Media And Construction Of Gender Roles

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Media is a powerful source of knowledge. In this Modern age media’s influences plays an important role in every human’s life. Media has done a drastic change especially in dissemination of information at our finger tips. We receive information from all popular media like newspapers, radio, television, internet and websites. Media can be divided into print media such as newspapers, books, magazines and visual media like television and internet. Furthermore, media has developed the capability and has intervened in constructing the gender roles over the time in many forms. Gender refers to the culturally and socially constructed differences between females and males found in the meanings, beliefs, and practices associated with "femininity" and "masculinity"(Judith Lorber 1994:6).

There has become a situation in every sphere of life that without media intervention the day does not end for many of us and we feel lost. Popular media like magazines, newspapers, television, internet and music have performed a substantial role in constructing gender roles in the terms of their beliefs, norms, attitudes and values. These media subtly influences and constructs the roles of gender with the latest information and alerts them to change as to be in line with the contemporary society. As such, media has become more gender aware and creates its content and language to present it clearer to men and women their roles and responsibilities in the society.

In recent times young people are constantly exposed to media’s beliefs, ideas and opinions. For example, young children are given the freedom of having their own television and music sets at their bedrooms, having the freedom to getting access to magazines that could develop child and/or teenager. Young children are exposed to internet viewing at their own pace of time at home and the same with teenagers there is no border between child and teenager as they are equally exposed to some degree by what they see and read. Childhood or early adolescents are at the age of searching for personal identity which links to construction of the gender roles. As such at that age the child absorbs whatever information it listens, reads and sees and later puts it out. Consequently, they lead to a unchangeable stereotypes gender beliefs (Lippmann qtd, in Lester XII), media changes children’s thoughts and imagination regarding their own lifestyle and opinions according to their gender. The messages in the media also influences young adults to "decide the kind of man or woman [they] want to be" (Martin).

For teens, the media contributes significantly to their lives and construction of their gender roles. Magazines and television are popular among young adolescents and it is central in their lives. Popular television programmes or celebrity shows are key features in developing and sustaining gendered lifestyles. The images posts by artists, characters imposed, enticing ads, oral messages and visual communication widely transmits ideologies of gender and work to support the difference of the male-female dichotomy. Popular media messages today throughout the last half of this century (Tinkler, 1995), contributes to the definition of femininity and masculinity and the benefits of their adherence to these categories.

Boys always go for action pack movies, adventure shows, sports, magazines read and focused mostly on sports, technology, vehicles, and so on. Let’s take television programmes the adolescent male models and artists featured somehow used to construct the gender roles from aspects of the characters for example from the drama and movies. The boys project themselves to the roles of adult men who are in commanding, authoritative and strong. The videogame industry is leading and increasingly becoming popular and has impact on people who use it especially the young boys where most of the games shows the primary objectives of the males are to save the week and distressed and this idea overtime instigates in constructing the gender roles of that men are important because they are being featured as strong characters. Young females who watch shows and movies on television often their role models will be the female adolescents who show them on screen how to look good, how to belong to the "right" crowd and how to keep themselves in par with other modern group of peers and to please them so that they are not left out. Young females interests in popular fashions, cultural and romantic are presented on television shows and they learn how appearances is defined in social acceptability (Pipher 40) and at early age they learn how to physically appeal to a man all these influences in constructing their gender roles.

Similarly, magazines can also have great influences on the construction of gender roles not just in young people but with adults too.