Female representations in The Krays

In the media females are represented most of the time in quite a negative way as they are shown as either housewives or sex objects and we see these in places like magazine covers and TV also females get seen as less dominant people as as men and they get seen as weak and as if they need men to survive and a lot of people will see this and it will become a major stereotype towards females even though there are positive stereotypes out there for females such as them being beautiful but these often get overshadowed by the negative stereotypes as they are more common.

In The Krays some females are represented as quite week and live up to certain parts of the stereotypes but also the other females in The Krays are represented as strong and independent and live up to the positive side of the stereotype but these also represent some of the negative stereotype such as a housewife. A key female in The Krays who is represented as quite weak is Frances Kray who is the wife of Reggie Kray, Frances is shown mostly in the film as not independent as she is always seen as needing things from Reggie and she doesn't really fight for her opinion and always listens to him and this shows the stereotype of men being more dominant than women. But another key female in the film is Violet Kray who is Reggie and Ronny Kray and Violet is shown as a very strong and independent woman as we see as she makes a lot of decisions for herself and doesn't listen to males as we see this with her husband who is weak and we see it when she is in the hospital when she takes her child away and makes that decision herself. But Violet still lives up to the stereotype of women being housewives but this is what most women were like in East London those days so it was kind of expected whereas now the stereotype of housewife is more frowned upon.

The representation of Frances in The Krays is she is weak and not independent and this representation reinforces the stereotype that women are weak and aren't as dominant in a relationship compared to men. Whereas Violet challenges the stereotype of women as she is represented as very strong and independent women which not a lot of females are seen as but she also does reinforce the stereotype of women being housewives.

Male representations in The Krays (By Lorna Aplin)

Male stereotypes that exist in the media are commonly masculine, strong, the bread-winner, possessive and dominant. Males are expected to be strong and threatening. They're meant to work and bring in the money for the family. Stereotypically males are meant to be emotionless, they should not have anything affect them mentally. They're supposed to fight people who threaten them, and protect their partner/family with violence whilst being protective. They should be dominant and possessive within any relationship. Males are particularly represented as heroic and athletic.

Reggie and Ronnie are represented mostly stereotypically as males. They're strong, violent and protective over whats theirs. Reggie in particular is represented stereotypically as he was good at boxing, which proves his strength. He was violent and vicious when he thought he had to be. A relationship of Reggie's that reflects the stereotype well is his one with Frances. He was very protective over her, he was the dominant one in the relationship. He was so possessive that she eventually lost her own identity and became who Reggie wanted her to be. Reggie could also be a contrast as he is very emotional at certain points. He is not as violent as Ronnie, and shows more emotion. This is shown when he cries when his wife dies, and he is seen as more vulnerable.

Ronnie is represented typically as a male, although he bends the rules more when it comes to stereotypes. He is violent and protective over his family, just like the stereotypical male, but his sexuality means he is less likely to live up to it. Because Ronnie has a relationship with a male, he doesn't fit into the stereotype exactly because its wasn't seen as masculine to have a same sex relationship. Although he also fits into it because he lives up to most of the typical stereotype in the media.

These representations challenge stereotypes because even though both brothers fit into them within certain aspects, they contrast in comparison. Reggie shows a sensitive side whilst still being strong, violent and possessive. Ronnie is openly gay and challenges stereotypes with this whilst still being violent and protective. Reggie and Ronnie have qualities of metrosexual males, which means they look after themselves and have many of the qualities gay men are considered to have because they like to look good and spend as much time getting ready as females. This challenges stereotypes because they don't fit the exact image of a macho male.