Gender Representaion in the Media Essay

I am pretty certain that many including me have questioned why there are few female leading roles and inclusion in TV series, and movies. Okay I’m not going to argue with anyone, and yes I’m a female, with that being said, I do not understand the logic behind making it almost all about the male characters. There are always little to non-female superheroes out there in a movie, this could be because we our community is too sensitive to the idea of female dominatrix or inflated ego. Farhi argued that “women are rarely presented as authorities in news programming. Males make up 66% of quoted material in newspapers and 75% of sources on major news shows (as cited in Wood, 2015, p. 234). It is not as common to see an action movie lead by a female but one would not need to look far to find so many of male leading action movies. Not to say that there isn’t but I don’t think it is well appreciated; some however are able to make it successfully, such

Females have played a big part of mass media all over the world, especially in England and America. Over the centuries, the female roles in movies and literature have changed drastically. The way that females are now portrayed in the mass media resemble and sometimes equal mass media's portrayal of males. Women are given more independent roles in American and British mass media today than in previous centuries.

Another form of sexism in front of the camera is the roles that women receive. Recent studies have shown that there are less lead roles offered to women. The woman’s role is often more about the relationship to the strong male lead, whether that be a mother, sister, girlfriend, or wife. Women are more often depicted as a support to the strong lead, as opposed to the strong lead themselves. An infographic from the New York Film Academy shows that the ratio of men acting in films to women is 2.25:1.

The film industry has created the conventional gender roles of society into their movies. A majority of films have supported some of the male and female stereotypes. In the history of the film industry, the role of men is primarily that of the stereotypical working class man or hero, while the roles of women are primarily portrayed as being somewhat inferior to men. In the 1930s through the 1970s, men held the leading roles in films while women played smaller roles. In terms of jobs, women were given mostly family roles and rarely were shown outside of their homes, while men had successful careers and did many activities outside of home. “Women were shown doing housework and men were the beneficiaries of their work” (“Women’s roles in the

Margaret Gallagher, a researcher specializing in gender and the media and the author of, “Women, Media And Democratic Society: In Pursuit Of Rights And Freedoms” once said, “in the name of freedom of speech, the media claim the right to represent women as they wish.” In society today women have degrees, doctorates, own businesses and even run entire countries yet they are still underrepresented in one of the largest and most well known industries: the media, including news, magazines, TV, radio programs and so fourth. Although women are representing entire countries there is only a very small portion managing high senior positions in media corporations. Media has been known to portray women as beauty and not brains they are seen in magazines as merely objects and in news reports as just a pretty face. It is time that women who are qualified get the chance to take control of media and start representing men and women as equals by giving both genders the same opportunities in front of the camera as well as equal opportunities to reach senior positions in media networks.

According to Times Magazine article “Men still dominate ‘hard news’ Even though the 2016 election could be the first time a woman presidential candidate gets a major party nomination, men report 65% of political stories. Men also dominate science coverage (63%), world politics coverage (64%) and criminal justice news (67%). Women have lost traction in sports journalism, with only 10% of sports coverage produced by women (last year, it was 17%). Education and lifestyle coverage were the only areas that demonstrated any real parity.” This shows that men are more used to report more science, political, as well sport coverage but women are nowhere to be found.But when they are shown they are usually doing “women stuff” like hair,nails,cleaning spills,sweeping the list can go on. Based on efto.ca“In everything from advertising, television programming, newspaper and magazines, to comic books, popular music, film and video games, women and girls are more likely to be shown: in the home, performing domestic chores such as laundry or cooking; as sex objects who exist primarily to service men; as victims who can't protect themselves and are the natural recipients of beatings, harassment, sexual assault and murder.

Mass media not only gives people news and entertainment but affects people's lives by sharing their opinions, attitudes, and beliefs. In society today the differences between male and female roles are smaller. However, mass media still perpetuates traditional gender stereotypes.

Firstly, the absence of women in media will be discussed. In the media, women are more invisible than men. The sex ratio in the media is unequal, and domination of men is obvious. The media

In the 21st century, we see women in the media have many roles that men have, such as, police officer, doctor and running to become president, while a nurse and teacher have emerged as both men and women jobs. Over time, the media show how gender role had changed but are what the media is showing the truth about the gender roles in the United States. Historian and scholar had written about this subject of gender roles and how the media affect our view.

