Topic 7 - Words and Pictures - Activity

Fig. 1 Bruce Adams, 2023. Daily Mail. 5th October 2023. Page 1.

This image is supposed to convey and reinforce ideas of stereotypical gender roles between man and woman. Sunak is closer to the camera and seemingly looks bigger than Murty, which connotes traditional values of males being the dominant or important person in a relationship. Murty is looking at Sunak with support, admiration and pride, reinforcing the previous connotation. They are both dressed in stereotypically gendered clothing, blue for Sunak and salmon pink for Murty.

The text has dramatically influenced this reading of the photograph and further reinforces the negative connotations surrounding relationships, gender, and gender roles. The image caption defines Murty as Sunak’s wife, which suggests she is lesser and an object.

The subheading of the front-page expresses the message of family and stereotypical gender identities, which further explains the image. The term ‘wokery’ comes from ‘woke’ which is defined as: ‘alert to and concerned about social injustice and discrimination’  (Oxford University Press, 1989), but is presented as a negative in relation to the Labour leader Keir Starmer. This further reinforces the stereotpyes presented in the image and text.

An alternative reading could relate to the text above the headline, Barthes doesn’t address the multifaceted nature of newspaper front covers and the potential confusion that could happen when connotations are mixed, for example, whilst Murty looks at Sunak with ‘love’ how do we know she still fancies him?

Oxford University Press (1989). The Oxford English dictionary. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press; Oxford.