provoke extreme reactions. Reading Betty Reardon’s groundbreaking monograph, Sexism and the war system (1996), in the context of 2018, I was struck by the parallels between what she identified as the ‘patriarchal war system’ and what I contemporarily refer to as the ‘global patriarchal media system’. This is how I would describe the male-dominated media ownership system that produces content and communications infused with stereotypical representations of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, age, socio-economic status and abilities, whilst concurrently reinforcing and normalizing inequalities and injustices.