A sociological definition of gender is a system of social practices creating and maintaining differences among people and organizing unequal relations because of differences. As Taylor Chapman puts it, “Mass media is especially harmful to women because it constructs negative perceptions of women and reinforces them on a daily basis” (2011). An examination of the historical images portrayed in the movie and television industries reveals an interesting representation of the “women” of an era and inequality in responsibilities. The representations of

For Example, It can show how society treats female at work and their view on a woman 's relationship with men, work, and family. If women continue to be represented as dependent and fragile, the status of women will remain low for men are considered to be powerful and tough. Better representation of females on TV brings the hope of feminism development which mean that the ideology of females also change in a positive way. If we can discover how depictions of female characters change, we can have a better understanding of how the status of females changes in society from the past to current day. The progress of feminist representation in the media has a huge relationship to the feminist movement since the 1960s.

The article entitled, “Gendered Media: The Influence of Media on Views of Gender” is about the three themes that influence gender stereotyping. Given the themes, it is revealed that the U.S is a male subjugated culture and that the female is viewed as obscure. The underrepresentation of women is the primary distortion of reality says the author Julia Wood as she states the first of three themes. The second being that the stereotypes were made to depict socially endorsed views of how each role should be based on the cultural influence of the norm. Men are typically regarded as active, exploratory, authoritative, sexually aggressive and somewhat uncomplicated in social relationships.

They are rarely casted as lead roles and are usually support characters to the lead actor. Male actors are always portrayed as the nerdy side kick, doctors, or assistants. Their roles are weak and desexualized, as demonstrated by Wai Choy character in mean girls. If they are able to get a masculine role, they are either a Kung Fu warrior or an evil villain that is hell-bent on destroying western civilization. Women actors on the other hand are over sexualized; as they most commonly portrayed as sex workers. If they are able to steer clear of a role as a prostitute, they play roles of quiet, submissive, and feeble characters (Levin, 2017). The film “Full Metal Jacket” prominently showcases this stereotype as a Vietnamese sex worker says, “me love you long time” to a man in the United States military is a famous example of this exploration (Nittle). This is creating a great impact because our society as a whole looks at the people within the entertainment industry and the content it produces as examples of how we want to be. This creates a box for the youth of Asian cultures whether in the U.S. or elsewhere if that is their only example.

Mass media are the primary component of modern society. People customarily consume countless hours of television, movies, and surfing the net where they see examples and expectations of what men and women are supposed to be. Advertisements and magazines inform us of how we are supposed to look, relate to one another, and live. The influence of mass media manifests itself into our routines, our purchasing decisions, our politics, our opinions and emotions, and almost every other aspect of our everyday lives. This tremendous influence most certainly plays a colossal part in how we view gender as well. June Cleaver was the ultimate example of the nurturing matriarch that was supposed to stay indoors taking care of the home, and Edith Bunker was shown as what a dependent and passive wife was supposed to be. At the same time, men were shown as having the opposite characteristics. You had Clint Eastwood, Ward Cleaver, and the Marlboro Man exuding the strength, aggression, breadwinning characteristics of "real men". Boys and girls, men and women believed they were to identify with these roles.

Media is not a new concept and has been in existence since spoken word. The evolution of media has changed greatly and is currently in the golden age of televised, printed, and internet based consumer interaction. These new forms of media allow near instant interaction with a channel’s staff of actors, anchors, journalists, meteorologists, news experts, and models. Recently, news stations have been under intense scrutiny for their continued inadequate role in the advancement of women in the workforce and their disregard for how women are over-sexualized. Televised news has been traditionally a male dominated career in the United States since the introduction of radio news casts in August of 1920. While women worked as small stories journalists, editors, receptionists, and clerks for these media companies women had very limited opportunities for advancement in their careers while working for a fraction of the salary and hourly pay as their male counterparts. The struggle for the progression of women has been a constant topic in the field of news media as women have traditionally been locked out of leadership positions in companies. This thought process is now referred to as the glass ceiling, which still remains an issue for the progressive movements of women advancement today in 2015.