...Within society today there are many aspects that influence an individual without them even realizing it. From a young age, media has essentially created a script that dictates our lives, each moment that passes in life is just another scene in which we play the role that society has chosen. Boys are manipulated to play the part of the “man,” a figure of brutal strength and no emotions. Girls are to play the part of the “lady,” submissive and fragile. Those who do not follow their place that society has established are targeted and essentially outcasted. What I have observed throughout my observations of media are the concepts behind how media creates standards of marriage and family within society. Within these set standards there are even...
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...n the American media, gender roles are still prevalent. The adaptation of gender roles has occurred because they are socially constructed. Gender roles are distinct and defined in the media. With great ferocity, gender roles are perceptible in our exposure everyday to the media, such as in advertising. The media demonstrates clearly the imposed and inevitable gender roles. For example, advertising for cleaning supplies consists of a woman stating the difficulty of removing stains. Advertising for motor oil consists of a man and his luxury car, often with a beautiful woman by his side. The function of gender roles are impediments of dreams, hopes and the future. Limitations, among both sexes, are set when gender roles are present in the media. Certain expectations and criteria are involved with gender roles, crippling the individual to act against the status quo because of the...
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...detailed, academically supported body of work, designed to retort the following questions: How and why are semantically sexualised women used as a perceptive marketing stunt’ and ‘what role does the media play in legitimizing gender discrepancies through framing and cultivation strategies? Coaxed by the issue of female objectification in the mass media, the following research was conducted both practically, and theoretically, to overtly annunciate the social and democratic problems associated with advertised female subordination. The relative research involves a semiotic analysis of two sources, coupled with a survey of 40 candidates of varying ages. Furthermore, theoretical mechanisms of media framing and cultivation have been deconstructed throughout this article to uncover the impact of magnified female subordination on the domestic expectations of children and young adults. Through the collection of data, it was able to be conclusively recognized the impact of objectification on social attitudes. Results had shown the many conceptions concerning the female purpose, these include; a woman’s role as a domestic and sexual slave to her male partner. Through the convergence of data, semiotic analysis and academic theory, it may be meticulously understood how female objectification in the mass media is a social complication in the construction of an egalitarian future. ‘Women’s bodies are predominantly valued for its use to others’ Fredrickson & Roberts 1997 During the past decade...
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...CLT 209 Final Essay Discuss the impact of media on gender identity. Madalen Smith 11473441 Who are we? Who do we want to be? These are questions that have plagued people globally since the beginning of time. Our whole life is dedicated to developing our identity- one that we are happy with and feel reflects whom we are inside. But what influences our identity? And to what extent? We are constantly interacting with media. Subsequently we are continuously absorbing meaning and information whether we realise it or not. This essay focuses on gender identity and the impact the media can have on it. As individuals grow and seek to cultivate and define their identity, is media influencing their thoughts and views? This essay seeks to show that whilst media does in fact play a vital role in how individuals and society view gender the final decision regarding ones gender identity, is something that comes from within. Media both presents ideas and reflects societies already held values. Media does impact on what we view as acceptable for each gender, and what an individual may feel is the norm for their gender, but only to a certain extent. Ultimately gender is something that is felt within the individual and cannot be manipulated by outside things. Media plays a significant role in contemporary societies everyday life. The rapid technological developments that have taken place during the twentieth century has resulted in media becoming prevalent in almost all daily aspects of...
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...Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, May 1997 v36 n9-10 p551(22) Advertising's effects on men's gender role attitudes. Jennifer Garst; Galen V. Bodenhausen. Author's Abstract: COPYRIGHT 1997 Plenum Publishing Corporation We posited that media images of men influence the gender role attitudes that men express soon after exposure to the images. A total of 212 men (87% European American, 7% Asian or Asian American, 3% African American, and 3% other) viewed magazine advertisements containing images of men that varied in terms of how traditionally masculine vs. androgynous they were and whether the models were the same age or much older than the viewers. Men who had initially been less traditional espoused more traditional attitudes than any other group after exposure to traditionally masculine models, although they continued to endorse relatively nontraditional views after exposure to androgynous models. These findings suggest that nontraditional men's gender role attitudes may be rather unstable and susceptible to momentary influences such as those found in advertising. Full Text: COPYRIGHT 1997 Plenum Publishing Corporation In the average American household, the television is turned "on" for almost seven hours each day, and the typical adult or child watches two to three hours of television per day. It is estimated that the average child sees 360,000 advertisements by the age of eighteen (Harris, 1989). Due to this extensive exposure to mass media depictions, the media's influence...
