Think about the last movie you have seen. Was it a gritty action film? Perhaps a dreamy flick with starry-eyed lovers? No matter what the genre, media typically, consciously or not, embodies a specific ideology or two. Andy Tennant’s romantic comedy film, Hitch (2005), is certainly not exempt from this. The film portrays the career-life of Alex “Hitch” Hitchens. Hitch works as a professional “date doctor,” coaching men in the art of wooing the women they are interested in. As the movie progresses, Hitch, while coaching client Albert to win the heart of celebrity Allegra, finds himself falling for Sara, a woman that resists his so-called guaranteed-to-work techniques. Through the romance and comedic actions of both couples, gender ideology
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Sometimes, conservative gender ideology leaks through despite efforts made. Cosmopolitan, an international fashion magazine targeted at women, often subconsciously enforces conservative gender norms through their “empowering” articles. Their 2015 article “The 14 Best Jobs for Women” is one of many examples. The career woman is often wrought with stereotypes in popular media, and the article only works to implement this ideology further. There is nothing inherently wrong with the jobs chosen for the article, but the delivery is something to consider. Cosmopolitan makes a distinction between female and male work automatically with the article title, implying that some careers are better suited for women. A handful of the specific jobs chosen (like physical trainer, interior designer, and interpreter) are stereotypical jobs that require creativity and social skills. Some of the options even paint women has non-ambitious and a little lazy: “Want to treat and diagnose patients, make bank […], but avoid six years of med school—and student loan debt? Consider becoming a physician’s assistant” (Triffin). Other options directly connect the career with the possibility of romance rather than true passion and ambition as in the case of the option of becoming a video game designer: “Want to make every dude you meet worship the ground you walk on?”
Sometimes, conservative gender ideology leaks through despite efforts made. Cosmopolitan, an international fashion magazine targeted at women, often subconsciously enforces conservative gender norms through their “empowering” articles. Their 2015 article “The 14 Best Jobs for Women” is one of many examples. The career woman is often wrought with stereotypes in popular media, and the article only works to implement this ideology further. There is nothing inherently wrong with the jobs chosen for the article, but the delivery is something to consider. Cosmopolitan makes a distinction between female and male work automatically with the article title, implying that some careers are better suited for women. A handful of the specific jobs chosen (like physical trainer, interior designer, and interpreter) are stereotypical jobs that require creativity and social skills. Some of the options even paint women has non-ambitious and a little lazy: “Want to treat and diagnose patients, make bank […], but avoid six years of med school—and student loan debt? Consider becoming a physician’s assistant” (Triffin). Other options directly connect the career with the possibility of romance rather than true passion and ambition as in the case of the option of becoming a video game designer: “Want to make every dude you meet worship the ground you walk on?”