Essay Example on Media's Role in Perpetuating Gender Roles

Introduction

Media play an essential role in controlling the social norms in the current society currently. There are several methods of media such as advertisements, movie industry and Television are available universally in society.Different Gender roles are practiced because people in our community have chosen to accept them in one way or another. However, according to the statistics that was done indicated that media played an essential role in perpetuating gender roles among our current society (Brown & Bobkowski, 2011). Most of the viewers are addicted to social media programs and information concerning gender roles, a factor that has both advantages and disadvantages in our contemporary society. Media influence generally has contributed to widening different opinions and prosecutions of individuals concerning the gender roles in the community. Therefore, this study will analyze how media roles have added to the change in gender roles among people in our current society.

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Advertisements

There are numerous advertisements that are aired in our social media that describe different gender roles in households. For instance, in the American advertisement, online shows girls in performance with action tools while boys were baking meals in an ovens that described the roles of boys and girls in our society. Concerning the advertisement of products such as a sidewalk, we can see girls decorating the sidewalk as young boy raped with a little dance, this described how social media instill the knowledge of roles to our young teenagers at a younger age (Chalabaev et al.2013). Media in this scenario sends the message that girls should practice specific functions while boys also should practice certain roles. According to the advertisement done by Tide a laundry detergent company, it took a different view concerning gender roles, in the scene a male actor is seen braiding the hair of her daughter, this was such a weird act since the male was seen undertaking a female role in the society. Advertisements, however, are the most common forms of marketing gender roles among the people; this is because more than 96.8% of Americans owns televisions currently (Collins, 2011). The viewers, therefore, have the power to choose the type of content they are allowed to watch in the television programs.

Films Programs

The film industry is currently the most sorted after the form of entertainment in our current society. There are films that are championing the woman empowerment while there are other movies that are advocating for male empowerment and roles. However, the difference in gender roles descriptions in the films has led to the broad distinction and disparity among our current systems. For instance, the movie Grown Ups 2, which was created by Dennis Dugan estimated to be about $200000000 more than films such as The Call which was build by Brad Anderson (Collins, 2011). Grown Ups movie generally was speaking against the men. The female casts in the movie were speaking nothing rather than men in the whole video. The movie was also found not to ascertain Bechdel's test standards. On the other hand, The call film was about Halle Berry and Abigail, who was advocating for female strength after Haile saves a young girl from kidnappers (Davenport, Bergman & Fearrington, 2014). The film sends a strong message about gender empowerment rather than a movie that disintegrates members of the public. With the growing number of film lovers in the market currently, these lead to the disintegration of different opinions concerning gender roles in society.

Social Media Platforms

With the increase in the use of social media platforms has created a new opinions that have emerged concerning gender roles (England, Descartes & Collier, 2011). Social media has changed our children's perception concerning their duties in the house. With various examples and role models, opinions on gender roles in social media have convinced millions of people to emulate different gender differences in society. According to the research that was done indicated that more than 80% of the children and adults are using social media platforms on a daily basis (England, 2011). With this overwhelming growth in the rate of social media usage in the market, more people will be convinced to emulate a different opinion concerning gender roles.

Media Stereotypes

The media takes the lead in stereotyping gender roles in our society by convincing people to believe in a distinct gender difference in society. A personality trait is the primary stereotyping method used by social media in convincing people to emulate different gender roles in the community. For instance, women are often believed to be emotional, while men should be confident and aggressive in life (Farre & Vella, 2013). The media has also brainwashed the public in the domestic roles behaviors of different genders. For example, individuals will state that women are expected to take of the children, clean and cook, while men, on the other hand, will control house finances and house repairs duties (Lindsey, 2015). The domestic behavior stereotyping creates alienation between males and female roles in society.

