Gender Stereotyping In The Media Media Essay Sample

Gender stereotypes are transmitted all over the world in large part due to media. People watch television 24 hours a day, seven days a week in every family, yet no one realizes how it affects our mental health. Sexual stereotypes in the media are deceiving since they promote an unrealistic vision of a perfect family. Stereotypes function because they are identifiable symbols that build a missing image of ourselves in our minds, and Our children will be exposed to a world that does not exist in our culture.

Her comment stresses the strength of stereotypes, which are recognizable symbols that appeal to a wide spectrum of people when they appear in the affected media. Carolyn Kitch, who is the Associate Professor of Mass Media and Communication Director at Temple University, mentioned that “Stereotypes are effective because they are recognizable symbols, and when they appear in mass media, they are appealing to a very broad audience.” She adds, “Our ideal image, is that change won’t happen in the media until other changes happen in society.” This demonstrates that she believes it is the responsibility of the audience since these television shows and advertisements would not exist if people did not like what they saw.

I appreciated how he mentioned how people are so accustomed to seeing the flawless view in the media that they frequently doubt their own ability to appear a certain way. Oscar H. Gandy, Jr, is an Emeritus Professor of Communication and Annenberg school for communication at the University of Pennsylvania. The author points out, “We always compare our image of ourselves that we see in the mirror to the image of ourselves in our mind’s eye.” This explains the negative effects it has on us, such as making us feel uncomfortable about how we look and how we should appear based on what we see on television regularly.

He explains how stereotypes are so deeply embedded in our culture that he believes the media is only partially to blame for what the younger generation will be exposed to in a world that doesn't exist in our society. Bob Garfield, is a columnist, critic, essayist, international lecturer, and Co-host on NPR’s On The Media. The author observes that the new generation, “We’re headed for a brave new world and the cowardly old world is going to pieces right before our eyes.” I believe that our next generation will be exposed to how men and women should act and appear in our culture, which may lead to a bad perception of the inability to express genuine feelings in front of others.

Overall, multimedia gender stereotypes are misleading normal family members by promoting unachievable features of women and men, which leads to everyone feeling insecure about themselves. People forget that editing has the power to combine five gorgeous people into one. We are only seeing what we want to watch on television right now; otherwise, they wouldn't be selling products that aren't essential.