In The Rise Of Enlightened Sexism

Gender Stereotypes are everywhere in the world. This paper will focus on the formation of Gender stereotypes through different media sources. The media sources that will be used include television shows, movies and magazines. Thus the paper will also explore the effect that gender stereotyping may have on development of a person’s social and individual identity.

According to the European institute for gender equality, “Gender roles refer to social and behavioural norms which, within a specific culture, are widely considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex.” In our culture, this tends to mean that women are supposed to be passive while men are supposed to be assertive. As pointed out by both Kristin Lieb and Jean Kilbourne in their TED Talks, the media plays a huge role in shaping our gender expectations and norms. Children watch many hours of television everyday. This has a large impact on how they view gender roles even from an early age. Unfortunately, many, if not most children's shows only reinforced negative stereotypes about gender until recently. While over the past

The woman’s role in society had many changes during the era of WWII to the baby boom era. It went from the strong independent woman that can work in a factory to a house wife that takes care of the family to the final slightly dominant, but still dependent female. All of these different feminine mystiques were changed because of society and through indirect propaganda in TV shows and

Today, more children are somehow connected to the media. Having computers, television, and phones, there always is a way to access it. The media being this accessible can cause problems, because in almost every show that airs on television has some type of gender bias. From how they portray a character from it’s behavior, role or appearance. This has set bad examples for children watching since the children copy what they see on TV. The cartoons, Charlie Brown, Phineas and Ferb, and SpongeBob SquarePants all have a gender bias. Each cartoon is aired on televisions at different times, so it show’s how throughout time gender bias is still an issue.

Mass media not only reflects gender stereotypes but also plays a role in changing them. Females used to be portrayed as less brave and more dependent. Now there are strong, independent female characters like Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games and intelligent, brave female characters like Hermione Granger from Harry Potter. Like women’s changing positions in society, more aggressive and dominant females are being featured. Mass media molds new stereotypes but not all the ideas that are communicated are positive.

Our society seems to have a lot of very stereotypical misconceptions about boys and girls and the role they are expected to play. Media has a pivotal role to play in this front concerning the idea of defining and framing gender. Media consumers transform the messages in that and make demeanors with

The rise of enlightened sexism: How pop culture took us from girl power to girls gone wild

* Television viewing creates the concept of gender-role and racial stereotypes in children, as they start considering it as very natural phenomena. Heroic acts are expected out of males, while women are displayed as objects and less powerful.

Susan Douglas is a woman herself, she has gone through the experience that many women have to go through. Because she, herself, is a woman, she is able to speak upon the subject with experience. She knows what she is talking about when it comes to women stereotypes. She is also a feminist academic, columnist, and focuses her writing on gender issues, media criticism and American politics. Since she is knowledgeable on the subject, she is able to challenge other’s thinking and opinions on the subject.

It is no secret that media has played a large role in reinforcing stereotypes of how the “ideal” man/woman should behave, be interested in, and identify with. Media such as movies and cartoons intended for children have distinctly different messages for boys and girls: boys are encouraged to be brave and tough, while girls are told to be kind, caring, and compliant. This rift is restrictive and conformity, and pigeon holes children into a dangerous dichotomy between male and female identity. The movies Cinderella and The Little Mermaid both promote gender roles which work to oppress females in society.

The media's representation of women greatly affects the socialization of younger generations. Today's younger generations have been raised in the era of technology. From video games and movies to the news and television. Young girls and women internalize what is represented by those of the female sex. The aforementioned is resulting in pressure on mothers, parents preparing young girls for traditionally feminine careers, and a decrease in women's mental and sexual health.

According to the social learning theory, the influence of the media in the formation of gender roles and identity is known as being indirectly and vicariously reinforced. It states that we can learn gender appropriate behaviour by learning from others. So by having gender stereotypes portrayed in the media, it has a powerful influence on all of us but especially on children because they are currently

Thesis: The media, school system and the parents are mainly responsible for the gender stereotypes and gender roles among women today. The have the biggest influence on women and how society views them, and how they view themselves.

In “Gendered Media: The Influence of Media on Views of Gender”, Wood writes: “…media insinuate their messages into our consciousness at every turn. All forms of media communicate images of the sexes, many of which perpetuate unrealistic, stereotypical, and limiting perceptions.” (1) This illustrates just how influential the media can be in American culture. Many people immediately internalize everything they hear from any source that they see as trustworthy. If the media is filled with negative gender stereotypes, then Americans are at risk of internalizing negative gender roles. In the same journal, Woods also explains the three main ways that media influences gender identity:

To explore the various ways in which the media contributes to gender identity formation. Specifically, I want you to explore the gender role messages that are “sent and received” through media.