Essay on Gender Roles in Media

It is known that media have always had an enormous impact on the society. Media and communications are considered to be the key elements of modern life, while gender is “the core” of individuals’ identities (Gauntlett 1). The media which contain many different images of men and women as well as many messages about men and women have a significant impact on the sense of identity. At the same time, the mass media influence the audiences. According to David Gauntlett, as we live in changing times, “what we learnt in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s about media and gender might not be so relevant today, because the media have changed, and people’s attitudes have changed” (1). Such films as Red-Headed Woman, Killing Us Softly, The Ad and the Ego, give an opportunity to realize how imaging can affect the perception of gender roles in our society. It is proved that mass media have enhanced the representation of gender roles and increased stereotyping. Advertising is one of the effective tools in media that affects the perceptions of gender roles.  Today media can have negative effect on the perception of gender roles in the society because more and more people use media in stereotyping, while stereotyping can lead to prejudices and gender discrimination.

It is found that the media uses gender as an effective tool for comedy. For example, in one of the TV series, How I Met Your Mother, one of the female characters tries to explain the psychological damage of her childhood.  She says, “I was raised as a boy… and the reason I throw like a girl, dad, is because I am a girl” (Luft). In most cases the issues concerning gender roles are very humorous because they are always real. In the television series, Two and a Half Men there is much information about gender roles in the society. This media “represents women as objects of sexual pleasure for the main character” (Luft). Even the theme song used in the above mentioned TV series, “men, men, manly men” predetermines the overall theme regarding gender stereotypes. It is clear that “there is danger in the shows’ portrayal of women” (Luft). It means that media exaggerates the issue of gender roles for the purpose of public entertainment.

Furthermore, it is not a secret that in most cases, the imaging of men and women was unequal and identified gender-related stereotypes which dominated in the society of the 20-th century. Men have always taken the dominant position in the society. The development of such a prejudiced view of gender roles caused the development of women’s inferiority. In the films Killing Us Softly and The Ad and the Ego, women are depicted as weak and helpless creatures. In Red-Headed Woman, there is a clear representation of the relationships between men and women and imaging of women in the 1930s. Red-Headed Woman reveals gender roles in which women are expected to perform the roles of good wives. In this film, the main character Lil cannot be regarded as a good wife, as she has affairs with two different men, while being married. This film condemns such behavior of women. Moreover, Lil is ready to kill her husband when he deceives her. It means that media of the 1930s represented women as wicked creatures who are condemned for their infidelity. However, men are not condemned for infidelity. It proves the fact that gender roles represented in media of the 20-th century were not equal.

In the documentary The Ad and the Ego (1997), the author shows how advertising in the USA evolved in the 20-th century and enhanced its impact through imaging. The documentary shows that advertising evolved from using simple words to using imaging. It means that people perceive certain message through imaging that has an enormous impact on their sub-consciousness. As a result, today advertising is effectively used to shape the views of the audience; and gender-related stereotypes of this or that advertising can be used to define gender roles in the society. According to the research, “stereotyping is prevalent in advertising”, but it has decreased over the years (Gauntlett 28).

In addition, the portrayal of men and women in media can have negative impact on the society. Matthew Kieran discusses gender roles in media in his book Media Ethics: A Philosophical Approach. He states that representation of gender roles in media is closely connected with sex and harm. According to Kieran, “even though no one repeatedly exposed to waiflike fashion models in magazines, glamorous blonds on advertisement hoardings, or the depiction of stereotypical gender roles on TV will automatically try to harm particular women”(93).  It is clear that such material is harmful. In most cases, these images have negative impact towards the opposite sex. Moreover, they may cultivate the sense of low-esteem, humiliation and even inferiority in those women who do not match the ideals represented in media. Matthew Kieran is sure that “the way that sex, gender roles and women are depicted in media representations, may shape the way most people in society, including women themselves, think about sex and gender roles” (93). It means that representation of gender roles in media has an enormous impact on the members of the society, both men and women.

Besides the above mentioned facts, there are certain gender-related inequalities in presence and control in media. Many sources of information reveal the fundamental inequality in the frequency of appearance of men and women in mass media. For example, many TV programs portray more men than women, and more men are given the leading roles. According to David Croteau and William Hoynes, “control of the creation and production of media images in also in male hands – though women are making substantial gains”(212). For example, in news media, there were 40 % of women in 2001, but only 20% of women hold the positions of news directors. In newspaper industry, women made up no more than 40% of the reporters and only 30% hold the executive positions (Croteau & Hoynes 212). In addition, women are less represented in other forms of media. The research proved the fact that women are dramatically underrepresented in such job positions as film directors, executive producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors. According to David Croteau and William Hoynes, “the dynamics relating to gender are similar to those found in the discussion of race”(213). It means that in most cases, women do not hold the positions of control and they are less featured in media products.

However, it is found that “the media images of women and men reflect and reproduce a whole set of stereotypical but changing gender roles” (Croteau & Hoynes 213). For example, men often appear in action and drama roles, while women are found in soap operas and comedies. In addition, men are portrayed at higher positions in the society, in the so-call traditional male occupations, and less likely in the home environment. It is also found that “television camera shots are more likely to feature women’s entire bodies while more often showing men in close-ups of only their faces” (Croteau & Hoynes 213). It means that producers prefer to portray men as more dominant than women. As a rule, they are portrayed as more powerful and more successful. David Croteau and William Hoynes discuss the opinion of one of the critics Fejes who states that men in the media “occupy high status positions, initiate action and act from the basis of rational mind as opposed to emotions” (Croteau & Hoynes 213). As a rule, they are found in the world of business as opposed to family, and their lives are organized around problem solving situations.

What is more important is that the roles of women in media have often reflected similar stereotypes concerning femininity. It is not a secret that the dominant roles of women in media have been the roles of a mother/wife/homemaker and the role of a sexual object. However, in recent years, the situation has been changed, because “the media industry has muted the blatant simplicity of certain stereotypical gender images” (Croteau & Hoynes 213). Today women act more freely, and they have a wider pallete of roles and images in media than they had some 25-30 years ago. However, today women still face inequalities in the society which are represented by unequal treatment in the media. David Croteau and William Hoynes believe that unequal treatment of women in media is concluded in “sexist advertising, and degrading pornography”. They state that this unequal treatment is easy to spot as women still perform some stereotypical roles on TV situation comedies and dramas (Croteau & Hoynes 214).

     CONCLUSION

In conclusion, it is necessary to say that media have always had a significant impact on the representation of gender roles in our society. Today, mass media do not convey gender-related issues as they used to do several decades ago. Instead, media pay special attention to sexuality of women and establish the standards of female beauty, as well as suggest the appropriate models of behavior. However, all the standards and models developed by media are biased. Today men and women are working side by side not only in media industry, but also in other spheres of human activity: in hospitals, schools, police stations, shops, etc. It means that in the 21-st century, gender roles in media have become increasingly equal, and, in most cases, non-stereotyped. However, the majority of leading characters are still male.