role of culture and media on gender Flashcards
define gender roles
a set of behaviours and attitudes that are considered appropriate for one gender and inappropriate for the other
how does culture affect gender
it determines what norms values and behaviour are appropriate for males and females
how is cross cultural research used
adds to the nature vs nurture debate
if behaviour is consistent we assume there are innate biological differences between males and females
if its inconsistent then differences in behaviour are assumed to be due to different cultural norms
outline Mead’s study (1995)
she studied tribal groups in New Guinea:
the Arapesh were gentle and responsible > similar to western femininity
the Mundugumor were aggressive and hostile > similar to western masculinity
the Tchmabuli women were dominant and organised the village while the men were passive > reverse of western standards
this suggets there is no biological relationship between sex and gender and gender roles are culturally determined
cultural similarities
Buss found patterns in 37 countires
in all cultures women sought men who could offer wealth and resources and men looked for youth and physical attractiveness in a potential partner
AO3: criticisms of Mead
she was criticised for not separating her own opinions from her description of samoan life and making sweeping generalisations
Freeman (1983) conducted a follow up study and found that Mead had been misled by her ppts
this could have been due researcher bias and her own incentives > low internal validity as the research doesn’t truly represent the behaviours of the tribe
cross-cultural research by western researchers with western theories and methods impose their cultural understanding
she was influenced by her own preconceptions of gender
AO3: contributions to nature vs nurture debate
as soon as children are born they are being socialised and influenced by stereotypes
this makes it hard to determine where nature ends and nurture begins
impossible to separate them because babies are nurtured into their role as soon as they are born so its hard to identify innate behaviours
constant interaction of the factors means they cant be separated so we should take a more biosocial approach
AO3: research to support culture
research to support the influence of culture on gender roles
Hofstede argues that in industrialised cultures the changing expectations of women are a function of their increasingly active role in the workplace rather than the domestic sphere
this has led to the breakdown of traditional values and norms where women are home-makers
this shows that social, cultural and religious pressures influence gender roles
how does media influence gender roles
provides role models for children to identify and imitate
they choose same sex role models who engage in gender appropriate behaviour that they can imitate
media shows stereotypical gender stereotypes
explain the research on rigid stereotypes in media
Bussey and Bandura: found men are independent ambitious advice giver whereas women are dependent unambitious advice seekers
Furnam and Farragher (2000): found men were shown in autonomous roles in professional contexts while women were shown in family roles in domestic roles
media plays a role in reinforcing social stereotypes
explain self-efficacy
this is seeing others perform gender appropriate increases the child’s belief that they are capable of carrying out these behaviours in the future
media gives info to men and women in terms of the likely success of adopting these behaviours
a study analysed the attitudes of people in India who watched a programme that was designed to challenge deep-rooted gender stereotypes > it was a detective drama
girls who watched it were more likely to see themselves working outside of the home than those who hadn’t watched
> their self-efficacy changed as a result of the media that they consumed
AO3: media counter stereotypes
research ignores counter-stereotypes
eg: women running for president, men being stay at home dads
the shift in gender roles through media can help explain how gender roles have changed over time and become less rigid > shows media and gender has real life application
counter: Pingree (1978) found that gender stereotyping was reduced amongst school age children when they were shown TV adverts showing women in non-stereotypical roles but the stereoypes of older boys were stronger after watching the counter-stereotypical adverts
AO3: correlation not causationg
hard to establish a cause and effect relationship with media and gender role stereotypes
it might be that media has lead to strict gender norms or that the gender norms already existed and media just reflects the exiting norms
AO3: research to support media
Williams investigated residents in a small Canadian town that got TV for the first time
one is called ‘notel’ with no tv
one is called ‘unitel’ with one channel
one is called ‘multitel’ with 4 channels
he found notel and unitel had less evidence of gender stereotypes than multitel
he observed for 2 years and when TV was introduced to notel he found an increase in gender stereotypical behaviour
this suggest TV portrays men and women in traditional roles which influenced gender attitudes of children
AO3: theoretical basis
reserach into media influence over gdner has theoretical basis
cultivation theory argues that the more time individuals spend ‘living’ in the media world, the more likely they are to believe this reflects the social reality
Bond and Drogos found a positive correlation between time spent watching reality TV programme Jersey Shore and premissive attitudes towards casual sex > this was true despite the researcher controlling extraneous variables like sexual attitudes, parents attitudes and religious beliefs
shows the impact of media on shaping gender roles
