Social Impact of Gender Roles in America
Introduction
Gender roles have been around since there has been social structure among humans, and these traditional roles are still practiced today. Females are expected to act one way and males in another. This expectation extends so far as to impact the way that the genders are shown on television. This impacts children in major ways and influences them to continue practicing traditional gender roles. In addition, gender and sex are two very different concepts in the American culture; they are very important to understand in order to understand what gender roles are. The difference between male and female gender roles is shown on prime time television and it effects the way that children view gender roles.
The Difference between Gender and Sex
Gender roles are a social construct created to help assign certain tasks to make life easier. Gender roles are defined as “the different expectations that individuals, groups, and societies have of individuals based on their sex” (Blackstone). These terms describe the different concepts about women and men in the world; however, gender and sex are very different from one another. They are not interchangeable like many people believe (Gould). Gender is defined as “the meanings, values …show more content…
Even in the media, men are more likely to be depicted as having high power jobs and being in charge of their households. The media showed images of only males 78% of the time on prime time television in 1973 and this number is increasing. This may have to do with the fact that there are twice as many males in television as there are female. In shows for children, men are often depicted in high powered positions, leading children to believe that this is how life should be. There aren’t many restrictions to what men can and cannot do on television (Grant and Hess). They are expected to be the heads of the households and providers for the
Introduction
Gender roles have been around since there has been social structure among humans, and these traditional roles are still practiced today. Females are expected to act one way and males in another. This expectation extends so far as to impact the way that the genders are shown on television. This impacts children in major ways and influences them to continue practicing traditional gender roles. In addition, gender and sex are two very different concepts in the American culture; they are very important to understand in order to understand what gender roles are. The difference between male and female gender roles is shown on prime time television and it effects the way that children view gender roles.
The Difference between Gender and Sex
Gender roles are a social construct created to help assign certain tasks to make life easier. Gender roles are defined as “the different expectations that individuals, groups, and societies have of individuals based on their sex” (Blackstone). These terms describe the different concepts about women and men in the world; however, gender and sex are very different from one another. They are not interchangeable like many people believe (Gould). Gender is defined as “the meanings, values …show more content…
Even in the media, men are more likely to be depicted as having high power jobs and being in charge of their households. The media showed images of only males 78% of the time on prime time television in 1973 and this number is increasing. This may have to do with the fact that there are twice as many males in television as there are female. In shows for children, men are often depicted in high powered positions, leading children to believe that this is how life should be. There aren’t many restrictions to what men can and cannot do on television (Grant and Hess). They are expected to be the heads of the households and providers for the