Changing Gender Roles in Media | Discussion

Running head: CHANGING GENDER ROLES IN MEDIA
CHANGING GENDER ROLES IN MEDIA
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CHANGING GENDER ROLES IN MEDIA
CHANGING GENDER ROLES IN MEDIA
Media are the contact sources or devices used to collect knowledge or data and
distribute it. The concept applies to elements of the mainstream media marketing industry,
such as print newspapers, news services, imaging, publishing, entertainment, radio and
television broadcasting, and advertisement. Across too many cases, society is shaped and
influenced by the press. It is the mass media that ensures everyone gets details on a variety of
information and often shapes views of the population as well as interferes with the judgment
about different topics. It's the newspapers that keep people up-to-date and make people aware
of the present situation around them, including the news around the world (O'shaughnessy,
Stadler & Casey, 2016). Gender roles can be described as the social beliefs, attitudes, actions,
and behaviors appropriate for males and females, respectively, according to the society. For a
long time, the gender role for men and women are opposite to each other, creating a
stereotype for each, and the media play a pivotal role in building these norms. This essay will
shed light on the significant change in gender roles portrayed in the media with time, the
change in female representation in media, the brief history of gender roles of women in
media, and the modern scenario of gender roles in media (Lindsey, 2015).
The nature of gender stereotype has evolved over the period of history in response to
the social shifts in the structure of the relationship between men and women. Media promotes
the concept of gender stereotyping by its content representation, whether it entails under-
representing women in the media or depicting inequalities of various media formats.
Previously, the central dogma of media representation revolves around masculinity and
femininity for men and women, respectively (Coyne et al., 2014). The dominating presence
of the idea of masculinity and femininity reflects the generally recognized distinctions
between men and women and is a product of cultural acceptance. The area of communication
studies has experienced significant changes with the advent of the internet by changing the

CHANGING GENDER ROLES IN MEDIA
shift from one-way sender controlled communication medium to two-way recipient oriented
presentation. A study integrated and challenged theoretical data research with perspectives
from the critical aspect of polysemy and intersectional. The finding of the study states that
gender representation aligns strongly with time, location, and, in a particular professional
role. Models reflect the fashion field's unique 'aesthetic capital,' which is represented in very
precise forms. With time, in Italy, the differences between men and women in
representation increase significantly. Though male and female depictions in the Netherlands
adhere to classically 'feminine' versions. This modern style utilizes different signs and
symbols to reflect gender and professional status. This distinction between females and
males, and models with a non-model individual (Kuipers, van der Laan, and Arfini, 2017).
The history of women's role in media is not very delightful. The mass media
neglected women or misrepresents them with flawed and distorted perceptions and facts. The
media primarily equalise the role of a women to their body and exploited them for a long
time. Women's output consisted primarily of subjects concerning entertainment, sexuality and
tabloids . Media most often depicted women as secondary, tied and reliant on male
characters. The media not only declines to promote and empower women in their legal rights,
but it also confirms their oppressive and unequal beliefs of society. The media more often
depicts women as perpetrators, sex objects, supporting character or dependent on others. Not
only does reporting struggle to change women's condition, but it further worsens things and
leads to their suffering. Continually, women were objectified without any apparent attempts
to change the distressing norm. Women's role was to get dressed up and advertised, which
were represented as the emancipator for women (Sharda, 2014). A study that calculated the
amount of provocative skin displayed in the highest-grossing domestic films by major and
minor female protagonists over a 20-year period and analyzed the findings to assess if the sex
objectification differed in scale and meaning. He studies significantly fills the gap of an