Social Realism - the representation of characters and issues in film and television drama in such a way to raise serious underlying social and political issues.

Patriachal - male domination of politcal, cultural and socioeconomic system.

Gender - Psychological and cultural aspects of behaviour associated with masculinity and femininity, acquired through socialization, in accordance with the expectations of a particular society.

Post-femisim - part of the post modern perspective which takes the achievements of femisim for granted and views it as ineffective in explaining the current condition of women and the many identity choices they face.

Series - a television or radio narrative that presents self-contained weekly episodesm using a recurring set of characters.

Scopophilia - This is a term used by the psychologist Sigmund Freud to describe ‘the pleasure of looking’The term is used by Laura Mulvey in the development of her ‘male gaze’ theory in her essay Visual pleasure and narratives cinema.

Hypodermic Needle Theory - early attempt in the 1930's and 40's to see the effects media texts have on audiences.

Ideology - a set of attitudes, beliefs and values held in common by a group of people and culturally reproduced within that community to sustain its particular way of life.