Women stereotypes in media

Author: Janet Peter

Hello, kindly complete paragraph seven because it refers to the exact course materials you have covered in class

Introduction

The mass media image of the society reflects the stereotypes and the realities of render tracking, often distinguishing males from females and perpetuating specific caricatures. The roles created by the media, and the images created are engraved in the society’s mind through entertainment, advertisement, production and films. Media is one of the most pervasive and powerful source of information and entertainment has a great potential of shaping our attitudes, values and perceptions. Women stereotypes persist in the media including movies, commercials, and televisions. In order to investigate stereotypes perpetuated by these media channels, an analysis of popular music video, television, and commercial advertisements was conducted. In addition, a literature such was conducted to identify what scholars have documented concerning female stereotypes in the media.

Television is the most common mass media globally. The television tends to portray different people such as race and gender in different manner. In most instances, these groups are stereotyped in negative ways. Consumers of television content may actualize these stereotypes and start to view them negatively in real life. The television is a strong opinion-shaper and affects consumers in a great way.

Television commercials are a major source of gender stereotypes because they are often adapted to a particular target (male or female) and are often a reflection of the commercial "recipient." Most modern commercial aims at satisfying customer need for creating needs and demand. Women are often presented in television commercials due to the huge role in making daily purchases at the household level. According to Signorelli, Douglas and Eliane (2004), most commercials in prime times and weekend daytime children’s play programs rarely use women’s voice-over. In addition, men are often portrayed as authoritative. Although men and women are equally represented in prime-time commercials, women are often misrepresented in commercials. However, some television programs explore the complexities of the working lives of strong, interesting women.

Gender stereotypes persist in the music videos. Music videos have established a new platform of publicity since 1980s. As music video commercialization increased, artists have found sexuality to be the quick way to attract an audience. The music industry has contributed a lot in perpetuating gender stereotypes especially female stereotypes. It is common to find in hip-hop music videos women dancing provocatively and wearing skimpy clothing. As such, most of the music videos perpetuate and reinforce the stereotypical role of women. Regardless of whether the artist is female or not, most music videos has lyrics that talk about girls and portray of women is the same. For example, in the 50 Cent’s song "Candy Shop," women are objectified. The setting of the video is a brothel and 50 Cent is the dominant figure and women are in limited clothing. The focus of the video is the bodies of the women and their promiscuous roles. In the song "Bottoms Up," Trey objectifies women as objects of fulfilling men sexual fantasies. In most of her songs, Rihana uses her sexuality to sell her music video. For example, the "Where Have You Been" video have provocative images of ladies including costumes, nudity, and dance, all which represent women in a sexual manner.

A variety of portrayal of women and men exists in advertising television and movies. According to, most of the problematic images are due to the society’s culture of beauty. Due to the differences between men and women, the media portrays men and women differently. The differences in stereotypes are due to the intended results and effects. Most stereotypes are created through the continual and extended exposure of the consumers to a particular pattern of imagery. In most instances, television commercials perpetuate the traditional gender portrayal. According to Paek, Nelson and Viella (2011) most women in commercials are portrayed as dependent. They are often portrayed in traditional roles such as housewives, mothers, and secretaries. In addition, most television commercials portray women as teenagers rather than elderly or middle-aged women. In most instances, males are depicted as more active, authoritative and knowledgeable while women are depicted as submissive. Although women may be represented in non-traditional roles, common stereotypes persist. For example, they portrayed as sexy seductresses and object of women desires. Often they appear in cosmetic advertisements and most advertisement directed at men. A common stereotype of women is the woman who is obsessed with her beauty. As such, the media presents her as having a healthy lifestyle, physically active and uses a wide range of beauty products. The presence of thin actresses dominates most female advertisements. On the other hand, commercials have variant male stereotypes (Tudor, & Meehan, 2013). For example, there is the "real,’ athletic, successful; and professional man surrounded by beautiful women. However, there are other unpopular representations such as men who are devoted to their families. It is rare to find a TV commercial portraying men doing the household chores. In some instances, advertisers use "male friendship" where men are represented as acting together (e.g. going to a soccer game) or sharing common interests and opinions. In the television, women are portrayed as passive, dominated by men, governed by emotions and dependent. They are also depicted as less intelligent and weaker than men. Most of the roles assigned to women include marital and family-oriented (Burgess, & Burpo, (2012). It is rare to see women being depicted as successful and employed. In most instances, music videos emphasis men’s posturing, attitude, and sexual appeal to attract women. It portrays men masculinity which highly underscores the importance of virility, strength, and power, while for women, music videos show sexist treatment.

Through images and ideologies created by stereotypes, the media propagates and promotes specific gender representation. Television, television commercials, and movies continue to perpetuate the traditional stereotypes of men and women. Despite the feminist movements in the past few decades, negative stereotypes about women persist. Masculinity and Femininity are defined by boundaries established by the media. These images are prevalent and presented in a way that they become the "norm" of how the society view men and women. For example, every man in American may assume that all women are beautiful, seductive and always seek men attention as depicted in music videos and films. However, in real life women are different and more modest. They do not wear the skimpy clothes in videos or dance provocatively. The media creation and misconceptions may cause confusion within the society. The stereotypes support the long-held misconceptions about women and gender roles and may prevent the public from differentiating fantasies from reality. For example, music videos and television programs support the notion that the attractive appearance and sexy body is the most important goal of most young girls (Fraizer, 2013). Despite women gaining power, they continue to be misrepresented through old-fashioned stereotypes professions such as nurses, perfect housewives or even the sexy prize to be won by the best man. In the popular culture, images created by the media designate viewer they intend and helps the consumers shape particular ideologies.

References

Burgess, M. R., & Burpo, S. (2012). The Effect Of Music Videos On College Students' Perceptions Of Rape. College Student Journal, 46(4), 748-763.

Fraizer E (2013). Girls, Girls, Girls: Analyzing race and sexuality portrayal in music videos.

Rubie-Davies, C. M., Liu, S., & Lee, K. K. (2013). Watching Each Other: Portrayals of Gender and Ethnicity in Television Advertisements. Journal Of Social Psychology, 153(2), 175-195. doi:10.1080/00224545.2012.717974

Stacy L & Crystal A (n.d). Gender stereotypes: An analysis of popular films and Tv.

Tudor, D., & Meehan, E. R. (2013). Demoting Women On The Screen And In The Board Room. Cinema Journal,53(1), 130-136.

Vaishali S (2003)STEREOTYPING OF WOMEN IN TELEVISION ADVERTISEMENTS.

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