Media Gender Roles

Gender roles in today's society are a big factor of where people stand because of different characteristics and behaviors. Since it still exists today, our society has shaped the way people should view themselves. Mass media has influenced gender roles by considering what most of the population thinks. With the influence of media, gender roles have been categorized in different stereotypes and myths. Gender roles have changed throughout time and males and females have become more equal, although there are still social expectations that guide the idea of what it means to be male and female.
Gender roles exist because there are two types of sexes: male and female. Everyone is different and has their own unique way of identifying oneself as
Not only is it powerful, it influences gender roles. It’s most effective in advertisements, video games, and music. It successfully has taught how a specific gender type should be sexualized and categorized. Such as in advertisements “an American teen will have watch an average of 350,000 television commercials by the time they are 18” (Plous & Neptune). Most of those commercials advertising clothing, household products, toiletries ,etc. For example, a commercial on dishwashing soap will most likely advertise a house wife cleaning dishes. Just like advertisment, video games play a big portrayal in gender roles. Video games are “recognized as a part of the male world” as stated by Tracy Dietz. In Ditez data collection on women's roles in video games, they are shown as sex objects, victims, for example being kidnapped as part of the plot, and in feminine roles. This shows exactly what mass media wants males to think about when they see a woman. Music has shown the role of gender roles especially through rap music. Male rappers rap mostly about women obtained as objects, making their lyrics up with offensive words toward women. Female singers, as well sing about men in offensive ways. Along with music, music videos are made to express an artist music through dancers and actors. However music videos also show stereotypical roles, for example,in Cara Wallis analysis regarding female performers displaying more sexulized
They essentially are what society and everything else portrays a male and female. Although stereotypes are opinions, they are mostly seen as rules because many people believe them. Just as mass media is everywhere so are stereotypes. This is why the media is so powerful because stereotypes are “expectations affected by the messages received from various agents of socialization in society” a ( Dietz). For example, certain body shapes make up a masculine man and a feminine women. When sexism is portrayed its mostly through stereotypes. In our society boys should do boy things and girls should do girl this. For example, toys are showing a form of stereotypical term by calling boys toys action figures when in reality they are just dolls. This comes to show how so is shaping children to learn what society wants them to be. People tend to criticize a person who is socially accepted as a male doing feminine things or a female doing masculine things. Not only are they criticized but more so they are fearful of themselves showing society what they are comfortable doing; “ boys often fear that loving art, music, and drama may mean that they are not masculine enough” (Kerr &