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Essay Subject: Examines changing portrayals & roles of women in programming & advertising & negative socializing effects on children.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Examines changing portrayals & roles of women in programming & advertising & negative socializing effects on children. Paper Introduction: The nature of the relationship between women and the mass media has been considered in recent years by sociologists and psychologists as well as media critics, in part based on a concern that the way women are portrayed in the media has a deleterious effect on the way women are viewed in society at large. Women's roles in society have been changing through the determined efforts of feminists and sympathetic political groups over the past two decades, and some of these changes are clearly reflected on television, in film, and in other media portrayals. At the same time, it is evident that progress in changing media portrayals is behind the curve as far as the degree of equality that should be depicted, the roles given to women in the media, and the roles women play behind the scenes in the media as well. An examination of the portrayal of women in the mass media will Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. (1975). Atkin (1991) found that the popularity of series with asingle female lead in the late 197 s corresponded roughly with the sexualrevolution of the early 197 s (Atkin, 1991, 517-518). Content analysis shows that there are far fewerfemales than males in the world of television, with males filling between66 and 75 percent of all roles. Commission on Civil Rights, 1977, 13). The percentage offemales in leading roles on prime time television increased after 1973, butit remained true that they were underrepresented compared to their numbersin society. U.S. Children areparticularly vulnerable to advertising for products of interest to them andpick up messages about gender roles from characters and situations incommercials as in programs. The Commission found that in the 197 s the situation changed somewhatas programmers attempted new types of program with new roles for women.The situation comedy now included a number of shows featuring women, andthe commission cited The Mary Tyler Moore Show as different because itexplored the status of the main character as a single, professional womanwho did not have marriage uppermost in her mind. A number of studies have attempted to determine the effect of genderstereotypes in both children's and prime-time television shows on childrenas viewers. The number of womenshown as housewives or housekeepers had declined over this period, but themakeup of the television labor force consistently demonstrated norelationship to the real-life employment patterns of women. The earlywindow: Effects of television on children and youth. Lindsey, R. Wilson Company. New York:Pergamon Press. Children learn from the television theywatch, both children's programming and prime time programming, as well asfrom commercials, and they learn that there are more men than women doinginteresting things and with interesting occupations: Surprisingly, all adult characters observed showed more negative than positive characters, so that child viewers may sense an overall tone of grimness in adult life as portrayed on television. New York: H.W. Most formerly-marriedwomen in situation comedies at the time were typically widowed, though twoprograms in the 197 s featured divorced women--Fay and One Day at a Time.Women have always been more frequently portrayed in comedy roles than inserious roles on television. Women more than men on TV are concerned with family and marital/romanticproblems, have problems solved with the help of others, and if employed aresupervised by others (Liebert, Sprafkin, & Davidson, 1982, 163-166). "The portrayal of women in prime time, 1953-1977." Sex Roles (1979), 4 5-411. Washington, D.C.----------------------- 1 2nd ed. Furthermore, the attempt to deal with issues such as these seems to have enriched the portrayals of the females in situation comedies (U.S. More and more womenhave been entering the job market in the years since World War II. They are still limited in their employmentpossibilities, and television does not recognize that woman cansuccessfully mix marriage, homemaking, and children with a career: Rather, television programs in which married women work outside the home (for example, Claire Huxtable on The Cosby Show) focus more on the character's home-related role than their work persona. "Women and jobs." In Women and men: Traditionsand trends, Suzanne Fremon. Commission on Civil Rights, 1977, 8).Sexist stereotypes were noted for television advertising as well. But the behavior of women characters is even more negative than that of men; thus, while fewer women are seen at all, children see a higher percentage of those that do appear performing negative behaviors (Miles, 1975, 36). (1991). At the same time, itis evident that progress in changing media portrayals is behind the curveas far as the degree of equality that should be depicted, the roles givento women in the media, and the roles women play behind the scenes in themedia as well. References Atkin, David. Numerous reasons were given for this, including a growing number ofyoung single women looking for their first jobs, newly divorced women withlittle or no income from their former husbands, women whose husbands didnot earn enough so that the family needed a second salary, and women fromhigher income families who had a desire for broader horizons as a primaryreason for working. An analysis of sex roles in television commercials in1974 concluded that women were inaccurately presented as sex objects andrarely as professionals. Gallagher, M. During the 197 s,portrayals of women showed a widening of the occupational latitude assecretaries gave way to higher level professionals (Atkin, 1991, 522). The Report of the United StatesCommission on Civil Rights found that minorities and women wereunderrepresented on television: "When they do appear they are frequentlyseen in token or stereotyped roles" (U.S. Another study notes the degree to which television plays a part inthe socialization of children today and that little has changed.Television still shows women as less aggressive than men and more likely totake orders than men. One study finds a number of sources of gender stereotypes forchildren on television. The clear message girls receive--that theirs is the less desirable sex--renders the sex-role standard, as well as sex- stereotyping, a much more negative experience for them than for their male peers (LaRose and Frost, 1981, 8). Willingness to explore controversial issues has resulted in the treatment of issues pertinent to women: rape, unwanted pregnancy, or job discrimination. TV males areportrayed as more powerful, dominant, aggressive, stable, persistent,rational, and intelligent than females, while females are more attractive,altruistic, sociable, warm, sympathetic, happy, rule abiding, peaceful, andyouthful than males. It is only as the individual grows older that the less desirableaspects of the standard may become evident, and this is the sex-rolestereotype: The realization of the undesirable components of their standard becomes evident much earlier to girls than to boys, who are less likely to perceive that society has limited their choices in