Media has convinced the public to believe in the occupation differences. For instance, people tend to think that tutors and nurses are females roles, while doctors and engineers are men related occupations in society (Sisask & Varnik, 2012). The following difference, however, has created a wide misconception concerning the career choice of children in the current community. The physical appearance, however, has been a significant debate in our contemporary society. Women, for instance, are expected to be tinny and beautiful; on the other hand, men are expected to be big and well-built (Perloff, 2014). The physical appearance of stereotypes has been instigated by social media by highlighting the model's body. The narrative has changed various perceptions of people concerning how they should look in the society. Men and women also have been convinced to put on a different type of clothing. For instance, males are expected to put on pants and little haircuts while females are expected to wear several dresses and make-up their bodies.Solving Gender Role differences

Point it Out

Social media is full of gender inequalities and stereotypes that have played an enormous role in confusing the public on what are the roles of both females and males. Magazines, films, Television stations and the internet are all full of negativity in society currently (Salter & Blodgett, 2012). Unless the following stereotypes and inequalities are pointed out, they can be hard to help others in understanding them.

Be as an Example

Regardless of the continuous norms and gender roles differences in society, be a role model for your friends and family concerning gender roles. Respect people, regardless of their gender identity.

There is nothing wrong when an individual embraces gender roles. For instance, I want to stay in the house and cook, wash utensils and clothes. The challenge with gender roles is that they usually cross the line and become more oppressive to an individual's life. Gender roles difference will dictate the career, lifestyle, behaviour, reasoning and ideas of the members of the public at large. Social media platforms, however, are the main structures that instill the gender roles narratives across society (Sisask & Varnik, 2012). However, society should change their mentality and opinion concerning gender roles in order to improve the media direction on gender roles. Gender roles depend on an individual to change his opinion and idea concerning gender differences in society. Everybody should be free to fulfill a particular purpose that they are supposed to ascertain in the community currently.

References

Brown, J. D., & Bobkowski, P. S. (2011). Older and newer media: Patterns of use and effects on adolescents' health and wellbeing. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21(1), 95-113.Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00717.x

Chalabaev, A., Sarrazin, P., Fontayne, P., Boiche, J., & Clement-Guillotin, C. (2013). The influence of sex stereotypes and gender roles on participation and performance in sport and exercise: Review and future directions. Psychology of sport and exercise, 14(2), 136-144.Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S146902921200115X

Collins, R. L. (2011). Content analysis of gender roles in media: Where are we now and where should we go?. Sex roles, 64(3-4), 290-298.Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-010-9929-5

Davenport, S. W., Bergman, S. M., Bergman, J. Z., & Fearrington, M. E. (2014). Twitter versus Facebook: Exploring the role of narcissism in the motives and usage of different social media platforms. Computers in Human Behavior, 32, 212-220.Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563213004536

England, D. E., Descartes, L., & Collier-Meek, M. A. (2011). Gender role portrayal and the Disney princesses. Sex roles, 64(7-8), 555-567.Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-011-9930-7

Farre, L., & Vella, F. (2013). The intergenerational transmission of gender role attitudes and its implications for female labour force participation. Economica, 80(318), 219-247.Retrieved from Farre, L., & Vella, F. (2013). The intergenerational transmission of gender role attitudes and its implications for female labour force participation. Economica, 80(318), 219-247.

Lindsey, L. L. (2015). Gender roles: A sociological perspective. Routledge. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=qjjbCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Roles+of+media+in+Gender+roles&ots=U4kF6-KhMr&sig=PlNXoJu2wWe80s7twVpSZ83ZZzk

Perloff, R. M. (2014). Social media effects on young women's body image concerns: Theoretical perspectives and an agenda for research. Sex Roles, 71(11-12), 363-377.Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-014-0384-6

Salter, A., & Blodgett, B. (2012). Hypermasculinity & dickwolves: The contentious role of women in the new gaming public. Journal of broadcasting & electronic media, 56(3), 401-416.Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08838151.2012.705199

Sisask, M., & Varnik, A. (2012). Media roles in suicide prevention: a systematic review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 9(1), 123-138.Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/9/1/123