"Gender Stereotypes on Television"
Television is one industry that is most guilty of perpetrating gender stereotypes.
During prime time hours, men make up the vast majority of characters shown. Women
characters found on television at the same time are mainly in comedies, while men are
predominantly in dramas. This implicates that men should be taken seriously and women
should not. Another sharp gender-stereotypical contrast on television can be seen in
advertisements or commercials. Gender stereotypes are also prevalent in children's
Television does not exactly represent the real world. Since most major directors
on television are males; they depict a world, which agrees with their concepts of society
on their show. Women usually see women's roles on television as being submissive to
men or not as intelligent as men. Many stereotypes of women are played out in the
popular television show Friends. Monica is kind of neurotic, like some women have the
reputation of being, or like Phoebe, who is really ditsy. But on the other hand, some
shows, such as NYPD Blue, gives women new opportunities and puts them in acting
positions or occupations such as police officers and detectives. This isn't a typical job for
a woman, but by portraying women cops the show might actually bring in a more diverse
audience. Women also have very stereotypical occupations that they often play in these
shows, such as nurses, sales assistants, maids, or models.
Women today on television, sometimes, are not portrayed as independent as they actually
are in the "real" world. Women sometimes plays roles of being very dependent of men,
which is not the case now as it was 50 years ago. For example, on many television
programs women silently appear in backgrounds to cater to the needs of dominant males.
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