How Men And Women Are Treated Differently In The Media

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Title: How Men and Women are Treated Differently in the Media

The age-old discussion of gender discrimination still creeps its way into our society where the main debate is regarding the dominance of males over females. With the changing world and modified mindsets of people, the subject has somewhat been sidelined because nowadays, men and women are treated equally and given the same rights. But it is almost impossible to completely suppress this topic because in some places, there are clear signs of gender discrimination. The issue is more evident in underdeveloped or developing countries where the old mindset of male dominance still prevails. While the other countries have accepted equality of the two, people with backward thinking still argue.

Women are getting equal opportunities and leaving men behind when competing in different fields which shows their determination and dedication. Any and all the fields where women can perform, they do. The main sources through which the common public can witness gender equality is being an eye-witness to it or following what the media tells them. Media, with all its hype and progress in the past few years, has reached a level where people sometimes blindly follow what is shown to them, without using one’s own judgment. Movies, dramas, seasons, talk shows, and many other avenues are available in media for people to follow, and with the freedom that is available, people can produce what they will, without realizing if it is right or wrong.

Media is quite fair with regard to gender discrimination because of the changing world. Mostly a fair reflection of what is right is shown, otherwise, there might be severe charges against it. But gender equality is not always the case when men and women are portrayed on air. The famous stereotype that men are superior to women is still portrayed where the female is shown as a weak commodity in front of the alpha male especially through media channels where there is no check and balance. For instance, on social media, it becomes really hard to avoid the discrimination taking place, because there may not be any liability ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"YLjPQqLS","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Gauntlett)","plainCitation":"(Gauntlett)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":25,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/jKYaO8V5/items/NFNB9H24"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/jKYaO8V5/items/NFNB9H24"],"itemData":{"id":25,"type":"book","ISBN":"0-203-36079-6","publisher":"Routledge","title":"Media, gender and identity: An introduction","author":[{"family":"Gauntlett","given":"David"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2003"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Gauntlett).

If overall, the number of movies, dramas, seasons, and other media entities are calculated, the portrayal would mostly be equal or male-dominant. The numbers are changing, however, male dominance prevails.

Why is it that when a particular man makes some comment on media, it is given more importance while a woman saying the same thing is less highlighted and prioritized? The answer is that the roots of our minds are still deep in the olden times. A male talking about male dominance is considered acceptable while a woman talking about female equality is considered as a feminist. Most of the times, women do not even demand superiority, they just want equality but to no avail ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"BOZdBNfV","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Krijnen and Van Bauwel)","plainCitation":"(Krijnen and Van Bauwel)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":24,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/jKYaO8V5/items/R8CFP5JH"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/jKYaO8V5/items/R8CFP5JH"],"itemData":{"id":24,"type":"book","ISBN":"1-317-44005-6","publisher":"Routledge","title":"Gender and media: Representing, producing, consuming","author":[{"family":"Krijnen","given":"Tonny"},{"family":"Van Bauwel","given":"Sofie"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Krijnen and Van Bauwel).

It is our mind that makes us perform certain actions. A television channel that is airing a show where a man is depicted superior to a female, has nothing to do with the mindset of the actors. The actual problem is the mindset of the producers who create such content even in today’s world. With people consuming multiple hours of media content, it is no wonder that such representation would leave some sort of impression on the viewer’s mind.

The influence of the culture is a must on the contents of the media. One part of the world may consider something right while the other may not. Through these restrictions, there is one thing that remains constant is that negativity regarding gender should not be displayed and highlighted. Women tend to develop a lack of confidence, body-shaming, depression, and another side effects as a result of being portrayed as inferior. It is necessary for every culture to portray things within the jurisdiction posed by their culture, but spread positivity for gender equality and not negate it. If a certain culture allows discussing a certain topic openly, it should be discussed but in a way as to not exploit any gender ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"d2Q7yCie","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Buikema et al.)","plainCitation":"(Buikema et al.)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":26,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/jKYaO8V5/items/E4BD67KP"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/jKYaO8V5/items/E4BD67KP"],"itemData":{"id":26,"type":"book","ISBN":"1-134-00641-1","publisher":"Routledge","title":"Doing gender in media, art and culture","author":[{"family":"Buikema","given":"Rosemarie"},{"family":"Plate","given":"Liedeke"},{"family":"Tuin","given":"Iris","non-dropping-particle":"van der"},{"family":"Thiele","given":"Kathrin"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Buikema et al.). If women break the boundaries of the culture by producing unacceptable content, there should be a voice raised among them. But if proper boundaries are being followed, the female would be given as much importance as her male countepart.

Media has brought a revolution in the world which will undoubtedly elevate in the years to come. If the old and orthodox thinking keeps on being portrayed on the media, then the future generations would learn nothing new. The producers of the content should think about the results of their actions rather than just focusing on entertainment. There may be cases where depicting inferiority of women could send a positive message if the right lessons follow. But to highlight the particular topic of gender inequality with having just entertainment in mind and nothing else, can have catastrophic outcomes in the future.

The world of media is a huge one and many might not be accountable for the content they might be producing. But one should use sound judgment and raise their voice when viewing such content that might be inclined towards a certain gender. It is not something that can be eradicated in the blink of an eye, in a month, or even in a few years but the main objective is to start. As long as there is support for gender equality, things are bound to change in the near future.

Works Cited:

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Buikema, Rosemarie, et al. Doing Gender in Media, Art and Culture. Routledge, 2009.

Gauntlett, David. Media, Gender and Identity: An Introduction. Routledge, 2003.

Krijnen, Tonny, and Sofie Van Bauwel. Gender and Media: Representing, Producing, Consuming. Routledge, 2015.