Media's Influence On Gender Stereotypes

Since the beginning, the media has had an inexplicably large amount of influence on society and the way we view gender roles. In things from television shows and movies to advertisements for video games and legos. These shows and advertisements unconsciously make us believe that there are situations and activities that are only meant for one sex, not both. We are constantly being guided through life by an invisible force that places a shroud over what is right and what is wrong based on gender. While most are understandably blind to this fact, I have found many examples and situations as to which there are clear indications of gender division in media. In order to be able to adapt to this, we must first be informed. In many new age shows, the father is often …show more content…
In many shows, there is only different gendered characters because the show only uses them to build a romantic tension. For example, the early seasons of The Big Bang Theory only featured one female lead, Penny. Penny’s character existed purely to create romantic tension between her and one of the four male leads, Leonard. Without Penny, I imagine the producers felt that the show would be stale and boring but with Penny, they could bring in a more expandable audience. As the show progressed, we began to see a growing amount of female leads on the show. These new female leads took on a new kind of image for females in television. They were not just dumb eye candy made to appeal to the common male. They were made to play the roles of smart, intelligent, literate and strong females. They were made almost more to compete with the males to see who was more intelligent, becoming more of a threat then a love interest. While these female leads eventually do find romance with the 4 main male leads, it is made clear that they have more than one purpose on the show. The producers of the show took a step in the right direction to help break the stigma that that all women are sexual