Gender Stereotypes in the Media

UNIVERSITY OF LA VERNE

La Verne, California

GENDER STEREOTYPING IN THE MEDIA IMPACTS THE YOUTH’S AND CAREER GOALS

A Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for

MGMT 358: Gender and Culture Issues in Management

David Betancourt

College of Business and Public Management

Department of Management and Leadership

January 26, 2015

        Gender stereotyping in the media is something that has gone out of control and has been impacting the future of children.  In today’s society, the media plays a huge role when it comes to receiving information.  The media comes in many forms such as television, the Internet, social media, magazines, newspapers, radio, and any billboards or flyers you may see.  It almost seems as if it is impossible to stay away from the media.  This is a big deal for the workplace in the future because as long as the stereotyping carries on, we will continue to see men and women pursuing careers paths are acceptable for their gender.  Children will continue to grow up believing these stereotypes, which will only add on to the problem of gender discrimination.

        This topic is something has impacts our society more than we may realize.  I am a victim to this type of stereotyping and the older I grew the more I realized how wrong it was but by then it was too late.  My image of genders and ethnicities had already been engraved in my mind and no matter how much I would like to change those beliefs; they will always be there.  Mass media plays a powerful role that influences our beliefs, attitudes, and values we carry of ourselves and others as well as the world that surrounds us.  The media acts not only as a source of our entertainment, but it shapes the way we view things and creates perceptual modes.

        The issue with these habits of stereotyping is the culture it has created by influencing young children to pursue career that are consider suitable, depending on their gender.  Countless times do we see ads for a cleaning product being demonstrated by a woman, or a beer ad that displays men drinking together.  Ads like this are seen as the norm but they shouldn’t be.  The worse stereotyping can be found by watching television.  Have you ever wondered why certain commercials are only shown at certain times during certain programs?  It is no secret that commercials are selected according to the audience that is watching the program.  A show such as fashion police will be known to attract predominately women.  Commercials during shows like this will display cleaning products, food products, anything involving a discount or family plan, and diet products specifically made for women. A television program such as a football game will be known to have a male audience.  During a show like this the commercials will consist of beer, trucks, fast food, junk food, tools, and anything that has an attractive woman promoting the product. As young boys grow up, they reach a certain age when they become aware that they will grow up to be men.  These boys are said to develop a greater interest in sports because these programs provide simple interpretations of men who behave and perform differently from women. On the other hand, it has been reported that if a young girl watches a television program where men and women are pictured in nontraditional portrayals, the girl is reported more likely to participate in activities labeled as masculine. Commercials like these will give children the impression that certain genders are meant to like certain things, live a certain way, and make certain choices.