The way Men and Women are portrayed in media nowadays is complete and utterly repulsive. The way a Man is portrayed is no were near the actual man being. In media the man is a sports person who loves football and beer. Yes it true that guys like sports, but it doesn’t mean that every guy does. Why is football called a man sport? Or rugby? I have a friend who is a girl and she plays rugby, does that make her a guy? No. Beer is the known drink for a man. In every TV show the man is always drinking Beer. For example in Family guy, they always go to Drunken and Clam to drink, and the only thing they drink is Beer.
Another way a man is always portrayed is being a muscular guy who always works out and is very fit. According to Statistics Canada, it says that over 40% of Canadian Men who are aged 18 or over are overweight. Just fewer than 20% of them are Obese. (http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-625-x/2010002/article/11255-eng.htm) In every family TV shows the husband or the man are always the dumb one in the family. The wife is always the smart one who keeps the family organized. I personally disagree and feel offended when I see that the male is always the dumb one who does dumb things. By this occurring in media, it becomes the normal thought of a male and puts all males down.
For Women they are always the ones who cook, clean and wash dishes. This is the typical stereotype for a female. I disagree because I feel that a woman does way more than jus these basic things. In all honestly I think the woman does more then a man. She does the house chores, plus she goes to work. Saying this, it doesn’t mean that the media can just assume that only women wash dishes and cook, because men and women have equal amount of responsibility. I think that the media is getting into our heads and making us all think that this is the way it should be or the way life is. I completely disagree with media but there is not much someone can do because media is very powerful and you cannot stop it.
There is a video I found on YouTube that really stood out to me because it was a study done that asked teenagers to describe how a male or female was represented in media. The things they chose is the typical thoughts that media has put into our heads and its wrong.
Here is the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdhl1o-7HXg
Questions:
1) Do you feel that the media has the rightto portray a man or a woman they way they do? Explain.
2) Why do you think media represents males and females in these manners? Explain.
3) Do you think we can do anything to stop media from portraying us this way? Explain.
I think the media does have the right to portray a man or woman the way they do because I don't think what they are saying is far off and it’s there show, broadcast etc. just as long as they don't say or do anything offensive to someone listening or watching. I think the media represents men as drinking beer, liking sports and dumb and represented women as liking to cook, washing dishes and being the smart one because of their own personal experience and what they have seen. For example a women sees a man playing sports with his other men friends every day of week, she is going to see him as a jock and probably not as book smart, thus adding to the stereotype that every guy likes sports. What she might not see though is his academic side, so I think in order to stop media from portraying men this way, more men need to start showing they can be smart and be helpful around the house more and show they're not just sport players and beer lovers.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the media doesn’t have a right to portray men and women in this way. The reason being is because majority of people in this world are nothing like the characters in the media. It’s sad to see that these stereotypes about men and women and how they should be were basically programmed into our heads from a very young age.I think the media portrays men and women in this way because they want money. The producers who make such shows that portray men and women in these ways know what will sell and what the people will watch and enjoy. Most people watch these shows and commercials and don’t even notice the stereotypes because they consider it normal. I also believe that stereotypes give people a specific idea about a race or religion even though it is not true, but it is just comforting to know something rather than nothing. I think stereotypes will be around forever, but if people start educating themselves about other groups of races and become open minded about the roles of men and women I believe stereotypes might start to disappear slowly.
ReplyDelete1) The media does not have the right to portray men and women the way they do. The reason being is most men and women, these days, do not fit the stereotypes presented by the media. One thing to remember is that the media is so vast that it spans our entire world. Media is just one huge “cloud”, which has television, print, radio, etc. in it. There are also less common media such as sculptures, paintings, and buildings. Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but false portrayal of people does not justify their authority or actions.
ReplyDelete2) The media portrays men and women the way they do is because they (men and women) used to and some still fit the stereotypes such as you talked about Sergio. The problem is that the media still stick to the dominant discourse you mentioned Sergio such as men drinking beer, hanging out at the bar, and watching sports while the women cook, take care of the house.
3) What we can do to stop media from the viral spreading of undone stereotypes is try changing things at the grass-roots level. We have to educate children about our society and teach them about stereotypes present in the society. It is our responsibility to let them know that what the media portrays sometimes is false. They have to be aware of what is false and what is true through us. I know it is not an easy thing, but we can at least try. The children and teenagers have to see the change in their respective houses (as well). I think practicing something is conformity to what one preaches. Hence, the children must see and realize that women these days earn money by working in industries and take care of the house. They should also see that their fathers not only go to work, but help their wives in their chores.
