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Gender bias in the media
Gender based stereotypes in media
Gender bias in the media
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Pink and blue is an understatement for gender representation in shows like “Girls”. Girls, which premiered on HBO in 2012, was written by feminist/actress Lena Dunham, who is one of the main protagonists on the show. Girls is based around four girls who are all best friends living in New York, but each having their own significant arcs and personalities. Marnie, Shoshanna, Jessa, and Hannah are all great representatives of an early 20s couple of girls with relatable and real life conflicts. The show Girls represents gender equality in a phenomenal way, as the show delves into real life problems, breaking sexist norms and capturing the attention of the audience with relatable “little things”. Girls take on real world problems for the average …show more content…
For example, In the sixth episode of the second season, Jessa is seen having a sexual encounter with a man named Kevin in her apartment. Although her roommate Shoshanna is in the apartment as well and can hear everything that 's happening behind Jessa 's door. The reason why this is relatable to the audience is the reactions Shoshanna gives to the noises Jessa and Kevin make, and from the other side of the door where Jessa and Kevin are engaging with one another. In one scene Shoshanna tries to drown out the noises with headphones and starts texting her friends about what she should do in the situation. Since Shoshanna is also a virgin, her curiosity starts to build as she starts to google specific terms that Jessa and Kevin would scream to see if it has any significance. Shoshanna begins taking notes and starts learning from what she can hear. This whole scene was meant to be comedic, but also depicts the reality of women having their own curiosity with sex without being labeled a shaming slur (whore, slut). Shoshanna is a curious person like any other, no matter her gender she is still human and has questions about how everything works. On the other hand, the sex scene shown of Jesse and Kevin was grimy-awkward and realistic. The show avoids the glamorization of sex between people, as Girls takes it to a more raunchy, awkward place. Jessa and Kevin struggle to be in a comfortable position throughout the whole scene and they both start making small conversation and both equally have the same reactions. This can be relatable to the audience, because the show tears down the “beauty” of sex and rather films a realistic depiction of what it could be for anyone, with a slight comedic twist. Girls use its gender in a very equalized manner as every scene in “Girls” (no matter the title) shows both perspectives of both genders at all time and avoids the
A feminist lens analyzes how the female characters and their experiences are presented and explained in comparison to male characters (Lincoln School Providence). Merna Summers’ “The Skating Party” develops and demonstrates feminist themes in the ways in which the characters’ experiences, expectations, and lives are represented. Applying feminist critique unravels and deconstructs perceptions that shape and normalize the experiences of women in Willow Bunch while demonstrating the objectification and submission, standards of beauty, and ownership and empowerment that occur within the story.
In the movie Gattaca the main character Anton was discriminated against because of his gene makeup. Anton never even had a chance in the society in Gattaca because the potential employees of companies were not tested on their skills or knowledge but on their physical and mental possibilities. The same society also used derogatory terms for people like Anton. Just because his parents decided that he would come into the world naturally instead of through gene therapy or alteration. Terms like “faith birth'; and “invalid'; were used against Anton. I think gene therapy has it promises, but when used in the fashion as it was used in the Gattaca I think its progress should be carefully monitored. Right now sheep and other animals are being cloned. Soon primates and Humans could be cloned. I think we should further investigate human cloning for research on the parenting process and other physiological experiments that can only be used now on identical twins separated at birth. These experiments when used could be used to gain insight on what our genes determine in our personalities. I also think that the achievement of us humans cloning ourselves would be a great achievement for the entire human race such as it was when we landed on the moon in 1969.
After some research, I found out that women have a large part in writing and producing the show. I believe this is why the show does such a good job of addressing gender roles and sexism.
“You Know What the Lollipop is for” is an episode of a television Two and A Half Men that demonstrates how prejudice and discrimination based off an embodied identity of a race can indeed lead to feminism in today’s modern world. The trio exercises their stereotypical ideas of women on Walton’s friend Missi who happens to be the spoiled brat. The show helps develop the episode by highlight typical sexual profiling elements for women’s stereotype. This show demonstrates our natural tendency as a society to assume these stereotypes as real life norms for women. Thus explaining why structural functionalism and the ease of putting our race first, happens so frequently in society
The much praised and Oscar winning film Crash presents an uncompromising insight into what is considered to be a modern and sophisticated society. The film challenges viewers to examine the issues of race, gender and ethnicity and to which extent they plague society even now, thirteen years after it’s theatrical release.
Within the United States election season of 2012, we heard many of our current, and wanna-be elected leaders discussing a ‘so-called’ war on women. Coming into this years election cycle we will undoubtedly hear more of this discussion, which begs the question: Is there really a war on women in America? In America, women make up only 19% of the US Congress, 5% of the Fortune 500 C-level executives, and just 16% of the Heads of State [Nilges]. Whether it be in politics, the workplace, or through inherent speech patterns, gender bias influences opportunities afforded to both men and women. While tremendous improvement has been made within the United States over the last 3 generations, it is clearly a challenge that requires a persistent, collective effort.
