The media are recognised globally as a key area for thinking critically about gender inequality. This led in 1995, during the UN Conference on Women, to the creation of the Bejing Platform for Action (https://beijing20.unwomen.org/en/about) where the media are considered as one of twelve key areas to be addressed for gender equality to be achieved globally.

Media scholars see audiences as actively engaged in appropriating media messages in subjective and context-specific ways, hence making their relationships with media texts and tools complex, polysemic and not easily predictable (Jenkins 2008). At the same time, we are reminded that media representations of gender are ideological and that media texts do contribute to the development of our gender identities (Lemish 2008). This contribution argues that it is crucial to help students understand this complexity through education and discusses the need to create an interdisciplinary approach to media and gender classes. To do this it will combine a theoretical framework based on media studies and gender studies with best practices developed within media literacy education, critical pedagogy and feminist theory (Butler 1990, Hobbs & Moore 2013; Sadker et al. 2009; Weiler 2009; Liu 2006). In particular, the AACRA (Access-Analyze-Create-Reflect-Act) model of media literacy education (Hobbs 2011) is designed to guide educators as they help students uncover ideologies transmitted through the media environment. 

From an empirical point of view, it will offer an initial analysis of the educational materials and tools created and tested during an ongoing EU-funded research project - EMERGE (e-Media Education about Representations and Gender) - in order to elucidate the main challenges that this interdisciplinary approach toward media and gender classes should address.

In order to develop this interdisciplinary approach for media and gender classes, I set out to present the first findings from these experimental activities having in mind three main questions: How can drawing on principles of media literacy education, gender studies and media studies help us improve approaches used in media and gender classes? What media literacy skills are these educational materials designed to develop? How do they help students reflect on the complexity of media texts, and of audiences’ interactions with them? What are their strategies, if any, for discussing the gender binary and intersectionality?

The eMerge project is conducted within an action research approach whereby teachers are constantly involved in the development and testing of all the Intellectual Outputs (IOs) of the project as active, “reflexive” participants. Data have been collected with the help of teachers throughout the experimental activities. In particular: - in the IO1 data concern the co-design and testing of the methodological guidelines for investigating the media practices of students; - in the IO2 data concern the co-design and testing of an e-learning course for teachers about gender representations in media; - in IO3 data concern the teachers' piloting of a media education toolkit with their students, including the support for their media productions; - in IO4 data concerns the teachers' contributions for the drafting of the pedagogical Recommendations for implementing media education about gender in schools.

Several studies have shown how important is to deal with controversial issues (such as those related to gender, diversity, and inclusion) by anchoring teaching and learning processes at the heart of students’ media cultures and practices. (Friesem, 2017; Maharajh, 2014). Based on this, the eMerge project aims to provide teachers with the tools to analyze the media uses of their students. They will also be trained to look at media gender representations and deconstruct them with their students through critical analysis activities but also through the production of alternative messages. In other words, eMERGE aims to improve the digital competencies of both teachers and students through a more critical approach on media representations and the production of alternative media messages. It finally aims to share the tested tools and materials with initial and in-service teachers and deliver them as open educational resources.

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