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The article focuses on gender portrayal in audio-visual media and discusses the visibility and participation of diverse people. Based on a theoretical framework from gender media studies, we conceptualize audio-visual visibility as a dimension of intersectionality and apply this in an empirical approach. Audio-visual character analysis (ACIS) is introduced as a method to investigate media content in order to describe visibility of the represented people. Applying this method, a quantitative content analysis of a representative sample of German television from 2016 was realized to answer the research questions on the portrayal of relevant characters and on the positions behind the camera. The findings show an unequal representation of gender and an intersectional relevance of other categories of difference such as age as well as an interplay between gender of creative positions and visibility of female characters. The article discusses findings and implications for future research.

This article approaches the subject of social robots by focusing on the emotional relations people establish with media and information and communication technology (ICTs) in their everyday life. It examines human-technology-relation from a social studies point of view, seeking to raise questions that enable us to make a connection between the research on human relationships and the topic of human-technology relation, especially human-humanoid-relation. In order to explore the human-technology-relations, theoretical ideas of a mediatization of communication and of a ritual interaction order are applied. Ritual theory is particularly used to enable a focus on emotion as a significant dimension in analyzing social technologies. This explorative article refers to empirical findings regarding media communication practices in close relationships. It argues that following the developed approach regarding mediatized and ritualized relational practices, useful insights for a conceptualization of the human-social robot relation can be achieved. The article concludes with remarks regarding the challenge of an empirical approach to human-social robot-relations.

La proximité lexicale entre les noms de Fantômette et de Fantômas fait supposer au non-initié que la première est consœur du second. Il ne faut pas s’y tromper : en vérité, Fantômette est une justicière masquée qui lutte généralement contre les bandits de type Fantômas.Pourtant, une fois le malentendu dissipé, une étrange similarité se dessine entre les revendications du malfaiteur et les licences de la justicière, à tel point que l’on peut voir dans le personnage féminin et sa défense apparente de la justice un modèle d’autonomisation de la femme et d’affranchissement à l’égard de la société. Somme toute, en revendiquant le respect de la justice des hommes, Fantômette déguise son affirmation d’une malice toute féminine…

This article approaches the subject of social robots by focusing on the emotional relations people establish with media and information and communication technology (ICTs) in their everyday life. It examines human-technology-relation from a social studies point of view, seeking to raise questions that enable us to make a connection between the research on human relationships and the topic of human-technology relation, especially human-humanoid-relation. In order to explore the human-technology-relations, theoretical ideas of a mediatization of communication and of a ritual interaction order are applied. Ritual theory is particularly used to enable a focus on emotion as a significant dimension in analyzing social technologies. This explorative article refers to empirical findings regarding media communication practices in close relationships. It argues that following the developed approach regarding mediatized and ritualized relational practices, useful insights for a conceptualization of the human-social robot relation can be achieved. The article concludes with remarks regarding the challenge of an empirical approach to human-social robot-relations.