Another thing we can stop media from false portrayal is we can use media itself to send messages about change to the whole world. Anyone is able to consume media and also use it, so why cannot we utilize something such as the social-networking websites to bring about the change required in the media world.
Questions:
ReplyDelete1) Do you feel that the media has the rightto portray a man or a woman they way they do? Explain.
I wouldn't say that hey don't have the right to show women and men the way they do but i really do believe that they should calm down on it a bit.It's becoming severe and to an extent where they have caused many conflicts in a lot of individual lives. They really should focus on how "really" men and women are and portray that so it allow's people to think it is okay and to be comfortable in who they really are.
2) Why do you think media represents males and females in these manners? Explain.
The reason to why the media represents males and females in these manners is because i think that is the way the majority of us want to see. We never want to see the ugly side of anything ,it is always what looks good and attractive. So the media uses this observation to get to us. If they portray what we wish to see , we most likely will buy into what the media wants us to but into.
3) Do you think we can do anything to stop media from portraying us this way? Explain.
We can always stop anything we wish to but only if people contribute together to stop media from portraying this.As an individual you can take part in this by being yourself everyday and most importantly , being comfortable and confident about it. I believe that if one person takes the step , another will follow and it will continue until the society reaches its goal.
I don't think in the year 2011 the media has a right to portray men and women any specific way because like a few of the people above have said, barely anyone fits in those stereotypes now a days. The media can't just assume every woman likes to clean and every man likes sports because not everybody is the same.
ReplyDeleteI believe the media represents men and women a certain way because that is how it used to be back in the day and I guess it just stayed that way, in certain peoples heads. I also agree with Kiran. We don't like to see the ugly side of things. It's like having a flaw, you don't want people seeing that flaw.
I think the only thing we can do about the media is to educate. Education is key. We need to teach the younger generation about stereotyping and all the different people in this world. I think if that works the media would eventually give in.
It depends on how you view the portrayal of men and women in the media. Based on your view I feel that they don’t have a right to portray them, but my decision can’t influence the media. If I were to take the media’s perspective, they do have the right. As we have learned in class, media is a construction and that it is constructed by people who possess a purpose for creating the media. As long as the media they’re producing isn’t considered directly offensive then they should be able to produce whatever they want. This doesn’t mean the all portrayals aren’t offensive, they just aren’t directly offensive. To determine whether media has a right or not to portray a group in a negative or positive light is all dependant on authority who determines what can be published or not. In my opinion I don’t feel this is right, but as long there isn’t any attack on my character, or anyone else for that matter, they have the right to produce media which portrays men and women like this. There are no laws against the misrepresentation of men and women in the media, the way we perceive the media is completely up to us as viewers.
ReplyDeleteIt also depends on how we see males and females to be portrayed. You stated as males being portrayed as a muscular guy, but I disagree. I feel like the image of an ideal man is characterised by what you said, however the average man isn’t represented like that in the media. The average male in society is not represented in the media fairly, similarly to the average female. In T.V. we see many male characters to be obese, not muscular. Especially if it the setting of the show is in the United States. The image of not only a male but female American is an obese one. In the example you gave of Family Guy, do you think that the characters in that picture work out regularly and are considered fit or muscular?
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ReplyDeleteI believe the media has the right to portray men and women however they want because of freedom of speech even though sometimes it maybe be misused. It's up to the media on how they send out the message but it's up to us on we how we consume the message.
ReplyDeleteI feel media depicts men and women in a certain way because that's how the society would view the ideal male or female.When most think of the ideal male, the first thing that comes to mind is bread winners, muscular, insensitive etc. and for female, cook, clean, takes care of children etc. Ever since we were young we grew up seeing these stereotypes, and now it's implanted into most of our minds.To change this we can try to get rid of all the stereotypes that are out there about men and women.Which will take time and effort because once a stereotype is implanted in our mind it's hard not to judge/forget. Also like Bhumi said people need to get educated and be less ignorant by having an open mind.
1) Yes, I do think the media has the right to portray men and women in such a manner, because it is not illegal to do so. Media shows to its viewers what they think that are going to get their ratings up, and keep their audiences watching. Even if we judge and take their interpretation of men and women -which they do for our entertainment-we cannot assume that the media does not have their right to portray men and women the way they do.
