European Early Childhood Education Research Journal

Running head: MEDIA ESSAY
Media Essay
Student’s name
University
Author’s note

MEDIA ESSAY
1
The aim of this present essay is to expound the operation of power within the society
through the concept of discourse and its efficacy in early childhood education.. It is often argued
that through this mechanism of power discourse, media gains an instrumental authority in the
societal upbringing, asserting its influence on people regarding their worldviews about race,
ethnicity, gender, sexuality, language, religion, culture and most significantly, lifestyle and social
class. Standing amidst the numerous altercations regarding gender identity and sexuality in the
21st century, it is important to review how media has a strong influence over the mass perception
of sexuality and gender identity. To this end, the essay addresses the movie She is the Man
(2006) and attempts to deconstruct the discourse of power within its plot and representation.
Prior to that, the essay intends to make a preamble involving the concept of discourse of power
and its relation with mass media, further conducting a brief review of the Foucauldian sexuality,
so that the analysis could be contextualized in a systematic fashion.
The way people think and talk about a specific subject has a deep impact on their
behaviour in relation to the subject—this is the fundamental premise of the theory discourse of
power as propounded by Michel Foucault. In his discourse theory, Foucault emphasizes that the
discourse of power plays in instrumental role in the process of discerning the levels of power
inherent in the culture and the society. He also maintains that this cultural or social sense of
power levels is imparted to us through the process of societal upbringing (Kreps, 2016). To
elucidate, how a particular subject has been represented to us since childhood and how we are
taught to act in respect to that subject matter determines our behaviours. The media has the
controlling authority over this social upbringing, as the media representation of a particular
subject has a deep impact on shaping people’s perception, especially young kids.

MEDIA ESSAY
2
Following the notion of operation of power within mass media, it can also be argued that
it has a significant influence on our perception of gender identity and sexuality. The individual
understanding of gender and sexuality is largely an outcome of the societal upbringing. Even
Foucault, in his writings, has maintained that body and sexuality are essentially cultural
constructs. He made important observations regarding power, body and sexuality in his
philosophy, drawing a strong critique on the societal repression on female autonomy (Foucault,
2019). He argues that the modern power operates in a capillary fashion within the society, and it
is best understood in its reflection in the local and concrete effects on the everyday practices.
This very aspect of the operation of power is significant in comprehending the discourse of
power within mass media, for it has a key influence on everyday life (Simpson, Mayr & Statham,
2018). Foucault observes that since the Victorian era, the human society has repressed non-
heteronormative sexual behaviour and identity by identifying them as anomalous or ‘abnormal’
(Foucault, 2019). To this end, the modern discourse on sexuality and gender, as represented in
the media, should be conscious of such repression.
In the light of Foucauldian sexuality, it is then emerges as a rising concern whether the
contemporary media, as a tool of operating power within the society, aligns with the age-old
Victorian regime; or has it marked a break from the conservative approach and has refrained
from stigmatizing non-heteronormative sexuality and gender identity. Besides, it is still a
pertinent question in terms of media representation whether mass media has taken a shift from
imposing women and their bodies under the subjugation of the patriarchal system.
To answer these questions, the essay reviews the movie She is the Man that released only
recently in 2006. The movie, although a rom-com drama, takes a unique approach in analysing
female autonomy and gender identity. The story revolves around Viola, a girl who aspires to be a