The intended audience for this paper would be the instructor and also my classmates. The proposed assignment was to choose an issue that I feel the audience needs to be informed about and relay this information to the audience. The more narrowed scope of this essay is to inform the audience of how gender roles are taught and perpetrated by the media as a whole, but on television in particular, but also from a more sociological aspect or viewpoint. .
Thoughts and opinions are expressed, most often, from the viewpoint of a symbolic interactionist. While gender itself is a universal idea, what constitutes a person as masculine or feminine changes with the culture, and also the times. Many other social issues, such as racism, for example, are far more prevalent in some regions than in others. Gender roles, and their often complicated consequences are present in virtually every society on earth. Their prevalence alone makes them one of the most important social problems we can discuss as a society. Gender does not, in and of itself seem problematic, but in truth, gender roles account for many social problems such as women being underpaid in the workplace, and homosexual men being shunned. If we understand gender roles, their origin, and their interpretation better, perhaps some of these issues may be solved.
The Media.
As a whole, television is one of the most influential types of media today. Aside from keeping the masses informed about what is going on their world, the sitcoms and dramas from particular time paint an accurate picture of the cultural values of the time. When an idea is widely accepted, it will be widely viewed on television. When an idea of behavior is controversial, it will be seen sparingly until it becomes widely accepted. Over time, seeing a thing over and over can desensitize the viewer, thus making the thing more acceptable to the audience. .
Gender roles have been portrayed on television since the very beginning.