ReplyDelete2) It’s truly for our entertainment. Take family guy as an example, even though the men are drinking beer almost every time they meet up it doesn’t literally mean to send the message that all men drink beer when they get together. It just shows the audience that a man enjoys himself with his boys. The “drinking beer” can mean; just chilling with my boys, which the average man does. The latest media has improved in comparison to the old still continuing media in regard to stereotypical views of men and women. We have to remember that even before media, men and women were viewed as such; women been just house wives and men been the bread winners. Therefore, the media’s interpretation of men and women in such manners is not to be taken as insults or as a disgrace to one gender, it is simply trying to entertain the majority in favour to fill their pockets to the optimal.
3) Media has already started to change, they are less stereotypical. It is mostly the media of the old age that still taunts the individuals that are bothered by gender stereotypical messages. We most probably cannot change the media, but media will change itself in regard to the majority in favour. So, if more people were less stereotypical, more insightful and courteous of the opposite gender I’m sure the media will turn their heads away from their gender stereotypical ways. After all, they will give into the majority in favour which will fill their pockets to the optimal.
To: Hasani
ReplyDeleteYou say that a woman sees a man play sports every day. I would have to respectfully disagree with that because no one plays sports every day of the week. Even professional players that get paid millions of dollars don’t play everyday, let alone normal average males. What I am trying to say is that the media does not have the right to assume that all males are the same or that all females are the same. What I think they can do is to make different shows with different types of men. For example you make one show of the male being a dumb jock and another one were the male is smart and doesn’t only like sports and beer.
1. I think that the media does not have the right to portray both men and women the way they do because I personally believe that there are many that do not fit their gender stereotype. For example like how you included statistics that said 40% of men in Canada are over weight, yet we see so many high fashion ads of built men, but truly even then, those muscular men are photo-shopped to bits and pieces.
ReplyDelete2. I think that the media represents men and women in this manner due one factor that could be because of certain cultures in which men are seen superior while women are inferior to men. I think that it has a lot to do with time and history. I think that many of us are still stuck in the past of how things and people are perceived.
3. I think that it is possible for people to reduce the portrayal of men and women in media but I believe that it would be a long process, considering that there are people out who are trying to break these gender stereotypes.
We are part of the media, and people feed off of what they see and hear. So I think that, for example, the shows we watch on television(of characters that fit the gender stereotypes) is just something we enjoy watching for our personal reasons. I know I do. I do not think that we can entirely wipe stereotypes clean from media but we can help to assist people and children to understand the kind of pressure the media can put on you and the importance of being your own individual.
1) Do you feel that the media has the right to portray a man or a woman they way they do? Explain.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the media shouldnt have a right to portray men or women the way they do, but theyre going to do in anyway because people always fall in their trap. Some people do fit in the stereotype they give, but majority of the time its false. I also think that majority of the media only caters to American society because most of the males that live in the united states are over weight and they do drink beer a lot. The women in the united states are always conscious about their weight because of what they see around them everyday. I seriously think that the media should have a limited amount of power when it comes to topics like this.
2) Why do you think media represents males and females in these manners? Explain.
I think the media represents males and females in this manner by "everything sells" being their motto. Its a win win situation...for example you see an obese man or woman that wears sketchers, drinks beer, and takes supplements to help them loose weight, all three of those companies just gained money in their banks because people buy their idea.
3) Do you think we can do anything to stop media from portraying us this way? Explain
I think we cant do anything about the way media portrays us, theyve gotten this far with brain washing people, the media is very smart they always find other ways to get to us. The media is a great source anyway who`s really going to protest against them anyway?
Media should not portray women and men the way they do. Everyone is different and not all, but very few are like the people portrayed in media. Media portrays blondes as dumb, black people are criminals, women cleans and cooks, men go to work. It is really sad what media teaches us from the time we are born until we die. I believe that they do this in order to make money. If they did not make women feel insecure about their weight and their appearance they would not be able to make them buy diet pills and cosmetics. Media is smart and gets to us by giving us things we like and we fall for. No matter what people always wish they had something for some might be their weight for some might be a shirt they saw in a celebrity. I think that stereotyping is so common now days that people does not even notice when there watching TV that their being stereotypical. People thinks that stereotyping is normal no days.
ReplyDeleteMedia does not have the right to portray either men or the women the they want to, they have no right to put such restrictions on either of them. Men and women should do what they are interested in not what media thinks is best for them. I am sure media does not know what is best for me, Just becuase they see someone do one thing, they can assume that this may be the thing for all women or men. This is all stereotyping, which has become so common and now days we actually do follow what the media says, and do what they think is right.Media repersents males and females in this manner, so that they can promote products, like; if media did not show and strictly point out that women should have the perfect body then they would not be able to make money, or make products that people would buy. The one and only reason media repersents in this kind of manner is so that we can follow and buy products to make us look that way.
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