GENDER IN THE MEDIA
Introduction
The roles of gender in the media exposing Society’s typecasts which affirm that male kids shall remain male kids whereas female kids should not be dirty. These are termed as the prevalent fallacies about gender which are frequently perceived in the society that we live in. Individually, young people in the society are continuously blasted by information that figure out the prospects of gender in the society. The main manipulation of the gender and gender roles in the media is carried out through a process where the media clients come up with a variety of information where they elucidate attitudes concerning whatever that is suitable or not for males and females.
The first section of this paper reviews literature comparing sex and gender and also discusses how media influences gender growth. The second section examines how television programs influences popular cultures on gender growth. This section also examines how college analysts can expose typecasts shown on television programs with a motive of looking forward to creating healthy, and truthful morals for the coming cohorts. The television program that was considered to display the gender and gender roles on media was Glee due to its popularity and ability to capture the interest of the audience. Some of the limitations of the study include difficulties in accessing the prevailing spell, biasness of the playwright in the process of sampling and evaluating typecasts portrayed by the show as well as the rebels experienced in schools as a result of executing the new-fangled programs.
Review of Literature
In the entire lifespan of males and females, they both grow diversely and frame certain prospects of gender. Understanding the distinction of gender and sex is very vital before elucidating their stereotypes imposed by the society. The literature analyses the male and female typecasts displayed by media, how they are influencing the audience (those who view) as well as how the Glee program on television is the most suitable illustration of common culture.
Gender and typecasting
Defining gender and sex confuses so much as they are regard to be similar things. However, gender is concerned with psychology and culture whereas sex entails to genetic and corporeal features. Gender is characterized by defining the masculine and feminine nature of an individual which are continuously built up through social interactions. The society at large has various prospects for every gender describing the suitable and non-suitable characters for both males and females. Study shows that we all grow into our gender responsibilities by a process that is called gender-typing. Children incorporate characters and principles that are termed to be suitable in our own culture for both females and males.
The process of developing gender uniqueness commences when one is either two or three years old. Maternities, peers, educators, and broadcasters are all influence the social growth of an individual. The way adults treat growing children also plays a major responsibility in gender growth in ways such as selecting the type of clothes, purchasing play toys as well as the type of television shows that the kids are exposed to viewing. As this young people grow up, they just find themselves developing and considering themselves as either males or females and they associate themselves with activities related to their gender. For instance, they start taking the role of their parents either father or mother depending whether the kid is a male and female respectively. In addition, those young people will start rejecting to do any activity that is related to the conflicting gender.
The boys under adolescence constantly undergo harassments when they engage themselves in activities regarded for females. When boys get engaged with games, they happen to learn gaining courtesy, rank and authority. On the other hand, girls are tutored on cooperation, loyalty, and intimation. This therefore shows that, the society is the one that gives direction on one’s behavior regarding personal features.
Media Typecasts
Earlier literature has discussed the role of gender in a number of common types of media encompassing television programs. The roles of gender in media display that females are characterized with anilities to nurture, moderate, concern, and being sensitive to other individuals whereas, males are regarded as logic, competitive, self-governing, self-assured, monetary breadwinners, experts in entrepreneurship as well as dominating on females (Harris, R. J., & Sanborn, 2013). In the media, the representation of females is more negative than that of males. Males are understood to be hardworking, giving instructions, and substantially violent. Women are displayed pleasant, earnest, compliant, inert, and feeble. In addition, women experience affection, partaking, philanthropic, and get concerned about others unlike men.
The likeliness of women to be used as sex substances in media is high. That is, video playoffs mostly sexualize female characters by exposing their big breasts especially for the ones who are not major characters in such videos. Other research display that women are not only used in such videos due to their beautiful body but also due to the fact that they are good-looking, fresh and distinct in comparison with men. It has also been confirmed that women usually dress provokingly and they are emphasized as a result of how they appear physically in their dresses. The teenage ladies that are displayed on the television are passive and obsessed accompanied by their insincere matters like errands, looks, and getting involved in relationships as well as the ideas of criticizing those who engage themselves in serious matters like education and vocations.
