How does today`s media (television, music, magazines) affect the way we as americans view gender roles and expectations?

Nicholas Johnson , a Former Federal Communications Commissioner once said "All television is educational the only question is : what is it teaching " Television is one of the most important forms of media influence on people , due to the fact that it affects all age groups and most social categories . It is one of the most common breeding grounds for stereotypes , being both created by the stereotypical mind and creating it in turn . One of the more persuasive kinds of stereotypes that television has adopted is the category of gender stereotypes Stereotypical gender characteristics

are present in nearly every show on air and in nearly every commercial shown in the breaks , and , since television is such an influential medium , the stereotypes portrayed on television play no small part in the formation of the respective stereotypes in the general populace . Whether young or old , male or female , television targets nearly all of humankind , which makes for an amazing influence , which is , naturally , utilized by those who wish to make money off people to a great degree . Gender , being one of the easiest and most effective stereotypes to use in this respect , is widely utilized in this respect

Gender stereotypes permeate shows and commercials alike . Nearly ever show that focuses on characters exaggerates these gender characteristics in one way or another . Nearly every commercial uses a gender bias in its target audience . This is quite understandable , since this is one of the easiest ways to reach the audience . In this , I shall distinguish between the portrayal of gender stereotypes first in children 's shows adolescent 's shows and adult television , and also , as a separate waypoint , note the gender bias in commercials . Even though commercials do not necessarily carry the same continuous pressure upon the psyche that television shows , with complete and complex characters , into whom their gender characteristics are integrated much more fully , they make up for it by employing the cruder , more basic - and , to a degree , more effective - kind of stereotyping . Additionally , they , too , take up quite a lot of airtime , and are created explicitly for the purpose of influencing people . Thus , they must be included when one attempts to study the influence of television on the audience

Studies such as Durkin and Nugent 's (387 ) show that humans learn to distinguish between the sexes early on in their lives , and that gender roles are among the strongest of stereotypes . Children learn of the distinction long before they are placed at the television set , so it cannot be said that television creates the gender role stereotypes . Not all children are subjected to television , and the outcome of the influence also depends much on the particular child 's situation However , in many cases , it does strongly reinforce the stereotypes ingraining them much deeper than they would have been otherwise

For instance , there are more shows that appeal directly to a male children 's audience , for the simple reason that , according to Carter (c18 , that boys severely outnumber the girls in the children 's show television . Girls also seem to be much more accepting of watching shows with boy leads , while boys are much less likely to watch the shows with female leads . Girls generally know more about the other sex due to their stereotypical role of caretaker , which includes knowing who the keeper cares about . This need is easily satisfied by including a female second in a male lead show , thus avoiding the problem of targeting the boys audience . Girls also care more about the emotional characteristics of a character , not whether he or she is in the foreground . In fact , many girls ' favorite characters are second or third by frequency of appearance , however , they win their audience by being more mysterious ' and charismatic ' than the lead . Thus the problem of leading characters is easily solved , since a male lead satisfies most of the target audience , and some of the remaining audience can be intrigued by introducing a secondary character that appeals to the more emotional part

Numerous studies show that in children 's shows male characters are generally portrayed as stronger , more powerful , more active and more free than female characters . Female characters are shown as more troublesome , more emotional , weaker and more passive . However , male characters are traditionally more silly , more violent and , even though often smarter , display much less wisdom than female characters . Females are generally more wise in the general , everyday sense of the word , are likely more responsible , better at handling their emotions , more mysterious and mystical - boys are warriors while girls are more mystical , for instance - and better at tasks that require long-term concentration . In short , we mostly see the classic division of the sexes in ability

theless , despite this traditionalism , we also see such things as the switching of traditional gender roles , or the erasing of boundaries This is especially true of Japanese cartoons , which began the trend which now continues in American cartoons and children 's shows as well For an example , we might see such shows as Sailor Moon , where the leads are female , and the supporting male characters at times take up traditional feminine roles , such as cooking and taking care of small children . In Pokemon ' we see typical male competence and assertiveness in the positive female Pokemon trainer , Misty , and typical negative female qualities of timidity and spinelessness in the negative male trainer , James (Ogletree , 851 )America 's own Power Rangers tries very hard to show equality between the sexes : the powerful positive demiurges ' of the series are essentially hermaphroditic while the positive heroes are mixed and matched in qualities in nearly every possible way over the course of the seasons

This , naturally , has an effect , and quite a profound one . While all groups of young viewers easily recognize shows aimed at their gender and even choose their viewing program on this basis , they are also becoming more acceptant of alternative gender roles in television shows . Cartoons such as Pokemon ' are enjoyed by boys and girls alike , and , as a result , more and more children accept non-traditional roles into their own lives . More girls , for instance , when asked in the course of experiments to apply the job concept of the television character to themselves , choose traditionally masculine duties as ones they think they could take upon themselves when they grow up . Male children are generally more stereotypical : they choose female jobs for themselves much more rarely . This is thought to be due to the fact that male roles are much more constantly reinforced than are traditional female ones There are female warriors on television , but rare are male nurses and kind , sensitive boys

