Gender Roles

Crystal Hardney
9939-3383

Gender roles are often depicted in many aspects of our daily lives.   The American culture often times popularizes general notions of the ideal male and female roles.   It seems as if there are already preconceived notions about how one is to act in society based on their gender.   These notions trickle down and continue to thrive in the minds of young people alike.   The main source of these images is found in popular culture through the help of the media and advertising.  
Karen Dill’s article on video game characters depicting sexist gender roles summarizes findings on the socialization of our perceptions of these images.   It appears that not much research is done to understand the complexities behind why these stereotypical portrayals are often represented over and over again to society.   In an analysis on the top selling video games sold in America, men are more likely to be portrayed more aggressively than females in a ratio of 83:62.   Females are often found to be hyper sexualized in video games with an incredible 60 to 1 % differentiation.(Dill,2007)   These generalities categorize our society into social roles that appear to be permanent.  
Video games are the leading recreational choice for the youth. This common element cements images into the minds of children and creates an example to how they should act in the future.   Studies have found that even amongst children who are non-gamers an understanding of the roles is often demonstrated.   It seems as though these gender roles have pervaded our culture so significantly that they will never go away.  
Dill continues to analyze the effects of images and finds a correlation between media advertisements and negative body images.   The ideal beauty seems to be detrimental to one’s own confidence and it has even been shown that men have higher expectations in their preference for women.(Dohnt, 2006)   It is almost like these views have manifested into not just images, but actual ways... [continues]

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