GENDERED METAPHORS AND POWER DYNAMICS IN MEDIA DISCOURSE: A CORPUS-BASED DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF BBC AND DAWN NEWS ARTICLES

Abstract

This research explores how gendered metaphors in media discourse play a role in the ideological construction of femininity and masculinity in BBC and Dawn News articles. Utilising corpus‑assisted critical discourse analysis (CACDA), the study integrates quantitative methods with qualitative interpretation to detect metaphorical patterns that reproduce and constitute gender ideologies. A balanced corpus of approximately 25,000–30,000 words was compiled and processed using AntConc software to extract concordance, and collocation data. Analysis shows that BBC articles construct men in terms of protection, provision, and moral virtue metaphors, which reinforce classic patriarchal masculinity. Women, on the other hand, are built up as transitory individuals between domesticity and career aspiration, habitually framed as relational threats to masculine identity. Dawn News, however, represents women metaphorically as marginal agents seeking access, power, and visibility, employing metaphors of space, recognition, and empowerment. These metaphors, although sometimes progressive, remain reflective of systemic power disparities. The research emphasises the media's double function in reproducing and subverting gender hierarchies, providing new insight into how linguistic choices influence public understanding of gender and power.