The Role of Media in Influencing Gender Expectations
The media continues to be the major source of information on the planet, and based on the information it produces for the consumers, it either positively or negatively influences the world. Media should always be regulated to decide what the final result will be for consumers to consume. Boys, girls, or both, experience gender and its portrayal in media in significant ways. It affects how we raise our children, causing males to have high expectations and girls to have lower expectations. Boys are expected to exert authority and control, while girls are expected to exhibit submission and objectification of the self. The public's decisions regarding gender equity are influenced by the media's messages. What is the role of media in parenting? To what extent do the media affect the gender choices in life? These are questions an unavoidable since media change the way women and men will view life and make decisions that come in their way. (O'Brien, 2011)
The Underestimation of Women in Movies and Media
It is embarrassing that even in the developed countries where democracy and gender empowerments have highly emphasized the roles women play in movies and media is still underestimated and they are never given proper roles to play. They take roles that dehumanize them and portray them to be wicked or less fortunate in life. The researchers still say that less than 30% of the employees or actors in media are women while 70% is taken up by men. Management positions in televisions and print media are done by majority men displaying women to be less aggressive than men. Media is the primary source of influence across all generations in the society, especially the music and the advertising industry. (Turner, 1993)
Stereotyping Women in the Media
There has been a more considerable improvement in how the media regards women, but there is an immense stereotyping of women concerning their body size, dressing, use of white skin women in advertisements, and sexism. In movies like The Salvation, which is a movie whose setting is in the United States Harrison Edward, the secretary to the state takes advantage of a fellow female staff by abusing her sexually to gain access to the president. This shows that men regard the women to be weak vessels and use them to accomplish their selfish interests. Also, so many movies women are abused sexually to help their male counterparts evade serious offenses they have committed. (Felix, 2011)
The Objectification of Women in the Media
Media has classified women as the main source of entertainment over and over again. The music industry, advertisement industry, and mainstream media involve women to pass out the information they wish to get to the general public. Musicians use models to sell their music that sends ripples to viewers that women are the main source of the stress reliever to the men and they need them for that purpose only. Songs are sung portraying women to be dependent on men and that they cannot survive without males. During marketing advertisements such as the launch of the social places such as bars, hotels, and lodgings, women take a big role, as it is assumed that they will attract men to come. Posters will always include women who are naked or almost naked to pass the information that degrades women and less focused in life. (Schwarz, 2017)
Challenging Gender Parity and Unity among Women
When will women be fully respected? Have they been empowered and enlightened on their rights? The media owners should be asked these hard questions because they are the core influencers of the society. Women are referred to with nasty names which reduce their dignity and self-esteem. They are used and made to hate each other in the form of love and even kill for a man's selfish achievement. In Salvation movie, the senior staff in the office of the president poisons her fellow female president for a man to take over, a common characteristic in most movies to prove a woman to be the enemy of her fellow woman. It is a character that shows women to be subject to men and will always be disunited at an advantage of men. For women to end gender parity, they must be united and advocate for roles that are equal to men. This will help them educate the viewers that women can be the best actors and media influencers like the male counterparts.
The Role of Media in Advocating Racism and Discrimination
Racism is a feature that is emphasized in media. Mainstream media globally discriminate people by advocating racism. In Africa where there is no racism, media uses white skin ladies, brown skin and light skinned ladies for their advertisements communicating to the consumers that they have an advantage over others. These make Africans subjective to whites and the ladies with a dark complexion to have lower esteem. Self-esteem contributes a lot to self-confidence and attitude towards life. Media propagates to the consumers that people with white skin or brown skin have an advantage compared to others this has reduced women to be naïve and subject to men since they think that will only have a preference for white and brown ladies. (Vezich, 2017)
The Continuing Stereotyping of Women in Media Assignments and Roles
Media always has prejudiced women and girls all through and granted boys and men an advantage right from tasks assigned media coverage, data collection, and presentations, roles played like in movies, and management of the media. Women are seen to be given lighter tasks like news anchors and editors in televisions and print media while in movies women are assigned to act under a man's direction as a backup actress. Are women not trusted then? And if believing why should they be given tasks like men? In mainstream media like television, women cover information in social places, economic and environmental news while male reporters cover terrorist acts, political stories which are regarded as the most dangerous places (Felix, 2011). Evidently, the traditional notion that ladies are weak and ought to be allocated less weighty tasks still haunts us.
