Media And Gender Stereotypes
The media is a powerful tool. From TV shows and movies to video games, media has a heavy hand in shaping our culture and norms. It is common to see white, skinny, “fit,” blonde models glaze magazine covers in the store. White men are often the center of blockbuster films and the news anchors we see on primetime TV. But do these two, small groups of people truly reflect our society? The answer is no. The United States, and the rest of the world, is comprised of people that are all different shapes, genders, and ethnicities. With such a diverse population, one would think it would be reflected in the media, but this isn’t so. Not only does diversifying the media boost global sales and profit for companies, it has great social impact. If news,
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Whether someone catches a show when it airs or later online, Americans are constantly consuming sitcoms and reality shows, making them just as important as movies in terms of how they affect our culture. Unfortunately, the number of women represented here is not much better. Nina Bahadur, editor of HuffPost Women, relayed information from a USC Annenberg and Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media in her article Women In The Media: Female TV And Film Characters Still Sidelined And Sexualized, Study Finds. Citing the USC Annenberg and Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media study, Bahadur revealed that women make up only 38.9% of all speaking characters on prime time television in 2012. Someone might look at these numbers and conclude that 30-38% is almost half, and that the numbers really aren’t all that bad. But in all reality, almost half is not good …show more content…
Burrowing into this disturbing reality, Rian Edington of the State Hornet, a Sacramento State newspaper, interviewed many minorities in his article The skewed representation of minorities in the news media. A common feeling among the three students he interviewed was frustration. All three of them felt as if the news painted their ethnicities to be dangerous criminals. Millions of people across the United States watch the news every day, so if minorities are portrayed negatively, these feelings will undoubtedly seep into the general public’s opinions. In order to combat this, there must be diversity in the ownership of these news outlets. Currently, “six major companies control most of the news in this country,” this includes news on the web (Fulton). With only a handful of companies gathering and distributing the news, the public can’t expect to receive an accurate and well-rounded report. Not only would race-relations improve, citizens, especially minorities, would become more involved in their governments and communities. Sandra Fulton of the American Civil Liberties Union claimed that “there are higher voting rates in minority communities where radio station owners are of the same ethnicity.” This is most likely because people of color are more likely to be engaged with and trust those who come from the same or similar backgrounds.
Whether someone catches a show when it airs or later online, Americans are constantly consuming sitcoms and reality shows, making them just as important as movies in terms of how they affect our culture. Unfortunately, the number of women represented here is not much better. Nina Bahadur, editor of HuffPost Women, relayed information from a USC Annenberg and Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media in her article Women In The Media: Female TV And Film Characters Still Sidelined And Sexualized, Study Finds. Citing the USC Annenberg and Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media study, Bahadur revealed that women make up only 38.9% of all speaking characters on prime time television in 2012. Someone might look at these numbers and conclude that 30-38% is almost half, and that the numbers really aren’t all that bad. But in all reality, almost half is not good …show more content…
Burrowing into this disturbing reality, Rian Edington of the State Hornet, a Sacramento State newspaper, interviewed many minorities in his article The skewed representation of minorities in the news media. A common feeling among the three students he interviewed was frustration. All three of them felt as if the news painted their ethnicities to be dangerous criminals. Millions of people across the United States watch the news every day, so if minorities are portrayed negatively, these feelings will undoubtedly seep into the general public’s opinions. In order to combat this, there must be diversity in the ownership of these news outlets. Currently, “six major companies control most of the news in this country,” this includes news on the web (Fulton). With only a handful of companies gathering and distributing the news, the public can’t expect to receive an accurate and well-rounded report. Not only would race-relations improve, citizens, especially minorities, would become more involved in their governments and communities. Sandra Fulton of the American Civil Liberties Union claimed that “there are higher voting rates in minority communities where radio station owners are of the same ethnicity.” This is most likely because people of color are more likely to be engaged with and trust those who come from the same or similar backgrounds.