Gender Roles In The Media

4 Pages 1090 Words

Gender Roles Found in the Media

When going through Mc Donald’s drive thru when ordering a Happy Meal, you are face with the question, “Do you want a girl toy or a boy toy?” Do you ponder the question or just answer immediately according to the sex of your child? Most wouldn’t hesitate and would respond immediately. Is the media having a positive or negative effect on socializing our children into specific gender roles or do you think gender roles are biologically determined? According to much research, various things such as television, toys, jobs, and advertising are constructing gender roles.
According to many scientists gender is being learned and is not innate. There are many things found in society that are contributing to this. To begin with, think about television and the portrayals of males and females. The majority of television shows present men as dominant, successful, aggressive, powerful, and more violent than women who are seen as supportive, compliant, sweet, and naïve. Furthermore, the majority of lead roles found in television and movies are being dominated by men. Their roles are usually much more exciting and interesting. Women are often found working in the house, as a nurse, or as a secretary. Even in recent shows such, as Survivor the men are the ones shown hunting and killing the animals. The women are the ones who stand back with a tear in their eye, taking a moment to feel for the animal being killed. Is this an accurate portrayal of how the women are feeling or is this editing strategy done to appeal to the audience? I think that most of the women excluding the vegetarians would be extremely excited about the capture of a wild pig to eat. Cartoons are another important aspect to discuss when talking about television. Female characters are also underprivileged. When they are represented they often have boring roles. An example of this is Wilma from the Flintstones. It was always Fred who had...