Media & Gender

• The media has a powerful influence on our behaviour as we are continually exposed to it through newspapers, television and social media.
• The media will often portray males and females in particular ways depending on the culture or society they are in.
• The media provide role models with whom children identify and want to imitate. Many children select role models which are the same sex as they are and prefer to show gender stereotypical behaviour.
• Bussey & Bandura (1999) suggest that the media provide clear gender stereotypes, as men are often seen as more independent and ambitious, where women are seen as more dependent.
• The media can play a role in reinforcing widespread social stereotypes concerning gender appropriate behaviour.
• Furnham & Farragher (2000) found that men were more likely to be shown in TV adverts in roles to be more professional, whereas women were more likely to be seen in domestic roles.
• From a young age children are exposed to media representations of gender stereotypes. These are evident in children's books and on television programmes.
• The media's reinforcement of traditional gender roles and expectations can contribute to the marginalisation and inequality of women in society.
• Characters from books, films and TV are often early role models for children. In line with the SLT explanation of gender, children will identify and model themselves on these characters.
• If characters in the media shown to children are demonstrating stereotypically male or female behaviour, children will take note of this and learn from it and will also imitate in the future.
• If parents demonstrate stereotypical gender roles in the home, the media may reinforce these by portraying them as normal.
• The effect of the media on behaviour is connected to the principle of social learning, often using vicarious reinforcement. It also emphasises the importance of modelling and the influence of role models.
• As in the SLT if characters in books or on TV are rewarded for gender appropriate behaviour, these attributes are assumed to be positive and therefore are more likely to be imitated.
• Williams (1981) reported evidence from a natural experiment conducted in a town in Canada. Prior to the introduction of TV in the town the amount of gender stereotypical views were relatively low. Two years after TV was introduced the difference between boys and girls had increased and there were significantly more stereotypical views related to gender.
• Williams (2007) found gender role differences in ads, where males were portrayed in adverts for cars and technical items compared with females who were portrayed in adverts for beauty and cleaning products.
• Hopper (2005) found that teenage girls were more likely to read magazines than teenage boys, which may explain why a higher proportion of magazines are seemingly directed towards girls.
• Cultivation theory argues that the more time individuals spend ‘living’ in the media world, the more likely they are to believe that this reflects reality.
• Bond & Drogos (2014) found a positive correlation between time spent watching the reality TV programme Jersey Shore, and permissive attitudes towards casual sex.
• Bond & Drogos (2014) suggest that the media cultivates a perception of reality and this affects our gender behaviour.
• Bee (2000) found that children's books often showed males and females in stereotypical roles and adverts were also often differentiated.
• It is over simplistic to assume that children passively learn their gender role from watching TV and reading books. They have free will to choose which characters become their role models.
• Understanding the role of the media in continuing gender stereotyping has led to efforts to show more balanced gender roles in children's media.
• England et al (2011) show that traditional Disney Princess roles were very feminine but recently Disney has produced more Princess roles that are balanced and less stereotypically female.
• The media can have a positive effect on gender role stereotypes, for example televising the women's football World Cup can encourage more females to play sports. This increases the validity of the explanation as it shows the effects the media has on real life.
• Research into media effects on gender roles is mainly correlational, so cause and effect cannot be established.
• Durkin (1985) argues that even very young children are not passive recipients of the media. If media representations confirm existing gender norms held by the family, then these are likely to be reinforced in the child's mind.
• Some studies provide evidence for counter-stereotypes. Pingree (1978) found that gender stereotyping was reduced amongst school age children when they were shown TV adverts featuring women in non-stereotypical roles.