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The media and gender roles
How gender issues manifest in media
How gender issues manifest in media
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Thirteen Reasons Why is a television show about a teenage girl, named Hannah, who commits suicide because of how negatively her peers treated her. By Critiquing "Thirteen Reasons Why," the television show, with my three concepts: Front and Back stage, Peer Groups and Gender roles, this paper will dispute the relation between my concepts and the sociological interactions between the characters in Thirteen Reasons Why. In Thirteen Reasons Why, Gender roles are clearly present and even sometimes accepted by the community. Gender roles are described as the way society expects individuals of a specific gender are supposed to act (Brym, Roberts, Strohschein, Lie, 2016, 275). Furthermore, this relates to Thirteen Reasons Why because throughout the …show more content…
Peer groups include individuals of similar age and of related social position (Willmott, 2018). This is noticeable in Thirteen Reasons Why with Bryce. In addition, when Bryce is with his peer group, he seems like a friendly, outgoing person. Yet, when he is alone with girls, he sexually assaults them. He sexually assaulted Jessica when she was passed out drunk and had unconsented sex with Hannah when he was alone with her in the pool at a party. Hannah was already in so much psychological pain and Bryce was the second last horrible event in Hannah's life before she committed suicide. Hannah even mentioned that Bryce's actions were a significant reason to why she ended her life. In this case, Bryce being with his peer group is an advantage, as when he is with his peer group, he doesn't take advantage of women. Going back to when Hannah and Marcus go on their first date, they went on a date together and Marcus's friends were watching the date. Before the date, Marcus acted very respectfully and sincere because they only talked alone. When they go on their date with Marcus's friends, he attempts to have sex with her. The addition of Marcus's friends to the date revealed the type of person he is when he is around his peer group. The addition of Marcus's peers to the date was a huge negative and hurt Hannah's feelings as she caught on that he was trying to impress his friends. In the article, "Peer Groups as a Context for School Misconduct," it talks about a test that was upheld throughout schools regarding the positive and negative effects of peer groups (Boyko, Chen, Ellis, Kinal, Zarbatany 2017, 1). They found that negative actions from peer groups become widespread (Boyko, Chen, Ellis, Kinal, Zarbatany 2017, 2). The study also showed that members of a peer group were more likely to stay a part of that group if it was a positive oriented group, but people were more likely to
The tapes are the centerpiece of the story and the largest motif for showing the impact that people have on those around them— even if they do not realize it. While it would be easy to write a paper on every person on the tape and how they made an impression on Hannah’s life, the focus is on Alex and his story. Alex’s story affected many people – not just Hannah. Alex’s Best of Freshman Class and Worst of Freshman Class list affected everyone whose name made that list. Hannah is not afraid to call him out on that fact; "There are some sick and twisted people out there, Alex – and maybe I'm one of them— but the point is, when you hold people up for ridicule, you have to take responsibility when other people act on it" (53). Sure, the way this list objectified women let them be handled like they were toys for men, but it definitely hit every girl’s self-esteem. The perfect example of this is the fight that Hannah and Jessica have in the café. The whole fight started over their names being on that list. While Alex made the list as a fun joke, he unknowingly ruined a friendship; Isolating Hannah further. “It’s a punch in the stomach and a slap in the face. It's a knife in my back..."(68). Alex's quest for popularity in a new school left him unaware that the choice he was making to pass around a list, a list that idolized the way his
His work also sheds light on why different gender roles are hard for people to accept, due to the way they were brought up, and the culture they are surrounded by (Devor 8). With the belief that gender role behaviors are concrete, teenage boys believe that they must act according to their gender.
Well what is gender and what do we mean by gender roles? “Gender describes the socially-constructed roles and responsibilities that societies consider appropriate for men and women” (World Health Organization). All people on earth are affected by gender and the stereotypes that surround it. A person should be able to choose who they want to be and not be scared. Things are changing. According to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, “same-sex sexual harassment extends to where the victim is singled out due to failure to conform to accepted gender stereotypes” (Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP). This is very important for everyone to know and understand. It allows people the ability to express themselves in any way they choose, without the anxiety or fear of being harassed for their decisions because they are a certain gender. This has only o...
To begin with, gender roles are the social and behavioral norms that are generally seen appropriate for either a man or a woman in a social or interpersonal relationship. Gender roles that society has created today reflect the way that people have acted upon in the past. When the idea of gender roles in our society comes up, originally the first thing that would come to mind were the roles that were expected of women. Howe...
