Influence Of Media On Gender Development

Question 1

What media sources influence gender roles?

Answer 1

-televisions, magazines, radio and social media influence the shaping and maintenance of gender roles.

Question 2

What sex dominates the media and why is it important?

Answer 2

• Males are more represented in most TV programmes, including children’s programmes.
• They are also portrayed on average in higher status positions across all media platforms

Question 3

How are both sexes portrayed in the media?

Answer 3

-They are both portrayed in gender stereotypical ways and even with shared media formats the gender roles of a male and female are apparent.

-This is shown through females in commercials usually being in domestic roles caring for
people and males being ambitious in high occupational positions or manual labour.

Question 4

How does the media influence gender roles?

Answer 4

• Media provides a constant source of information as to which behaviours are appropriate for a persons gender role.
• Children who ‘consume’ the most media, for example those who watch a lot of television will develop stronger and more extreme perceptions of gender roles and are more likely going to display the behaviours associated with their gender roles. This is supported by SLT and suggests why males have stronger gender identities.

Question 5

Outline Furnham and Farragher’s research

Answer 5

• They investigated the use of sex role stereotypes in advertising.
• Men tended to be used in power positions and women in familial roles within domestics settings.
• The voiceovers tended to be male suggesting that males are deemed to speak with more authority.
• This suggests that the media may play a role in reinforcing Widespread social stereotypes concerning male and female behaviour.

Question 6

AO3 for media influences on gender development

Answer 6

• Huston and Wright
• David Reimer
• Practical application (reduction in gender stereotypes)

Question 7

Outline Huston and Wright’s research

Answer 7

They found that in US TV programmes males almost always outnumbered females, especially in children’s programmes. With men being shown in dominant more superior occupational status while females where shown in a narrow range of inferior roles less able to deal with problems, illustrating the differences in gender role representation.