The Nature of Gender Portrayal in Editorial Cartoons: Analysis of Kenya’s Daily Nation and Standard Newspapers

Abstract

Visual images often have lasting memory with the capacity to reveal the anguish of a tormented soul. It can stimulate sexual passion as well as generate intense feelings and excitement to the level of driving people to the bravery and barbaric acts.  These images evoke responses in people based on their interpretation of meanings informed by common beliefs and values. In most cases, the victims are subjected to gender-based humiliation in the public eye.  This paper investigates the nature of gender portrayal through selected editorial cartoons. This study is anchored on the relativist/interpretivist philosophical paradigm in which a qualitative case study design is adopted. The case in reference is the Daily Nation and the Standard newspapers of Kenya’s Nation Media Group and Standard Group, respectively. Data was generated from sampled cartoons published by the two dailies. The data was complemented by semi-structured in-depth interviews targeting the cartoonists, human rights activists, and gender specialists from selected organizations in Kenya. In total, 252 cartoons out of 2184 which is 11.5 percent, were sampled systematically through a six-week purposive sampling mechanism. Each week represented a month amounting to three years in a row. The findings of the study revealed that men were negatively represented in most of the cartoons. Specifically, men were linked to greed, corruption, political violence, and land grabbing among other issues. On the other hand, women were mostly portrayed as weak, helpless, vulnerable, and most afflicted. In over 30 of the sampled cartoons, women were projected as sexual objects and agents of beauty. And yet in some though only a few, the very women were projected as the voice of reason and one that could be entrusted with leadership and integrity. This study reveals the bias and increased stereotypical overtones and the inability of the two newspapers to adequately embrace gender sensitivity in the way cartoons portray both men and women to their readers. Editors, reporters, and cartoonists should remove bias and stereotypes in their portrayal of both men and women. To this end, urgent retraining and sensitization on gender sensitivity cartooning are highly recommended for media practitioners. Specific editorial guidelines for cartoonists and mentoring of female journalists to become cartoonists are equally required to mitigate biased cartooning.