Matters pertaining to occupation are also displayed differently on media between men and women. The most respected jobs that pay highly are occupied by men while women occupy inferior jobs. Nevertheless, men are showed in higher social rank circumstances unlike women. Research confirms that men have, more chances than women to be displayed in a career scenery in common attention fortnightlies globally. In this case, women are only displayed in more vague, local, and ornamental acts within the society. Equally, during the prime time on Television shows, women are displayed in matrimonial duties unlike men who are portrayed in occupational duties. There’s a contradiction to this study where single women have specialized careers than matrimonial women. It is imaginable that these kinds of changes are caused by increased number of women who pursue advanced bachelors in decree. It is also pivotal to understand that the marital condition of a woman is variedly known than that of men and those women paly parental tasks more than men. Therefore, when women are used as main characters, they can get involved in romance or make family.
Glee’s outline
Glee is a television show which displays comedies on music. It is about secondary school students who visits a club called gee for songs and dances. This program is rated highly and has won a number of awards where it became the most nominated series in the year 2010. As said above, preceding research has acknowledged gender roles on televisions and a number of media sources like magazines. It is actually vital I understanding the gender and typecasts that are displayed in media sources. Teenagers are supposed to be guided and directed when encountering ceaseless media subjection. Portraying men and women inappropriately are not just predominant on well-known televisions like Glee but they are also used as ways of comicality failing to consider the positive effects depicted by the show. Therefore, Glee requires being researched and getting printed and be used as a basis of hypothetical appraisal thereby leading to the creation of opportunities to be observed and criticized upon serving as an example of gender roles and typecasting.
Discussion and Results
The scrutiny of the television show ‘Glee’ has raised a number of queries concerning gender roles in media and how it influences the audiences. In most cases the gender typecasts are used as amusing reliefs. In addition, the displays that are recurrent continue to back up gender roles rather than misleading individuals on the prospects of the society (Harris and Sanborn, 2013). Young generations who view this show are exposed to male domination and female proposal. The recognition of gender typecasts in media enables the society to embark on debunking conventional manners and be charged with the responsibility of promoting eccentricity and acceptance.
Results on Glee show
Gendered jobs
Males and females are characteristically type casted in terms of gender role careers. This is evident where Emma the school analyst normally puts on skirts or dresses, going off to show her legs. Similarly, Teri is working but goes only thrice a week to the job. The play shows how men are engaged in well-paying jobs than women (Powell, 2018). Thus, it is clear that media sources indicate that men are meant for prestigious jobs than women. Glee is only an example of such media.
Defending Masculinity
The entire of the first season, one would notice that glee club performs a range of music from various artists. During the performance, male students resist to perform their songs. It should be understood that although those students were in a club where all the people sing and dance, they felt need of preserving their masculinity by separating themselves from the ladies. During knock-outs, ladies could not raise alarming attentions as male performers did. They only had slight attention comparative to the male performers who could raise a lot of attention when the female performers got to stage.
Embracing Femininity
In the second episode of the play, Emma finds Rachael in the lavatory. At this time, she is wishing to be slim and gorgeous like Quinn. This is an indication that beautiful ladies are always displayed in prevalent duties and seen to be role models for less know persons. Those who are prevalent are regarded as important foe whatever that is meant being a feminine. Rachael is indeed beautiful but she still admire Quinn just because Quinn is popular than she is.
Image
Ladies in the club are witnessed putting on stereotypical feminine clothes such as tights even at the time when they ate told to come out of their ease zones in order to perform the role of the contradictory gender. Apart from stereotypical dressing, the females are also involved in sharing hopeless activities. During the preparation to perform, the ladies are clearly displayed on their mobile phones, touching to make their eyebrows sexy as well as applying paints on their finger nails.
Conclusion
In summary, media has really contributed a lot to gender roles and perception of gender itself. Many believe that the roles displayed in media, for instance, those that go against the will of the society are targeting to spoil teenagers. However, this research in conjunction with its review of literature confirms that media only displays the role of a woman as well as that of a man differently. Therefore, this research plays an important role in psychology on the development of a toddler. It is through watching gender role on media that helps most toddlers to realize their role in accordance with their gender. Most parents currently spend a little time with their growing children and thus the children lacks parental care which also entails guiding the children on their roles. Therefore, media has greatly played an important role in making young generations to understand their roles. In Gee’s show, typecasts accord with the expectations of the society. Males are termed to be tougher and less emotional whereas females are displayed as very persuasive and emotional. Therefore, the school analysts and tutors should always be charged with the responsibility to deemphasizing gender typecasts existing in media in order to get the society moving and also to avoid misleading societal activities.
References
Harris, R. J., & Sanborn, F. W. (2013). A cognitive psychology of mass communication. Routledge.
Richardson, N., & Wearing, S. (2014). Gender in the Media. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Powell, G. N. (2018). Women and men in management. Sage Publications.