Interestingly enough , there is also a lack of male magic users on television . This is an observation made by me not only for children 's shows , but for shows of all age groups . If there is a magic user in the show , it is usually a female seer or a witch . Rarely are female mages - a more scientific kind of magic user - or just mages and sorcerers portrayed . This creates a double connotation for the female . On one hand , this portrays a sort of female power over the unknown , makes the woman the wielder of mystery and the keeper of the hidden gates and paths . On the other hand , it demonizes her , making her the pawn of usually much darker powers , corrupting her , and rendering her incapable of controlling herself and her power . Insanity being the more common stereotypical malady pursuing the magician , it is usually the women who suffer from it

Unfortunately , no study to the author 's knowledge has been made yet on the influence of television and religious views . However , should such a study ever be made , it is likely they will find television one of the sources for the recent boom of the new , alternative ' kind of religion . By surveying the biographies of persons with eclectic spiritual development , especially Wiccans , we may find that it was influenced , in many ways , by shows such as Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Charmed . Shows such as these are often held responsible by the older , more traditional type of Pagan for the appearance of fluffy bunnies , a category of usually-teenagers , mostly female , who have read one book on the religion and think wearing a plate-sized holy symbol will make them an adherent of the religion . Male viewers seem less affected by this trend , however , this is likely because they are not usually aimed at by this sort of show . Magic and religion seem to be the female 's prerogative

Thus we have slowly sauntered over into the area of teenage television shows . These deal , besides the basic gender issues , with them in a somewhat more complicated form . These shows teach , first and foremost to conform to general opinion . Every teenager wants to be popular to be part of the in-crowd . Such participation and group identification requires in the very least a similar set of stereotypes and television shows give these stereotypes with the ease of a practiced con artist . This is especially true of gender stereotypes

For instance , teenage shows portray romance quite often . Even when a show is not dedicated precisely to romance , there will always be a romantic sideline or two , or three - otherwise the show would not be aimed at a teenage audience . Within this context , female characters are generally sweet , sensitive , pretty , kind , quiet , et cetera . There are certainly exceptions to this role , such as Buffy from Buffy , the Vampire Slayer , who is the classical portrayal of a physically strong young woman who can take care of herself . However , in the matters of romance , there is an unusual unity of opinion - even the strongest women , when faced with romance , for some reason become much softer . Male characters are usually shown as more assertive and aggressive , however lately there has not been a lack of male characters with the typically female characteristics of romantic shyness and certain gentleness . This bots shows and creates a greater sexual liberty towards teenagers traditional sex roles mingle not yet reversing , however , they are often at least equalized to a degree

An interesting aspect of teenage television shows is their relation to the jobs of their teenage characters . Nancy Signorielli of the university of Delaware reports that A study of high school students from around the country found that TV viewing was related to (1 adolescents ' wanting to have high-status jobs that would enable them to earn a lot of money and (2 ) wanting to have jobs that were relatively easy with long vacations and time-to-do-other-things-in-life attitudes that , in reality , conflict (527 ) However , while this is true in general , we see that , if characters do meet with serious job problems at all , it is much more likely that they are male rather than female Female teenagers are shown as working at less qualified jobs , usually and they face less career problems , which are much more often and more easily fixed by looks alone and flirting . Males generally have a more realistic portrayal of job realities , though their jobs , too , are overglamoured

In adult fictional television , the job situation is somewhat amended Political correctness makes television show makers portray what is absent in younger viewing slots , such as male nurses in shows such as 'ER , and female scientists , such as Star Trek 's Dax . X-s ' even goes so far as to make the male the dreamer and the woman the more skeptical and pragmatic one ! This , however , does not save either sex from stereotyping in such genres as sitcoms and soap operas , where the males are profoundly masculine and the females profoundly feminine . This is due to the fact that such shows are supposed to display idea male-female relationships , which , while turbulent , are interesting , and moreover , more glamorous than the audience is used to in their daily lives . These shows are not designed to shock , nor to break stereotypes - they are created to allow those who cannot have the dream in reality to indulge in fantasy for a while , to be content in the knowledge that there is a possibility for such romance and such danger in the world

I intentionally do not take adult comedy as grounds for the reinforcement of stereotypes . Adult comedy , like any comedy , makes extensive use of bias of all kinds , because this is the easiest thing to play upon . Most stereotypes are very easy to make fun of , and they grab hold of almost everyone , so comedy utilizes them a lot , perhaps even more than the other types of shows . However , because comedy is orientated more towards the breaking of stereotypes , for no stereotype can hold to the force of laughter - remember The Simpsons , and how the stereotypes they make fun of are easily recognized and avoided later - not their creation . Thus , we can use comedy as a means of diagnosing society , for it reacts very quickly and very appropriately , but not nearly as a stereotype-creating influence

