Female Sterotypes in the Media

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A major modern problem with the media is the sublimation of, and reaffirmation of, stereotypical female gender roles. “The media treats women like shit” (Cho). Which is a serious issue because of Marshall McLuhan’s famous words, “The Medium is the Message” (Warwick). The medium up for discussion is the media, which can be fundamentally defined as the most significant “single source of information that people have today (Katz). Therefore, in order to understand “what’s going on in our society” (Katz) it is “absolutely imperative to “understand media” (Katz). Media and technology are “shaping our politics, our national discourse and most of all, they’re shaping our children’s brains, lives and emotions” (Steyer). Caroline Heldman, PhD, and specialist in presidency, media, gender and race in the American context, stated that of seven year old boys and girls, an equal number “want to be president of the united states when they grow up” (Heldman). However, she notes that once this same question is asked at the age of fifteen, a “massive gap” (Heldman) between males and females is apparent (Heldman). Girls seem to be receiving the message from the media that their value and their worth depends on solely on how they look. Conversely, boys receive a similar message, namely, that this is what’s important about girls (Kilbourne). The purpose of this essay is to explore how the North American media’s projection of a female value system is superficial and “derogatory” (Popner), and how the media does so effectively. This exploration will focus on two different kinds of media: visual advertisement, and video games.

There is a common misconception that “media companies” (Popner) give the public “what it wants” (Popner) with sexually suggestiv...

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Maddow, Rachel. “Miss Representation.” Miss Representation. By J. Siebel Newsom: 2011. Netflix.

Miss Representation. Dir. Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Kimberlee Acquaro. Perf. Christina Aguilera and Michele Bachmann. 2011. Netflix.

Popner, Jennifer. “Miss Representation.” Miss Representation. By J. Siebel Newsom: 2011. Netflix.

Steyer, Jim. “Miss Representation.” Miss Representation. By J. Siebel Newsom: 2011. Netflix.

Sturken, Marita, and Lisa Cartwright (2009). Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford. Print.

Straubharr, Joseph, Robert LaRose and Lucinda Davenport (2010). Media Now:
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