Girls Like Us is an intimate portrayal concerning four girls who grew up all with different ethnic backgrounds and various forms of parental guidence. Anna Chau is Vietnames with strict parents and good beliefs, Lisa Bronca is a Caucasion Catholic, De'Yonna Moore is African-American with strong goals who lives with her Grandma and Raelene Cox is a young white girl who comes from a broken home with little parental guidence. Girls Like Us shows examples of structural functionism, and conflict theory, as well as symbolic interactionalism. This movie really intersted me because I actually got to see each of these girls grow up. This film also contained implications for the science of sociology.
Gender discrimination is defined as prejudice against an individual due to his or her gender or sex. Discrimination against women has been occurring for years and continues to pose an issue today, especially in institutions such as the workforce. In the past, women were limited to very few rights; they were not permitted to vote and were considered as “property”. The only real jobs they had were housewives.and only a handful of women were in the labor force. In today’s society, women compose more than half of the workforce, yet they earn a significantly less amount compared to their male counterparts for completing the same tasks. Due to the subtleness of the issue, many still continue to be unaware of the discrimination which occurs. Though the issues regarding gender discrimination have gone through improvements recently, the issue at hand
In today 's society, gender stereotyping of men and women has influenced the society’s actions and how it has reflected in recent years. Everyday stereotype is being used whether if it’s on movies, workplaces, playgrounds, homes, or even magazines. There is gender diversity in the movie Grease which took place in 1978. This movie focuses on several different types of stereotyping throughout the movie. Two specific characters in which we are able to use as an example of gender stereotyping are Sandy and Danny. There has always been a specific boundary between a male and a female gender. The femininity side that is shown in the movie Grease of how it is described by the character Sandy of how women were once portrayed back in the day has changed
Seventy percent of women might not think they are discriminated in the workplace, but remaining thirty percent are discriminated against in the workplace by wage (Bryce par. 1). Some women might think they don’t feel like they are discriminated by employer because they make a high salary and satisfy their role when compare to lower wage people. The federal law of The Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibits against wage discrimination based on sex. Despite that law, women’s average earning is 78 cents when men earn a dollar (“Paycheck” par.1-2). Although the wage gap between women and men is reduced, it shows that the progress is still slow. The same credentials, full-time in the field, such as men, women must still work all around year for less money. According to bureau of labor statistic show the women who worked as full time median salary jobs had usual $719 for the
The topic of gender discrimination is certainly a controversial one. Some of our group remembers their LIBS 7013 course, an entire course dedicated to studying Race, Class and Gender. It’s interesting to look at these issues from a moral point of view, and apply different principles to the circumstances at hand.
Throughout various mediums, queer and gender portrayals are not shown in the best light. Majority of media show clear negative connotations of homosexuals and queens while constantly being a target of discrimination and ridicule. Though as time went on many writers decided to speak up and gain awareness for queer and gender biases by incorporating messages of societal discrimination in their plays. Much of their ideals were that of how sexual/gender identity portrayal, lifestyle stigma, and preconceived notions of the homosexual community. These ideals were combined in what is called gender studies and queer literary theory. Some of these concepts and ideas of queer and gender theory can be seen throughout the play
In today’s world, men and women are perceived equally by the society. In the past, authority and control define men while women are given the characteristic of helplessness. Men are able to get hold of high positions while women usually are subservient to them. In movies, we would usually see women portray roles that are degrading due to the stereotypical notions they associate with this gender group. Moulin Rouge, a movie set during the 1900s narrates the story of a courtesan woman, Satine, as she undergoes hardships to earn money, experiences love but unfortunately, due to her irrational choices, faces tragic consequences at the end. Satine is a symbol of how women are being treated by the society during the era before post-feminism, where men have superiority over women. As the plot develops, Satine transforms from a worthless prostitute to someone who is courageous and willing to face her fears in order to attain her aspirations. Psychoanalyst theory and feminist analysis are apparent throughout the film. The male gaze, fantasy and feminism are three topics that will be covered in depth in this essay through relating it to the movie.
In today’s society, women are faced with oppression in many different ways, whether they are denied a promotion at their job over a man of equal or lesser ability or qualification, or brought up to act a certain way as a female member of society. A female’s fight against oppression, be it social or societal, is certainly a difficult one, and one that - depending on the woman and the society in which she lives- may follow her throughout her entire life. Pride and Prejudice is a novel written by Jane Austen that follows a woman named Elizabeth Bennet through her struggle to fight oppression in a time where certain behaviour and actions are expected of women. In this novel, the reader can view oppression through Elizabeth’s struggle to maintain a sense of self through her constant fight against societal oppression, the Bennet family’s struggles with class segregation, as well as the standards or roles set for the women in the time in which the novel is set.
Women’s Rights has been a controversial topic and debated for many centuries. Despite the many strides to enforce a law to protect women in the workforce, little change has occurred. Gender discrimination in the workforce has continued to be debated. Do women get paid less than men? Are employers more likely to pick men over women in a promotion? Gender discrimination is described differences in “working conditions, salaries, hiring, promotion or bonus criteria for women and men”. Sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination are also a huge topic when discussing gender discrimination. Women should have a voice in deciding what happens in their workplace. It’s prominent that changes occur and help change the status for women in the workforce.