Gender Stereotypes In The Media

Gender stereotype in the media

Scholars have examined the gender stereotype of the female character in the media and stated that the depiction of women in the media will promote stereotypes and the representation is relatively negative (Seger, 2007). In the first place, a 2009 study by the University of Southern California on women representation in the top 100 Hollywood blockbuster films, found that in superwomen films only 576 composed or female speaking characters (Dutt, 2014). This character imbalance in regards to gender representation illustrates that women are stereotyped. Secondly, Magoulick (2006) has analyzed the television action heroine and pointed that females are under a high level of control by males. Hyde (2015) also highlighted

To the viewers, the depiction of women as passive actors promotes a stereotypic acknowledgement that women are less capable than men. Third, in analyzing the gender representation, the theorist, Laura Mulvey, illustrates that western cinema is sexist and only propagates sexist ideologies (Smith and Cook, 2012). The western cinema idolizes women as sexual figures that are communicated via a patriarchal system. The costume are often tight and showing the feminine curvy features to attract the male gaze (Kirkpatrick and Scott, 2015). Fourth, King（2008）has focused on the female representation in 291 “cop-action” film through using content analysis, and found female heroine are more likely romantically involved with the opposite gender than male characters. This portrayal of gender difference presents gender stereotype in film. Last but not least, Eschholz and Bufkin (2001) have used content analysis to analyze 50 films and illustrated that women are usually presented as sensitive and domestic, while men are often independent, aggressive and violent. That is to say, female characters usually possess feminine and males have masculine qualities. Eschholz and Bufkin’s (2001) research proved that gender stereotypes are promoted through the

According to Lauzen and Dozier (2005), most of depicted female characters are young and unmarried in the media. Glascock（2003）analyzed prime-time program in 2001, the results showed that the young female character takes up 58.8% and the proportion of married female character is less than 20%. Also, Eschholz et al. (2002) analyzed the female characters in the 1996 popular films and found that more than 70% of adult female characters were younger than 40 years old. In American movies, older women are underrepresented, and they are often portrayed in a relatively negative way (Bazzini et al. 1997). Gilpatric (2010) has examined violent female action characters in contemporary American cinema, and found that the young women who are in twenties and thirties take up over 90% and the proportion of unmarried violent female action characters is 81%. When focusing on the representation of female character, Gilpatric (2010) stated that a higher proportion of young moviegoers are a factor in causing the underrepresentation of older female