Collective Identity can be defined as an 'individuals sense of belonging to a group who share a set of traditions and values'. This suggests that there are many ways that people can fit into a collective identity, whether it is by age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality and many other groups. However, it can be said that any consideration of a 'collective identity' must take into account the role that representation plays within the construction of a media text.
Media plays a very important role on the representation of collective identity, this is because media is part of every day life and within the media, many things are mediated to give the impression that is intended. For example, within the media, women are often sexualised or stereotyped. Laura Mulvey's theory of the 'male gaze' is very prominent throughout the media, whether it is women wearing very little clothing on magazine covers or in films when the camera tilts up to show the audience the womens body. This is a form of the media sexualising women however it is done so to attract the male audience. David Buckinghams theory on the mediation of media text is also very relevant to this when he states that "media do not just offer us a transparent 'window on the world' but a mediated version of the world. They don't just represent reality, they re-represent it". Buckingham is describing that even 'real media' such as the news is not always exactly what is happening, everything is mediated so the audience see what the producers want them to see. The news itself is very sexualised due to the majority of news casters being male
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