Encouraging Gender Equality in Media Representation
Media should be used to fight against male superiority and bring in equity. However, all sectors still view ladies with negativity and with less capability with reference to men. Research movies like in Salvation movie, Darius Tenz, the Tenz Technologies tries to develop the world and make it better for the people to stay in but key players in developing technology are men while women are only involved in lighter works like reporting and writing novels. The Management Information Technology students are mostly male which depicts women to be destined for lighter jobs. Women are seen to be used to betray their lovers and family to fulfill the desires of men. Media has continually denoted and cultivated a culture in girls and women that they are weak and need to be supported by boys and men, which is an immoral perspective that should be fought by everyone.
Women's Overrepresentation in Parenting Roles
For decades, women are seen to be the main partakers of the parenting role. They are responsible for the family and the development of homes in nearly all media. It is evident that women are classified with the role of housekeeping, taking care of their families and house chores. These responsibilities naturally and traditionally were meant to belong to women and not men and are still cultivated by the media in advertisements regarding parenting roles. In running advertisements especially that touch parenting role women vocals or images are used to pass messages of parenting or nurturing the children while men are used in the ad of developmental issues. Does the society honestly advocate for women empowerment? And if they do, why do they classify women or relate women with the responsibility of parenting and homestead development only.
The Changing Role of Women in the Media
However, we should commend the media because the women do not only play lesser roles but also play good roles that encourage their fellow women to work hard. The media owners have tried to incorporate ladies into mainstream media as a deliberate move to empower the women. The television news anchors are getting women on board, and even the leadership of women in the press is growing. There is always objectivity in the way media portray women and classifies them in the society. In The Salvation movie, the president is a woman, and the main news reporter who used to collect critical information from the government is also a woman. Women are depicted to be influential and helped the United States to achieve peace with the Russian government as expressed in the movie. (Felix. Newman, 2011)
Breaking Stereotypes: Men Taking on Traditional Women's Roles in Media
The role of women in movies and media, in general, is shifting, and functions that were associated with women are played by men also. Advertisements which were majorly done by ladies like parenting are featuring men. The Coca-Cola company advertisement is also featuring men where initially the characteristic of ads involving food staffs was majorly associated with women. This is a commendable move and should be encouraged, as it communicates to the female that they are valued and respected also. Women are associated with light food staffs like snacks, soft drinks, and so forth because they are referred to as weak in nature. They are associated with less difficult functions in life and encounter less situations that call for their attention.
The Impact of Media on Parenting and Gender Equity
In conclusion, media can shape or destroy the society depending on what it is generating at the end of the day. It affects parenting because in this digital age where most youth spent the most time watching and browsing, what they consume will ultimately determine what they will be, how they will behave and act in future. It affects parenting and development of the society. Media that gives lesser roles to women and makes them subjective will bring up women with less self-esteem and self-confidence and create men to exhibit dominance and control. Right media should give equal responsibilities to both genders to nurture a spirit of equality. (O'Brien, 2017)
References
Felix, N. (Director). (2011). Salvation [Motion Picture].
O'Brien, A. (2011). Femine of feminist? Womens media leadership. Feminit Media studies.
Schwarz, S. (2017). A sporting difference? Analysis of media portrayal of male and female. Olympic Games.
Turner, C. S. (1993). Socializing women doctoral students: Minority and majority experiences. The Review of Higher Education.
Vezich, I. S. (2017). Women's responses to stereotypical media portrayals: An fMRI study of sexualized and domestic images of women. r. fMRI .
