Transcript Television and Gender Roles Daniel Chandler

Discuss with your neighbors…
What did you see on TV last
night? Did you watch any
obvious TRADITIONALISM (men
do this, women do that)? Were
there any shows/ movies/
commercials which demonstrated
NON-TRADITIONAL roles?
Television and Gender
Roles
Daniel Chandler
Found @...
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/TF33120/gen
dertv.html
Gender and TV Production
Television still perpetuates traditional
gender stereotypes because it reflects
dominant social values. In reflecting them
TV also reinforces them, presenting them
as 'natural'.
 THE KNACK
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Gender and TV Production
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Girls learn from most TV
that it is a man's world.
In recent years notable increase in the
# of women news
presenters.
Formerly, TV directors
(largely male, of course)
had argued that women
were less likely to be
taken seriously by
viewers.
Numbers of Males and
Females on TV
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The number of women shown
on TV is far smaller than the
number of men shown.
Men outnumber women in
general TV drama by 3 or 4 to
1.
70-85% of those on children's
TV are male, and in children's
cartoons, males outnumber
females by 10 to 1.
Even in soap operas women can
be outnumbered 7:3.
Occupations by Gender
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The majority of women on TV are
restricted to a few roles.
Male roles are far more extensive and
more exciting.
Women are often shown on TV in
'traditional' roles such as housewives,
mothers, secretaries and nurses.
Men are shown as husbands and fathers,
but also as athletes, celebrities and
tycoons.
Some examples…
Everybody Loves Raymond
King of Queens
Stereotypical Representations
of Gender Roles
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Though not as strongly as in earlier years, the
portrayal of both men and women on TV is
largely traditional and stereotypical.
There are few women in the heroic role played
by Sigourney Weaver in Aliens.
Stereotypical Representations
of Gender Roles
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Stereotypical masculinity, for
instance, is portrayed as
natural, normal and
universal, but it is fact a
particular construction.
It is largely a white, middleclass heterosexual
masculinity.
This is a masculinity within
which any suggestion of
feminine qualities or
homosexuality is denied, and
outside which women are
subordinated.
Will & Grace –
Bridging Stereotypes
General Advertisements
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In television advertisements, gender stereotyping
tends to be at its strongest because the target
audiences are frequently either male or female.
Voice-overs represent the program-maker's
interpretations of what is seen: these are the voices
of 'authority'.
They are overwhelmingly male (figures of up to 94%
have been reported).
There have been more female voice-overs in recent
years but mainly for food, household products and
feminine care products.
Male voice-overs tend to be associated with a far
wider range of products.
The inquisitive viewer could note what is being
advertised and who is featured in the commercial,
either in person or as a voice over. It is often subtle.
Commercial Time
Tide Commercial
 Rebuttal to the commercial:
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Really, Tide? What’s wrong with girls wearing camouflage and
cargo shorts? When FOX News, Dr. Keith Ablow, the Culture And
Media Institute, and others attacked J. Crew CEO Jenna Lyons for
painting her son’s toenails pink — as he wanted — The New Civil
Rights Movement was one of the first to call them out on it. And
here we are again, calling out Tide for their poor handling and
poor attempt at humor, belittling and bullying all the young
children who don’t conform to the stereotypical behavior of being
a girl or a boy, and telling their parents, “it’s OK” to be
uncomfortable with your kids being who they are.
“Find the Tide that’s right for you,” the commercials says at the end.
Really? How about, “let your kids be who they are!” That would
have been better.
The J.Crew Ad
Commercial Examples
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Swiffer
Nerf
Barbie
Best Buy
Acura TXS
Dell XPS
PRACTICE Dyson
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John West Red
Salmon
Mac Book Air
Sour Patch Kids
Dual V Carpet
Washer
We Have Come A Long Way…