Gender Stereotypes In The Media Study

In this study, gender stereotypes exhibited in characters in the media were observed and measured. Stereotypes are very present in society and can affect the way we see and think about people. In all forms of media, characters exhibit stereotypical behaviors associated with their gender, and many gender stereotypes were observed in subjects involved in this study. Characters were selected by searching for popular commercials and recording the characters behaviors, which were then, compared to a list gender stereotypical behaviors. Subjects were either marked as male stereotypical, female stereotypical, or gender neutral. A chi-square test was used to analyze the collected data on one hundred observed characters. Key words are gender, stereotype, …show more content…
Our team then created the hypothesis that characters would exhibit their gender’s stereotypes that are applied in the real world to both sexes. Our research on gender stereotypes and if they are present in popular characters began with simple research. In a team of four members, researched on previous studies on gender stereotypes in the media and in characters were performed. Studies such as Keeping abreast of hypersexuality: A video game character content analysis by Downs and Smith, Coloring Within the Lines: Gender Stereotypes in Contemporary Coloring Books, by Fitzpatrick and McPherson, Violent Female Action Characters in Contemporary American Cinema by Gilpatrick, and Boys Act and Girls Appear: A Content Analysis of Gender Stereotypes Associated with Characters in Children 's Popular Culture by Murnen, Greenfield, Younger, and …show more content…
Stereotypes were marked as either present, not present, or inapplicable. Stereotypes were present if males exhibited: aggressiveness, violent action, saving another character, being lazy, taking control or being dominant, having an overly buff physique, showing a lack of emotion, using a weapon, having a masculine job (police officer, enrolled in the armed forces, construction worker, doctor, or fireman), or acting in a silly / goofy way. Females exhibited stereotypes if the exhibited: being over-emotional, relying on other’s, acting overly sexual, acting submissive, acting “ditsy” or of less intelligence, working a typical feminine job (nurse, teacher, receptionist, secretary, or model) or not having a job at all (being a stay at home wife or mother), wearing revealing clothing, having a curvaceous figure, worrying about appearance, or taking care of domestic duties (cooking, cleaning, or