what they might become. It was found inthis 1979 study that the number of women in starring roles remainedrelatively constant over the 25-year period studied. The nature of the relationship between women and the mass media hasbeen considered in recent years by sociologists and psychologists as wellas media critics, in part based on a concern that the way women areportrayed in the media has a deleterious effect on the way women are viewedin society at large. In terms of formal occupational roles,males are generally employed and enjoy highly prestigious positions such asdoctors, lawyers, and law enforcement officials, while women are assignedmarital, romantic, and family roles. Males were presented as worldly, dominantauthority figures, while females were shown as domesticated and submissive. Bythe mid-197 s, women had entered the job market at rates not expected to bereached until the mid-198 s, and it was reported then that nearly 48percent of American women over sixteen years of age either worked or wanteda job. In a study in 1991, however, it was found that the networks had madeconsiderable changes in the roles of women by the 199 s. Women have become more prominent in society in the past half century,and the women's movement has increased the speed with which women areentering the workplace and gaining power in society. Commission on Civil Rights, 1977,3). "The evolution of television series addressing singlewomen, 1966-199 ." Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media (Fall 1991),517-523. Unequal opportunities. Liebert, R.M., J.N. This was inagreement with the findings of the United States Commission on CivilRights, which also concluded that females were underrepresented on networkdramatic shows and that when they were seen it was frequently in token orstereotyped roles (Dominick, 1979, 4 5). When they ventured into the occupational world their roles were stereotyped (U.S. Sprafkin & E.S. Manysexual stereotypes are perpetuated in society by the way women areportrayed on television. A sex-role stereotype is defined as a belief about abiological category which tends to be exaggerated and which serves as amechanism through which equal opportunity to resources is denied to itsmembers. The commission found that women in situationcomedies in the 197 s still tended to be subordinate to the men in theirlives, though some female characters had become stronger over the years andsome new situations were explored: The new situation comedies are attempting to portray women more realistically than in the past. While there have been changes in the way womenare portrayed on TV, those changes have not all been positive, nor havethey eliminated older attitudes which creep in subtly and send a messagemany find undesirable. ANational Organization for Women report in 1972 found that women in whateverrole on television "were portrayed as dependent, unintelligent, submissivecreatures who were adjuncts of men" (U.S. An examination of the portrayal of women in the mass mediawill show how the media have influenced the women's movement, how thewomen's movement has influenced (or tried to influence) the media, and theperception of sociologists and psychologists on the issue. One problem noted for television is the distorted image given ofwomen and minorities in particular. Gender is inherent in the way men andwomen are portrayed on television, and these roles have changed over thecourse of television history. In the sex-role standard, the child is presented a highlyattractive constellation of characteristics, most of which are usuallyadopted. Window dressing onthe set: Women and minorities in television. Commission on Civil Rights, 1977,12). For the most part, studies of the effects of television on childrenshow that some children model their own behavior upon behavior they see ontelevision (Miles, 1975, 13). More recent research showed that while womenwere now seen in the workplace, they generally lacked the power that maleshad in that realm. Gender is alsorepresented in the advertising, which can be a greater problem.Commercials have as their object selling products, and they generally treatall viewers as consumers who can be made to buy anything. Dominick, Joseph R. Miles, B. Women's roles in society have been changing throughthe determined efforts of feminists and sympathetic political groups overthe past two decades, and some of these changes are clearly reflected ontelevision, in film, and in other media portrayals. Princeton: Women on Words & Images. This has been considered carefully by many advocates for therights of women: A view of the media as potentially powerful agents of socialization and of social change lies at the heart of discussions of the relationship of media to the women's issue (Gallagher, 1981, 29).Children learn from television, and the way they learn is understood. Thistrend was noted by 196 , but the size of the trend was underestimated. In a broad sense, they have changed toreflect shifts in gender roles in society at large, but at the same time,it is believed that television's portrayals have helped to shape thoseroles and continue to do so. Nor does the television world adequately acknowledge the importance of homemaking and raising children: as in the real world, on television the woman who stays home has less status than the one who has a career (Signorielli, 1991, 7 -71). Commission on Civil Rights (1977, August). Portrayals of women in occupational roles were infrequent and wererestricted to relatively few occupations, and women were also rarelydepicted as working wives (U.S. Women were rarely portrayed outside the home or family situation. Television does not sell gender roles the way it sells viewers toadvertisers or soap to viewers. A sourcebook on children and television.New York: Greenwood Press. Paris: Unesco, 1981. Also cited for this rise was the liberation of youngwives in the 196 s with economic liberation and effective birth controlmethods (Lindsey, 1977, 139-14 ). On children's Saturday morningtelevision, there is a greater diversity of male jobs, with 42 differentmale jobs and only 9 different female jobs in a 1974 survey. Given that television is seen as a learning tool, whether the lessonslearned are desirable or not, it should be possible to shape televisioninto the future to reflect the true roles of women in society and todevelop a broader view of the woman as a human being, equal to the male inevery way. Signorielli, N. Dominick (1979) reports on a study of the portrayal of women in primetime between 1953 and 1977, extending from the beginnings of the televisionsituation comedy to the era of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Research showed that women in early portrayals were seen insubmissive, domestic roles. In the 195 s, the nuclear family was widelyrepresented in situation comedy, while in contemporary televisionprogramming, divided families, single-parent families, and non-traditionalfamilies vie with the nuclear family for television time. In the 195 s, says the Commission, women had particular roles ashomemakers: Television households were always spotless and smoothly managed, but the women who maintained them usually looked as though they spent most of their time in the beauty parlor. Commission on Civil Rights, 1977, 23). (1981). Davidson (1982). (1977). Channeling children: Sex stereotyping in prime-time TV. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.