Gender - Effects of Culture + Media

Question 1

what is culture?

Answer 1

the consensus norms, traditions and morals valued by a society

Question 2

what is a study about gender in different cultures?

Answer 2

Mead - sex and temperament in 3 ‘primitive’ societies

Question 3

what is the method of Mead’s study into gender in different cultures?

Answer 3

overt participation observation in 3 different tribes

tribes never had contact with western influence

Question 4

what were the findings of Mead’s study?

Answer 4

tribe 1 - both genders gentle, cooperative and kind

tribe 2 - both aggressive, machiavellian and narcissistic

tribe 3 - men emotionally fragile, sensitive and anxious, women assertive, hostile and domineering

Question 5

what did Mead conclude about her study?

Answer 5

across all tribes men more aggressive and women more submissive

suggests due to evolution and that these behaviours are innate

Question 6

what is media?

Answer 6

methods of transmitting or storing knowledge

Question 7

how does the media generally portray men?

Answer 7

confident, independent, assertive and strong

Question 8

how does the media generally portray women?

Answer 8

anxious, dependent, emotional, 2 dimensional

Question 9

what are some findings about gender differences in media?

Answer 9

qutoes from studies:

“men shown to be in control; women shown to be helpless”

“women are physically flawless and emotionally passive while men are clumsy but more accomplished”

Question 10

how does media help vicariously reinforce gender stereotypes?

Answer 10

male characters succeed when they are masculine

female characters succeed when they are feminine

sex-relavent characteristics exaggerated in protagonists and under-represented in antagonists

Question 11

what is counter-stereotyping?

Answer 11

idea of using media to change perceptions of gender by casting non-genderstereotypical roles

Question 12

what is the method of a study on counter-stereotyping?

Answer 12

compared children watching stereotyped or counter-stereotyped adverts

Question 13

what were the results of the study on counter-stereotyping?

Answer 13

significant difference between the 2 groups’ answers from a questionnaire on gender-appropriate behaviours after watching the adverts

started a large gender equality movement in media - ecological validity