Gender Stereotypes in Pop Culture When one thinks about a female or a male, what comes to mind? Maybe certain colors, certain hobbies, or certain clothes? A reason certain things come to mind when you think about each gender is due to stereotypes. A big conflict in America’s culture is gender stereotyping. Gender theory is a critical theory about gender studies. The definition of a gender role is “A theoretical construct that refers to a cluster of social and behavioral conventions that are typically considered to be socially appropriate customs for individuals of sex within a particular culture” (asdlkfhasldkjf). Stereotypes in America affect men, women, and even children. Gender theory in America’s pop culture is shown through television,
…show more content…
Wonder Woman is a comic book with a female protagonist. This was important in the 1940s, and still is today, because women have been stereotyped as being weak and under a man’s control. In Steinem’s essay, she talks about reading the Wonder Woman comics as a child. One of the things she noticed was that “The problem is that the super-heroes who perform magical feats- indeed, even mortal heroes who are merely competent- are almost always men” (Steinem 356). Young girls were reading books only about men being strong, powerful, and dominant over women. This leads to the young girls thinking that they have to conform to this stereotype. When the Wonder Women comic came out, she gave young girls someone to aspire to be and look up to. This was the case for Steinem. She says “I’m happy to say that I was rescued from this dependent fate at the age of seven or so; rescued (Great Hera!) by a woman. Not only did she have the wisdom of Athena and Aphrodite’s power to inspire love, she was also faster than Mercury and stronger than Hercules” (Steinem 356). This set the pathway for women realizing that they can be impactful without a man. Wonder Woman broke stereotypes in not only pop culture but society as well by being strong and powerful. This affected America’s culture because young women had someone to look up to …show more content…
Most companies across America accept the traditional gender roles and base their products off them. This occurrence affects children’s points of view. For both girls and boys, the influence starts at a young age (Orenstein 65). Orenstein says “…until they’re about 6 or 7. Children don’t realize that the sex they were born with is immutable…some psychologists say that until permanency sets in kids embrace whatever stereotypes our culture presents…” (Orenstein 68). The fluidity of a child’s mind comes into play when the society “norm” says girls are supposed to be princesses and play with dolls and boys are supposed to be athletic and play with tools and cars. If a child is exposed to only certain toys because society says this is correct. It predestines children to these distinct categories (Orenstein 69). An example in America’s modern culture is the obsession with the Disney princess. Many young girls are raised to think they should be a princess, play with dolls, and wear pink. (Orenstein 69-70). This does two things: it prevents girls from exploring things that aren’t normally “girl activities” like sports, and it indirectly prevents boys from exploring things that aren’t normally “boy activities” like dolls (Orenstein 69). America 's obsession with setting gender stereotypes in children affects America 's culture as a
Wonder Woman is a comic book with a female protagonist. This was important in the 1940s, and still is today, because women have been stereotyped as being weak and under a man’s control. In Steinem’s essay, she talks about reading the Wonder Woman comics as a child. One of the things she noticed was that “The problem is that the super-heroes who perform magical feats- indeed, even mortal heroes who are merely competent- are almost always men” (Steinem 356). Young girls were reading books only about men being strong, powerful, and dominant over women. This leads to the young girls thinking that they have to conform to this stereotype. When the Wonder Women comic came out, she gave young girls someone to aspire to be and look up to. This was the case for Steinem. She says “I’m happy to say that I was rescued from this dependent fate at the age of seven or so; rescued (Great Hera!) by a woman. Not only did she have the wisdom of Athena and Aphrodite’s power to inspire love, she was also faster than Mercury and stronger than Hercules” (Steinem 356). This set the pathway for women realizing that they can be impactful without a man. Wonder Woman broke stereotypes in not only pop culture but society as well by being strong and powerful. This affected America’s culture because young women had someone to look up to …show more content…
Most companies across America accept the traditional gender roles and base their products off them. This occurrence affects children’s points of view. For both girls and boys, the influence starts at a young age (Orenstein 65). Orenstein says “…until they’re about 6 or 7. Children don’t realize that the sex they were born with is immutable…some psychologists say that until permanency sets in kids embrace whatever stereotypes our culture presents…” (Orenstein 68). The fluidity of a child’s mind comes into play when the society “norm” says girls are supposed to be princesses and play with dolls and boys are supposed to be athletic and play with tools and cars. If a child is exposed to only certain toys because society says this is correct. It predestines children to these distinct categories (Orenstein 69). An example in America’s modern culture is the obsession with the Disney princess. Many young girls are raised to think they should be a princess, play with dolls, and wear pink. (Orenstein 69-70). This does two things: it prevents girls from exploring things that aren’t normally “girl activities” like sports, and it indirectly prevents boys from exploring things that aren’t normally “boy activities” like dolls (Orenstein 69). America 's obsession with setting gender stereotypes in children affects America 's culture as a