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...The influence of media on gender roles Over the last forty years, the gender roles for male and female have changed quite a bit. In the past, women were often viewed as having to assume the duties of the housewife, while the men are the breadwinner in the family. However, these stereotypical views of men and women alike have changed over time to shape the present. Firstly, in attempt to define the meaning of a stereotype Wikipedia (2009) notes that: “Stereotype is a preconceived, oversimplified, exaggerated, and often demeaning assumption of the characteristics possessed by an individual due to his or her membership in a specific group. [It] usually functions to deny individuals respect or legitimacy based on their membership in that group. They are the hardest to dislodge in situations where a dominant group desires to keep another group subordinate”. The purpose of this essay is to generate an understanding of how gender roles are shaped and defined in society due to an overwhelming amount of stereotyping and the influence of the mass media that has left an undeniable impact on our everyday life. When talking about gender, we are referring to “culturally learned notions of masculinity and femininity” (Tepperman et al., 2007, p. 187). As noted by Tepperman (2007), “From a social standpoint, gender is the social enactment of a biological difference.” The result of this is males are treated as men because they play masculine roles, and females are treated as women because...
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...Gender Roles How the media has affected the roles and perspectives of the different genders Amanda Luebbert 11 April 2016 Ms. Dudley Sociology People have gone through a lot trying to express themselves and who they feel they are. Having a relationship with someone of the same gender, or wanting to change the gender that a person was born as, was not looked upon with an accepting mind. The media has opened people’s minds to a whole new way of viewing people’s personal feelings and thoughts towards their gender and what gender people should have a relationship with. Media has been an way of inspiring those with different views on certain aspects of genders that many disagreed with. Many people were fully against gay marriage until the media stepped in a made people see it in a different way. Being a transgender was not the most popular thing, but media has made it more acceptable to those that were against it. People should have the right to be whatever gender they feel entitled to whether others think so or not. The media currently has several people that are into the art of makeup. Many of these artists happen to be men. Men are usually not viewed as wearing tons of makeup, but the perspective of these people are positive. People used to be a lot more judge-mental to anyone who wanted to do something that was generally done by the opposite sex. These guys that do fabulous makeup are not looked at as different they...
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...Carter, C. (2011) “Sex/Gender and the Media: From Sex Roles to Social Construction and Beyond,” in Ross, K. (ed) The Handbook of Gender, Sex and Media, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN-10: 1444338544; 365-82. ISBN-13: 978-1444338546 Sex/Gender and the Media From Sex Roles to Social Construction and Beyond Cynthia Carter Introduction In the early years of second-wave western feminism, many gender researchers and feminist scholars distinguished between the notion of sex, defined as biological differences between male and female, and ‘sex roles,’ referring to certain behaviors and characteristics attributed to each sex that was a social construction. The resulting media research centered on images of women in the media (much less emphasis was placed on men) in order to draw attention to inequities in their portrayal in relation to men (in quantitative terms as well as in terms of the use of stereotypes). Since the 1970s, however, the scope of social constructionism has greatly expanded in feminist theory. Some suggest that the distinction between the biological and the social has, as a result, eroded to such an extent that it is no longer possible to understand the difference, while others question the need for this distinction. For instance, in queer and transgender theory and feminist cultural studies, theorists have sought to make strange the ‘sex/gender’ distinction. The key argument made is that biology is no less a cultural construct than gender socialization into masculinity...
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...Professor Becker Interpersonal Communication Reflection Writing Assignment 1 February 6, 2015 Imagine living in a world where everyone was the same. A world where everyone stereotyped the next person because of their appearance or lack thereof. A world where everyone’s gender was the same, dressed the same way, or even practiced the same religious beliefs. I think most of us would agree that a world such as this would be a pretty boring place to existent in right. Since the beginning of time, gender has played a major determining factor in how someone acts and how they are viewed upon in our society. From a young age children are encouraged to embrace their natural gender roles. Boys are taught to play up their masculinity and ignore the more feminine traits and the girls vice versa. Although in today’s world stereotypes amongst the media has affected the view of gender roles. One of the ways that media and stereotypes have shaped the view of gender roles is by influencing individual’s outlook, attitudes and principles on life; for example, the beer and high heel shoe commercials from the clip. Commercials are the vast source of gender stereotyping, because they are adapted to a specific gender, either male or female characteristics. The purpose of the latest commercial is not only the satisfaction of needs, but also their design. Women are more often presented in commercials more than men because they are perceived as more liable for making everyday purchases. Men...
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...Braveheart The mass media plays a large role in modern society. Indeed, many have argued that people spend more time in “mass-mediated” interaction than in actual human interaction. The mass media, then, would seemingly be an excellent position to initiate social change, positively affect social problems, and help combat social ills that are considered normal patterns of behavior. Yet, the mass media has largely failed in addressing and helping to solve social problems. As seen through its presentation of the three major variables of race, class, and gender, the mass media has actually served to contribute to the social problems it covers, reinforcing them, and creating an inter-related cycle in which these problems continue. TV has become perhaps the primary vehicle that society receives its information and presents its values and expectations. One of the most important roles television plays is its presentation of news and information. What a station chooses to present as newsworthy can play a strong role in how people view their society and the world around them. Often, television news sources have followed a philosophy of “if it bleeds, it leads”, focusing on violence in urban environments. This violence occurs more frequently in black neighborhoods, resulting in what amounts to essentially as a steady, nightly stream of reports on violence in the inner-city by and among African-Americans. In this way, the television media plays a strong role in formulating racial...
