LibGuides: ACRL/EBSS Library Resources for Communication Studies (LRCS): Women & Media

About

This bibliography includes English-language resources on the role of women in mass communications, particularly women's participation in television and radio broadcasting, as well as print journalism. Selected organizations and publications specific to theoretical and empirical research on gender and communication are also included. Some sources listed provide a historical perspective on the role of women in mass communications, while others focus on more current developments.

Current Page Editor: Kristin Peace

Subject Headings

[Also use Gender or Feminism instead of Women]

Please consult the Library of Congress subject headings for more ideas.

Databases

See General Communication Databases to get started

Best Bets:

Gale OneFile: Contemporary Women's Issues (fee-based) Provides access to current full text and pertinent backfile content covering topics including civil rights, health, education, professional development, and entrepreneurship that influence women’s lives across the globe.
Gender Studies Database (fee-based) Gender Studies Database provides indexing and abstracts covering the full spectrum of gender-related scholarship. Essential subjects include gender inequality, masculinity, postfeminism and gender identity
GenderWatch (fee-based) GenderWatch enhances gender and women's studies, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) research by providing authoritative perspectives from 1970 to present.
LGBTQ+ Source (fee-based) Provides scholarly and popular LGBT publications in full text, plus historically important primary sources, including monographs, magazines and newspapers. It also includes a specialized LGBT thesaurus containing thousands of terms.
LGBT Thought and Culture (fee-based) An online resource hosting the key works and archival documentation of LGBT political and social movements throughout the 20th century and into the present day. The collection contains 150,000 pages of rare archival content, including seminal texts, letters, periodicals, speeches, interviews, and ephemera.
Studies on Women & Gender Abstracts (fee-based) An international abstracting database covering key areas of women's and gender studies, indexing abstracts of articles from over 1,325 sources.
Women's Studies International (fee-based) From the core disciplines in Women's Studies to the latest scholarship in feminist research, this database supports curriculum development in the areas of sociology, history, political science and economy, public policy, international relations, arts and humanities, business and education. The nearly 800 essential sources in Women's Studies International include: journals, newsletters, bulletins, books, book chapters, reports, theses, dissertations and grey literature.

References

Black Women in Television: An Illustrated History and Bibliography Hill, G. H., Raglin, L., & Johnson, C. F. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2016.
Encyclopedia of Gender in Media Kosut, Mary. Los Angeles, CA: Sage, 2012.
Encyclopedia of International Media and Communications Johnston, Donald H.. Amsterdam [etc.: Academic Press, 2003.
The Encyclopedia of Women in Radio, 1920-1960 Sies, Leora M, and Luther F. Sies. Jefferson, N.C: Mcfarland & Co, 2012.
Women and American Television : An Encyclopedia Lowe, Denise. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-Clio, 1999.
Women and Mass Communications in the 1990's : An International, Annotated Bibliography Lent, John A. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1999
Women in Communication : A Biographical Sourcebook Signorielli, Nancy. Westport: Greenwood, 1996.

Journals & Trade Publications

Camera Obscura: Feminism, Culture, and Media Studies (1976 - ). Covers areas such as the conjunctions of gender, race, class, and sexuality with audiovisual culture; new histories and theories of film, television, video, and digital media; and politically engaged approaches to a range of media practices
Feminist Media Studies (2001 - ). Provides a transdisciplinary, transnational forum for researchers pursuing feminist approaches to the field of media and communication studies, with attention to the historical, philosophical, cultural, social, political, and economic dimensions and analysis of sites including print and electronic media, film and the arts, and new media technologies
Media Report to Women (1972- ). Provides information on all types of media — television, cable, film, radio, newspapers, magazines, newsletters, the Internet and other emerging media — and the way in which they depict women and issues of interest to women.
Women's Studies in Communication (1977- ). Provides a feminist forum for diverse research, reviews, and commentary addressing the relationships between communication and gender. Covers areas such as the intersections of gender and race, ethnicity, nationality, ability, sexuality, and class, as well as the articulations between gendered performances, power, and representation in public culture
Women and Language (1978- ). Covers all aspects of communication, language, and gender. Published by the University of Louisville and affiliated with the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, and Gender (OSCLG)

Other Communication Studies journals that publish gender and media research:

Associations, Research Centers & Organizations

Association for Women in Communications WC is a professional organization that champions the advancement of women across all communications disciplines by recognizing excellence, promoting leadership and positioning its members at the forefront of the evolving communications era.
Association for Women in Sports Media a volunteer-managed, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1987 as a support network and advocacy group for women who work in sports media (reporting, editing, broadcast, media relations, etc.)
The Association of LGBTQ Journalists Founded in August 1990, an organization of journalists, media professionals, educators and students working from within the news industry to foster fair and accurate coverage of LGBT issues.
Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media Founded in 2004 by Academy Award Winning Actor Geena Davis, a global research-based organization working collaboratively within the entertainment industry to create gender balance, foster inclusion and reduce negative stereotyping in family entertainment media
International Association of Women in Radio and Television A vibrant international network of women working in television, film, radio and web-based journalism. Every two years they host an international conference on media issues that includes screenings and professional networking.
International Women's Media Foundation Since 1990, the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) has worked to unleash the potential of women journalists as champions of press freedom to transform the global news media.
National Federation of Press Women National Federation of Press Women is a dynamic nationwide organization of professional women — and men — pursuing careers across the communications spectrum.
Organization for Research on Women and Communication ORWAC promotes dialogue, discussion, research, and scholarship concerned with women, feminism, gender, oppression, and social change. ORWAC is a Western States Communication Association (WSCA) affiliate, publishes a journal: Women’s Studies in Communication, and sponsors programs at the WSCA convention.
Organization for the Study of Communication, Language and Gender OSCLG has grown from a series of interdisciplinary conferences that began at Bowling Green State University in 1978. Since that time, it has sought to provide a forum for professional discussion, presentation of research and demonstration of creative projects in the areas of communication, language and gender, and to promote recognition of those doing work in this area.
Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press Founded in 1972 to increase communication among women and reach the public with their experience, perspectives, and opinions. WIFP operates as a national and international network of associates: media women and media-concerned women, as well as some men. Their feminism is intersectional and isn’t trans exclusionary or marginalizing of intersex, non-binary, gender non-conforming, genderqueer people.

Archives & Special Collections

American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT) Archives AWRT was founded in 1951 in response to the National Association of Broadcasters' decision to dissolve its women's division. The organization's mission is to "advance the impact of women in broadcasting and related fields." They also support educational programs, and scholarships, do charity work, and other public service activities. The organization changed its name to the Alliance for Women in Media (AWM) in 2010. The AWRT records, which span the years 1947 to 1999, mainly document its yearly national conventions.
National Women and Media Collection at The State Historical Society of Missouri
Sophia Smith Collection of Women's History The Sophia Smith Collection of archival materials at Smith College includes prominent figures such as Helen Gurley Brown (editor of Cosmopolitan Magazine), and Gloria Steinem (co-founder and former editor of Ms. Magazine).
Washington Press Club Foundation: Women in Journalism Project The project includes comprehensive, full-life interviews with women journalists—from pioneers of early women’s journalism, to champions of civil rights, to celebrities in the world of broadcast television—who have made significant contributions to society through careers in journalism since the 1920s.
Women Come to the Front: Journalists, Photographers and Broadcasters During World War II This Library of Congress online exhibit features photographs, articles, and other materials on eight women broadcasters, journalists and photographers of World War II. Also includes a more extensive list of women who worked as accredited correspondents during the Second World War.