Influence of Popular Media on People’s View on Gender
People are not born with their own opinions, rather their opinions are created and shaped through what they see and hear from sources that they consider trustworthy. This why most popular media mostly showcase ideas and opinions that the average person finds the most acceptable. When it comes to stereotypes, they originate from those in power who creates an overgeneralization that ends up repeated countless times that it eventually begins to be considered a fact. Authors such as David Brooks assert that women are better students than men and that men are more aggressive, an assertion I disagree with. Stereotypes dealing with gender like the one promoted by David Brooks
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This was a common wartime practice for the U.S and other nations. Whether it was World War 2 propaganda films demonizing the Japanese towards modern day war movies and shows like Rules of Engagement and 24 noteworthy for their excessive violence and inaccurate portrayals of Muslims and Arabs. The purpose of these films is to encourage male stereotypes that men are prone to excessive violence. Likewise, Paul Theroux talks about this in his article, "Being a Man", where he argues that he finds traditional displays of manliness to be "appalling" which he defines as, "Be stupid, be unfeeling, be obedient, soldierly and stop thinking". This is a trait that the popular media seem to desire to bring out in men, most likely an attempt to create the ideal soldier: an idiot willing to march to his death without a care in the
Representation within media is a powerful thing and the viewpoint often differs with context, such as the gender of the storytellers and the time period in which a piece was written and/or published. William Moulton Marston, the mind behind iconic female superhero Wonder Woman (DC Comics), has once described a need for a new type of woman in comics. He found there was a need for one that defied the weaknesses we usually prescribe to females in general, stating that the female archetype lacks the force, strength, and power needed to make girls want to identify with female characters (American Scholar, 1943). Even then, his heroine could be described as modest and peace-loving, two characteristics he himself described as belonging to the aforementioned weaknesses.
The media today plays the greatest role in creating stereotypes in our society. Quite often, these stereotypes do not correspond to reality, showing it in a distorted way. However, many people accept that distorted reality as a truth. The reasons for establishing such generalizаtions and categorizations often lies in political or corporate interests.
Spread of negative stereotypes Negative stereotypes have been created by us, as a society, we have allowed ourselves to live with this misconceptions that impact all of us in a certain way. We have contributed to those beliefs that say that social status, income class and ethnicity define our identity. In fact, we have been and also have prejudged others at a certain point in our lives, we prejudge people we don’t know and also the ones we think we know like our own family members. In “The Achievement of Desire” by Richard Rodriguez he discusses his personal experience on how he stereotyped himself and also his family.
Media in all types of forms will be used to communicate what society believes is to be normal in the current culture. In the essay titled “First” by Ryan Van Meter he describes an experience he had in the back of a station wagon with his first crush. The story of the car ride describes the first time he is told not to feel a certain way towards the same-sex. Though it is ambiguous to say this essay talks about gender roles. On boundless.com gender roles can be defined as “society 's concept of how men and women are expected to act and behave” (Gender and Sociology).
In Generation Me: Misogyny in Media and Culture, this documentary explained how and what is causing us to see gender in a certain way. Misogynist ideas will continue to exist because it’s motivated by the idea of masculinity and femininity. We are repeatedly being taught and raised by these ideas. The media is using it to sell on the market, while the kids eat it up like it’s normal. As long as we follow this ideal, nothing will change for generations to come.
“People tend to overestimate the difference because they notice the extremes” Zlata Krizan. In this quote she talks about how people focus on the really big things that are different, but there are so many little things that are the same. They say that gender stereotypes are not has bad has the once were. Well study shows that gender stereotypes are just as bad today has they were 30 years ago.
Believe it or not our society seems to classify people according to abilities, religion, customs, countries, and even likes, and dislikes. I personally think that each person is unique and being Chinese, Japanese, American, Mexican, etc. does not make you smarter or better one than another. In this case, Gladwell on Chapter 8 of Outliers highlights the intelligence and dedication of the Chinese population. I believe stereotypes are formed through parents and teachers. Parents are our first teachers and whatever comes from home, it will stick with us forever.
These are just some of the several examples of how stereotyping is categorized for men and women in today’s society. This type of generalization of each gender has been around for centuries and continues to be used. One source argues that “Conscious and unconscious motives of having the family race continue… Guns and cars are bought for him, preferably blue and never pink! While growing up, if he cries he will be told ‘don’t cry like a girl!’...learns to suppress his emotions as he thinks it is ‘girlish’ to express them.” (Srichand, "TalkItOver RSS").
According to Julia T. Wood who works with communication there are three main themes that the media use when they represent gender. First, men and women are portrayed in stereotypical ways. Second, women are underrepresented. The third way is how the media portray the relationship between men and women with traditional gender roles and the normalization of violence against
Mass media represent a powerful force in modern societies as they shape public discourse and influence public opinion by transmitting social, political and cultural values. For decades, women’s representation in mediated popular culture has been a central problem because of the gendered ideologies it circulated. From the 1880s to the 1970s, American women’s magazines played a significant role in disseminating the dominant ideology and patriarchal order, perpetuating the myths of female disposability and domesticity, maintaining traditional images of femininity. They promoted the idea of women’s emotionality, vulnerability and beauty ideals.
Growing up as a child in the early 21st century I, had Power Puff Girls, Dora, Winx and Angelina Ballerina forced down my throat. That is until my brother came along and Astro Boy, car racing, video games, and Teenage Mutant Ninja came to my attention. Today I will be sharing my views of people on the cause of gender stereotypes in texts, throughout the many years of modern age. Throughout the years, gender stereotypes against females and males have been lessening. These are still present in the modern social age; this has happened through social media, children books, ads, and movies.
EXTENDED ESSAY- GENDER BIAS IN THE MEDIA TOPIC: How does Media portray gender, and the effects it has on the 21st century individual? By: Calvin Mends INTRODUCTION:
In our recent history, feminism has become more prevalent in almost every aspect of our lives. One important thing to remember is that each sex has uniquely valuable traits to contribute to society (Maguire, 2014). However, overgeneralizations of these traits have driven a wedge between the different sexes and as a result, discrimination, injustice, and unfair stereotypes plague our society. Key terms discussed throughout each source include, but are not limited to, gender stereotypes, double standards, benevolent sexism, hostile sexism, gender disparities, and female/male injustice. Gender stereotypes encompass the generalizations placed on gender-specific traits.
This article focuses on how media especially advertisements highlights gender stereotypical images of both men and women. I.INTRODUCTION The term media refers to the groups that communicate information and news to the common people. The media holds immense power in democratic countries.
The representation of gender in mass communications has been a hugely debated topic for years and will continue to be one for many more years to come. The media plays a big role in how they want to portray a gender to the public. They create certain stereotypes through the role of a gender in order to attract a large audience and interest to sell a product, brand or image. Media is so important in today’s society, people spend hours and hours each day watching TV, browsing the Internet and reading magazines. There are so many images of men and women in the media today that it certainly has an impact on the viewer’s thoughts and sense of identity.