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...Bias in Media Each and every day we are exposed to countless forms of media from books, magazines, internet, and television. Thanks to the ever evolving and fast paced technology world, our society is not only exposed to an ever increasing amount of media but the mediums in which we interact with it are evolving. Throughout our exposure, we are subjected in media to countless forms of bias delivered both directly and indirectly. Before we can examine how this bias effects our society, we must first define what bias is. “Bias is a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others that usually results in treating some people unfairly (bias, 2014).” Recently, I watched an episode of Modern Family on the ABC channel. Modern family is essentially centered on three families and their interactions with one another. Although the modern family name would lead you to believe this show represents a new frontier free from bias and stereotypes, this show draws is comedic nature from these very bias representations. A broad spectrum of families are represented from a mixed marriage, to a gay or homosexual couple, and a traditional family. Despite the vast portrayal, Modern Family promotes traditional gender roles and stereotypes of women. I believe that Modern Family has a moderate level of media bias represented in its episodes. Although they attempt in many storylines to break away from the traditional roles, definition of acceptable age differences,...
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...Gender Roles in Media A man might say that women are not meant to serve in the military, while a woman might say that men do nothing but watch sports. These expressions are examples gender stereotypes, which is an oversimplification about how an entire group of people are characterized based on gender. Many women over the last few decades have served in combat, which means they are perfectly capable of doing so, and not all men watch sports. Categorizing people into gender stereotypes have become more problematic in the sense that traditional social standards and expectations on gender have become more criticized in modern society. While gender stereotypes are still common in media, there are also representations that challenge these stereotypes....
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... such as biological sex, gender identity and roles, sexual orientation, and the relationship between these factors. One would have never assumed that sexuality would be a topic of great conversation and questions. Over time we have became a society made up from a melting pot not only of different ethnic groups but of sexual orientation. Sexual Identity Development Factors There are several factors that influence a person’s sexual identity. The first factor that affects sexual orientation is biological sex. Biological sex is determined by a person’s chromosomal make up along with hormones. Females are typically born with XX chromosomes and males are born with XY chromosomes. Although in some situations there can be a mutation of the Y chromosome, the SRY gene which is the sex determining portion of the Y chromosome can be missing in XY girls’ Y and is present in the XX boys’ X (Offner, 2010). Chromosomes alone cannot determine gender identity hormones also help in determining gender identity. The SRY gene codes on the Y chromosome cause the indifferent gonads to become testicle which then secrete testosterone which then causes the Wolffian duct system to develop which is the male structures (Offner, 2010). So as you can see together with the SRY gene and specific level of testosterone within an embryo helps determine the external gender. The second factor influencing ones sexual identity is their gender identity and roles. “Gender identity is your sense of...
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...THE MEDIUM WHICH LEADS LIVES: TV The Initiative Media (1997) stated that in Turkey, “The average television viewing time is 300 min per day, compared to 180 min average television viewing in Europe (cited in Uray&Burnaz, 2003). As it is inferred from the statistics, television is one of the leading mediums of media; thereby it has a formidable force on society. It can easily leave an impression on society and shape audience’s ideas about any issue such as gender roles and the social mores. As TV’s effect on gender roles are comprehensively examined, it is observed that it does more harm than good for society; since TV restrains women from having careers by showing them as inappropriate and insufficiently qualified for some quantitative occupations, changes family dynamics, and blocks women’s success in politics despite being a non-quantitative field. On the other hand, it has a good effect on gender roles that it removes strict boundaries between genders. The first of harmful effects of TV on society is that TV has a power to shape audience’s ideas about women’s and men’s abilities, and impose on society that women are less skillful than men in the workplace, especially in quantitative fields. If the ideas that females are less successful than males, and their male counterparts better-qualified in quantitative fields are transmitted through TV advertisements and series, the public’s ideas will change in a linear way with the TV says. For example, when almost no female is depicted...
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...Sociologists suggests, there exists difference between sex and gender. Sex is the biological classification and gender is the outcome of social construction of separate roles of males and females. “,,what we call ‘men and ‘women’ are bodies that have generally been trainedin either the interruption of desire (women) or its free flow (men)..” – Halberstein (Gaga Feminism 2012: 12) Masculinity and femininity, or other gender roles such as androgyny, are not inborn that is children are taught these traits. As soon as a child is identified as being a male or female then everybody start treating him or her as such. Children learn to move in gendered ways through the support of their environment. They are taught the gendered roles projected by someone who is female or male. As the child grows up, he develops his identity, to know how to interact with others and learn the role to play in the society. (Lorber, Judith. 2005.) There are many drivers involved in the socialization process, which transfers the traditional role to the children and henceforth leading to occupational segregation later on. One set of gender socialization occur between parents and offspring, parents are considered to be the primary agency in the process of socialization, they are inclined to interact with boys and girls in a discrete manner. One of the most influential driver of the socialization process is the mass media. In mainstream media, stereotyping is a standard way of characterizing people, leading...
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