Gender roles are not the product of innate biology; They are formed based on the cultural and societal beliefs that surround an individual during their development. These factors play a very important role in gender identity, and often lead individuals to believe in stereotypical representations of gender identity such as gender roles. The way in which these cultures interpret the expression of gender identity heavily impacts the way an individual chooses to express themselves.
There are a variety of perspectives which are used in Gendered Worlds to examine gender. First, the androcentric perspective views male as being the moral norm. Creating this standard creates a society in which women are seen as deviant since in theory women do not fit the standard. Examples of this would be using words such as “mankind” or using “he” when talking about both females and males (Aulette, Wittner, p. 60). Another example would be using male-oriented words such as “guys” when referring to a classroom full of diverse students. Another perspective is gender polarization which refers to the way that diverse aspects of the human experience are linked to sex differences. Men are supposed to be withdrawn, unemotional, and dominating, while women are supposed to be emotionally submissive and irrational. Certain traits are imposed upon individuals because of their specific sex. If society had decided that pink was a color that was for males and blue for females then that would be the new social norm, and that would be the new characteristics of gender. An alternative viewpoint of gender would be essentialism which views gender as a fixed biological or psychological trait that does not vary among individuals over time. However, a female might start adopting behaviors that are considered masculine such as having short hair or walking with hands in the pockets to avoid the harassment she might encounter on the streets. This female would be doing gender according to
Gender roles determine how men and women are expected to behave. They have a set of societal norms to follow. They are cultural and personal. They determine how males and females should think, speak, dress, and act within the views of society. Society has embedded an image into the minds of people and how the role of each gender should be played. There are two recognized types of gender, man and woman, however there are many types of gender
In our present world, people understand and view gender in different perspectives, or “lenses.” The idea of gender that we see specifically in our present society today is very extensive compared to what it was years ago. We see a variety of different kinds of gender, whereas only years ago it was two: male and female. Personally, I have seen this in our society because I have met people that identify as many different genders that aren’t specifically just male or female. The word “gender” holds an important place in our language, specifically in today’s society, because it has determined who we are, how we identify ourselves, and ultimately our roles in society.
It is as simple as a little girl who wants to play football and dress boyish, or a boy who wants to do ballet and wear nail polish. These children may not feel like the other gender yet they still express traits that do not fit their role. Today this is hardly shocking as parents are allowing for children to express themselves in ways they choose. This blending of gender roles has allowed us to see that you cannot place a gender on a job, a color, a toy, or a
Gender roles are unavoidable at any stage of your life. They are taught to you by parents, conveyed in the media, practiced and honored in organizations and supported by our government. No matter how many feminist groups attempt to bring the two sets of gender roles for males and females together, there will always be the unwritten expectations that males and females are taught. Boys will always play with guns and girls will always play with dolls. As long as this occurs, the ambitions for boys and girls will be directly related to the stereotypical form we are taught. It is up to the families, media and peers to use the gender roles appropriately.
Socially constructed gender roles have a large impact on the society that we are bred in. Boys and girls are told from a young age what is considered normal for each of them based on what sex they were assigned. Girls are immediately told to be shy but not rude, love the color pink, and clean and cook in preparation of the man they are inevitably going to marry. Boys are told to ‘be men’ and never cry in the presence of anyone, emotions are for girls and anything less would be seen as merely weak. Parents usually prescribe their own upbringings to how their children should be brought up; girls are constantly reminded to watch how they come off to people. Girls must clean and cook, but never show frustration, smile even if she’s scared of unfamiliar
The gender role approach focuses on learning behaviors that are defined as masculine or feminine. Gender roles are influenced early in life. Children quickly learn that they are girls or boys and act accordingly. Gender roles make women unequal. For example, issues such as whether women should serve in the military, or men should be eligible for family benefits are questions arising out of gender roles.
Gender roles are a definite concept in all societies. They keep males and females following a structure that that society around them builds for them. Although gender roles do exist the LGBT community is fighting against the idea of them. The concept effects children before their birth and even more once they are born. Gender roles have always been a norm for societies even though the roles might vary depending on location. But the bottom line is that the concept of genders will continue to be a part of socialization and effecting girls, boys, and the LGBT
In other words, gender roles are the roles that specific genders are supposed to abide by.
Gender roles seek to put a person into a mold of what someone else sees them to be. For example in "Keep Within Compass," it is obvious that a man drew the plate because the woman is depicted to be genteel, sedate, and almost air headed in appearance, with no voice of her own. This is a prime example of the despicable properties placed in gender roles. Girls cannot play football and guys cannot be cheerleaders. The gender roles are defining what is right and what is wrong within society. For example, in the "Keep Within Compass" plate, the woman is wrong if she does not conform to the ideal of society.