Gender On Television: Is It Still A Boy's World?

Gender On Television: Is It Still A Boy’s World?

Jennifer B. Williams

Pensacola State College

February 23, 2015

Introduction

            Aside from providing the average American citizen anywhere between two and seven hours of information and entertainment daily, television is also a powerful and surreptitious agent of socialization, especially considering the media-rich world we now live in (Ferris & Stein, 2014). Through television we all subconsciously absorb messages and ideas about several aspects of our culture, including (but not limited to) race, gender, and perceived gender roles. Television has an especially great impact on children and tweens because they consume it while their identities are being formed, and has been shown to affect children’s early self-concepts and gendered behavior (Myers, 2013). Though it may be surprising to some given that it is, after all, the year 2015, previous research of popular 'tween' programming in America has indicated that gender inequality is still alive and well, with males outnumbering females in most television shows and stereotypical gender roles still being adhered to. In my research paper, I will examine popular 'tween' television shows for further evidence of gender inequality.

Review of the Literature

In their content analysis of the portrayed gender roles and stereotypes of tween television programming, Gerding and Signorielli set out to show that, in at least two main genres, it is still "a boy's world.' They hypothesized that males would outnumber females and that females would be presented more stereotypically than males, both in terms of attractiveness and in the portrayal of gender roles. In order to achieve their study they watched 49 episodes of 40 popular American tween television shows and coded them for variables, including the number of males vs. female characters and the gender role portrayal of characters in terms of appearance, behaviors, and personality traits. Gerding and Signorielli's results revealed that females were underrepresented in the Action-Adventure genre that is marketed towards a male audience, but that gender distribution was more even in the Teen-Scene genre that is geared towards a female audience. Also, overall, females in both genres were more attractive and aware of their looks, and also received more comments regarding their appearance than male characters.

In her study of popular tween television shows in America, Myers sought to show that, despite the success of the feminist movement, the prevailing underlying messages of popular programming remain anti- or post-feminist, meaning that they ostensibly support feminist messages but often undermined them in the end. Myers and a colleague systematically watched 45 total episodes of Disney and Nickelodeon Networks’ most popular tween-girl shows and coded them for variables including gender distribution of characters and anti-feminist messages through dialogue and body language. Her findings revealed that the programs all celebrated beauty and heterosexual coupling while demonizing strong and/or unattractive women. A regular and reoccurring message of the programming was that girls are more valuable if they are beautiful and desired by boys, and that girls must attract and attach themselves to boys in order to achieve status and satisfaction. The protagonist or lead female character would often “taken feminism into account,” while simultaneously dismissing the idea through words or actions. Myers also found that anti-feminist messages were being overtly broadcast in all analyzed programs at an alarming rate of every 2-3 minutes in a 22-minute program, making them hard to miss.

Research Method

            The following study is a contents analysis of an existing source, namely tween

television shows. I systematically watched and recorded data from eight episodes of three top-rated tween programs on the Disney and ABC Family networks. The shows analyzed in this research all fall under the ‘teen scene’ category and included three episodes of Disney Channel’s ‘Jessie,’ three episodes of Disney Channel’s ‘Girl Meets World,’ and two episodes of the parent show to ‘Girl Meets World,’ ABC Family’s ‘Boy Meets World.’ Although ‘Boy Meets World’ ended in the year 1998, it is still shown regularly throughout the week in syndication and has recently gained newfound popularity with today’s tween generation due to its immensely popular spin-off show, the aforementioned ‘Girl Meets World,’ which premiered last year.

            The variables I based my research on included keeping detailed notes on the gender distribution of the recurring cast members, the sex of the characters with speaking roles per episode, the sex of the main character of each show, and whether or not characters made or received comments about their body or appearance, as well as watching for gender role stereotypes. Aside from being interested in the results, seeing as how my husband and I are hoping to start our own family soon, I decided to study tween programming because I felt that it would be too easy to manipulate other genres of television; for instance, if I wanted to prove a hypothesis of gender equality, I could simply choose television shows with strong female leads, and vice versa. Not knowing anything about today’s children/tween programs may have removed any potential researcher bias.

Results and Findings

            As stated above, I viewed episodes from two tween programs on the Disney Channel and one on ABC Family. All of the television shows were of the ‘teen scene’ genre, which typically center around interpersonal relationships, romance, and generally less physically intense activities, and are marketed towards a female audience (Gerding & Signorielli, 2013). Although two thirds, or 67%, of the programs analyzed had a female lead, only 41% of the shows’ total recurring cast members were female. At 40%, a slightly lesser number of females had speaking roles. An unsurprising, though disheartening, 86% of comments regarding physical appearance were made or received by female characters, seeming to suggest that one of the most important ways for a girl or woman to receive attention is for outward beauty or the way they look. In short, females can do anything males can do, as long as they look pretty while they do it.

            Except, can they really? An especially unsettling observation I made in viewing these programs was the often-blatant stereotypes regarding gender roles. Supporting, or background, female characters were often pigeonholed in roles such as waitresses, maids, or the oft demonized, “strange” old neighbor next door, while male supporting characters were most often portrayed in affluent positions of authority, such as lawyers, talent agents, and college professors. In one episode of Disney Channel’s ‘Jessie,’ the title character made the decision to go back to college, however once she arrived to class her professor was male and disapproving of her and every single classmate was male, sending the subconscious and extremely negative message to young girls that higher education is not for them.

Conclusion

            At the start of this research I set out to prove that we still face gender inequality on television and, rather unfortunately, I was correct. Males vastly outnumber females both in terms of characters and speaking roles, sending the inherent message that males are more important (Gerding et al., 2013). Females are also oftentimes stereotyped according to perceived gender roles, which in turn feed the minds of the youth who consume these programs. It is said that television shows are a reflection of our culture, but an argument could also be formed to show that television may also be contributing to the creation of our culture. This research is important because television and mass media are increasingly becoming a prime socializing agent and viewers, particularly young ones, may be at risk for developing skewed conceptions about limiting gender roles.

REFERENCES

Ferris, K., Stein, J. (2014) The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology. New York, NY: Norton & Company.

Gerding, A. a., & Signorielli, N. (2014). Gender Roles in Tween Television Programming: A Content Analysis of Two Genres. Sex Roles, 70(1/2), 43-56.

Myers, K. k. (2013). Anti-feminist messages in American television programming for young girls. Journal Of Gender Studies, 22(2), 192-205.

*Note: This was a research paper I recently wrote for a Sociology class, which my professor then asked if she could use as an example in future classes. I decided to throw it up on my blog for a friend skeptical of gender inequality in these types of programs to peruse. Have you noticed any unsettling trends or patterns in television programs? Thanks for reading, and have a beautiful day!