In-between shows we always see miniature shows , designed to grab our attention and to burn their way into our memory , to be recalled at a time convenient to the designers of the mini-show . I am talking naturally , about the commercials . Their very function - designed to attract the attention of a certain audience and to make itself memorable to the people in it - just asks for the use of gender stereotypes , as one of the more heavily ingrained sets of stereotypes in every human All human beings , with rare exceptions of biological or psychological hermaphrodites , can identify with one gender or another , making this one of the best areas for targeting . And those who create commercials utilize this amazing possibility to full extent , creating purely male and purely female commercials

Male commercials are oriented towards power . Coolness and self-control and at the same time , adventurousness and passion are prized materials for every type of male-oriented commercial . Every trick in the male book goes into these commercials : the way a boy grows into a man , the way a man deals with his problems , the way men are respected , the way real men relax , the way real men are sexual , et cetera . In short , this is masculinity squared , if not cubed

Female commercials are oriented at sensation . A woman is suave , sassy and unfailingly beautiful and sexual , even when doing chores . She remains a woman at all costs , even while tending to the more unpleasant tasks of the woman 's life , such as in the classical personal hygiene products . She is always a good mother , a beautiful woman , a sensational lover . At times , she is also a successful leader

As we can see , commercials show an exaggerated version of human life and in such a way that makes humans want to reach that level of material comfort . It is their intention to play upon the complexes humans have Stereotypes are deeply rooted with the problems of the human being - in fact , they are the source of most of the problems . Humans attempt to measure up to things that they will never be , because humankind luckily , is quite diverse . Yet still , flocking instinct makes us turn to one another for evaluation . And this is where the commercials catch us showing us how we should ' be . Naturally they reinforce the stereotypes as much as possible - the more people believe in their version of how things should be , the more products will get sold However , one must give the advertising industry some credit : if they see a trend coming up , they will utilize and reinforce it . This is , for instance , a part of how feminism became popular : through commercials portraying strong women who were no worse than men at their chosen profession , girls who could play on a par with the boys . This trend was held up by commercialism , and thus , made more popular than it initially was

In conclusion , we can see , that while television certainly cannot be the culprit in creating gender stereotypes , since they are gained earlier in life than the influence of television begins , they certainly reinforce the stereotypes by adding more detail to them and constant repetition Also television keeps people company to their adolescent and adult lives , influencing greatly the minds which are in transition from one phase to another . All kinds of television programs are guilty : from all of the shows to even the commercials . Traditional stereotypes are much more heavily reinforced than are untraditional ones , however , recently a greater freedom has been allowed , which reflected in the audience accordingly . As we have shown , television is certainly a great influence on people and especially their gender stereotypes , since those are greatly and variedly used in television , which is the most powerful media influence currently

Works cited

Judith Van Evra . Television and Child Development Lawrence Erlbaum Associates . Hillsdale , NJ . 1990

Michael Morgan , James Shanahan Television and Its Viewers : Cultivation Theory and Research Cambridge University Press , 1999

Cristal N . Martinez , Brad Mason , Shirley M . Ogletree , Trent R . Pokemon Exploring the Role of Gender . Sex Roles : A Journal of Research . V : 50 I : 11-12 . 2004

Teresa L . Thompson , Eugenia Zerbinos . Television Cartoons : Do Children Notice It 's a Boy 's World . Sex Roles : A Journal of Research . Volume : 37 Issue : 5-6 : 1997

Susan D . Witt The Influence of Television on Children 's Gender Role Socialization . Childhood Education . Volume : 76 . Issue : 5 . 2000

Aaron Bacue , Nancy Signorielli . Recognition and Respect : A Content Analysis of Prime-Time Television Characters across Three Decades . Sex Roles : A Journal of Research . Volume : 40 . Issue : 7-8 . 1999

David M . Dozier , Martha M . Lauzen . You Look Mahvelous : An Examination of Gender and Appearance Comments in the 1999-2000 Prime-Time Season . Sex Roles : A Journal of Research 2002

Rachel A . Fox Plans Separate Channels for Boys , Girls : Experts Fear Return of Gender Stereotypes . The Washington Times December 23 , 1998

Christian Toto Ripley 's Rules of Action Tough Girls No Longer an Alien Concept . The Washington Times . October 31 , 2003

Witch Way Now ? Laura Davis Looks at a Project Aimed at Empowering Women to Achieve Their Real Potential . Daily Post . July 12 , 2004

Scott Coltrane , Melinda Messineo The Perpetuation of Subtle Prejudice Race and Gender Imagery in 1990s Television Advertising . Sex Roles : A Journal of Research . 2000

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