The feminization and misrepresentation of public relations practitioners in Turkish tv dramas

Abstract

Among the roles scattered in the scenarios of the Turkish TV dramas, PR practitioners are ascribed various roles and stereotyped personal traits which are mainly represented by the female gender. They are designed and scripted as similar stereotypes that are negative characters with similar roles. This paper examines how female PR professionals have been portrayed in Turkish TV dramas. Using the approach of media framing from the perspective of gendered profession, this paper analyzes women in a variety of public relations roles in Turkish TV dramas produced between 1998 and 2020. A total of fifty-five PR female practitioners were identified in these fifty-one TV dramas. The results show that among the fifty-five (N = 55) PR practitioner characters, the majority were women (N = 52) and that the general tone of most of the characters was negative, profit-oriented and manipulative. Interestingly, the study also notes that the few (N = 3) PR characters portrayed as male were all portrayed as gay. This reinforces the idea that PR is portrayed as a feminized field. Misleading media portrayals of PR practitioners can have a negative impact on how people view the profession.