GENDER-ORIENTED DISCOURSES IN AMERICAN MEDIA NEWS

Abstract

In the modern media space, American publicistic discourse shapes gender discourses and influences public opinion and values. It actively impacts mass consciousness by reinforcing certain notions of gender roles, rights, and responsibilities, as well as by transmitting behavioral models perceived as socially acceptable or, conversely, rejected. The language of publicistic discourse performs not only an informative function but also expressive, pragmatic, and value-oriented ones, becoming a powerful tool for influencing public consciousness. The rhetorical mechanisms of influence used in publicistic texts include emotionally evaluative vocabulary, metaphors, and other expressive linguistic means.

The objective of this study is to analyze the linguistic and pragma-functional characteristics of gender-oriented discourses in American publicistic media, with a particular focus on how language shapes social values and normative perspectives.

The material selected for analysis includes articles published in the American magazines such as Time, Washington Post and Ms. Magazine which reflect a broad spectrum of positions on rights of women, gender-based violence, discrimination, and women’s political representation. A pragma-functional analysis of articles was conducted to reveal how the media construct agendas and shape public attitudes.

The value of the study also lies in demonstrating the multilayered nature of media discourse: texts not only reflect social reality but also actively construct it, offering audiences specific interpretations and frameworks of perception. Publicistic materials on reproductive rights, gender-based violence, discrimination, and women’s political representation shape the public agenda and set the direction of social debates. This research demonstrates that language in media texts is an important tool for influencing mass consciousness, through which ideological attitudes and social orientations are formed and reinforced.

The results of the study demonstrated that American publicistic discourse actively employs linguistic means to construct gender discourse. Moreover, it was found that publicistic texts do not merely reflect reality but function as rhetorical and ideological constructs.

Through the analysis of the linguistic and pragma-functional features of gender-oriented publicistic texts, the scientific significance of language in shaping gender values and social norms in society was identified.

Its practical relevance is found in the potential application of the research findings in the analysis of media discourse, as well as in enhancing media literacy and encouraging critical engagement with gender issues in contemporary society.