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Essay Subject: Examines theories on traditional & nontraditional gender roles (e.g., Xena) & their effects on development & behavior of children.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Examines theories on traditional & nontraditional gender roles (e.g., Xena) & their effects on development & behavior of children. Paper Introduction: Non-Traditional Gender Roles on Television And Their Effects on Children Introduction In the popular press, much of the discussion about television's influence has focused on television violence or sex on television. However, television's portrays of both women and men may also have a significant influence on children's development. Certainly both young children and adolescents recognize that women and men are filling specific gender roles on television programs. In a 1995 survey of more than 2,000 children in third to twelfth grades, for example, 55% of the girls indicated that there were too few programs about females Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Shehas been seen as a feminist role model because she represents alternativesfor girls (Minkowitz, 1996). [On-line].Available: www.girlsinc.org/programs/recastv.html. Still, it would be interesting to explore. There are also sporadic images of women which are far outside thegender role stereotype. This is probably the most atypicalfemale image available. (1998). Available: www.childrennow.org/media/mc97/ReflectSummary.html. Sex Roles, 35(3/4). Men, however, were still portrayed in wayscongruent with the traditional masculine stereotype. Durkin(1985) indicated that television then provides an important source ofinformation to children that they utilize in order to construct andunderstand the world. Socialization togender roles: Popularity among elementary school boys and girls. There is no correspondingly nontraditional male imagewho is so outside the gender norm as Xena is outside of the female norm.Perhaps the only characters who might fit this nontraditional image are gaymen, like the character of Jack on Will and Grace. Although women are portrayed indifferent occupations, they are still portrayed in traditional ways interms of qualities or character traits. At the same time, she has a primary relationship with anotherwoman (although not overtly sexual). (1998). There is some evidence thattraditional gender roles play a part in children's development and tend toreinforce adoption of those traditional gender roles. One of the most helpful recent studies on gender and television wasconducted by Nancy Signorielli (1998). Albert, A.A. (1985). Gender displaying televisioncommercials: A comparative study of television commercials in the 195 s and198 s. There are gender representations in the other media,and surround every child through acquaintances, family members, and peers. Often, too, they are portrayed asunhappy if they are single, even with good, rewarding careers. (1992). Since gender acquisition itself is so poorly understood and thesubject of great debate, the role of television remains murky.How Does Topic Relate to Class Material This topic is most related to the early lecture on the effects of masscommunication on the population. and Adler, P. (199 ). Available: www.aber.ac.uk/ednwww/Undgrad/ ED3171 /hingham2.html. This can either be viewed as a mixed messageto young girls and boys, or as a complex portrayal allowing them to seewomen as having many options in life. Obviously,in the latter case, gender representations in the media would have a muchbigger influence. References Adler, P.A., Kless, S.J. The child is seen as participating in the creationof gender role identity, using the information at hand (Ingham, 1997). and McAleer, J. Children and television. Reflections of girls in the media.Reflections Summary. In addition, both girls and boys indicated that femalecharacters tended to rely on someone else to solve their problems, whilemale characters tended to solve their own problems (Signorielli, 1998). What, then, is theeffect of the portrayal of nontraditional gender roles on children andadolescents?Brief Literature Review In reviewing the literature, one finds considerable evidence thatchildren are aware of gender-role stereotypes at a very young age (Albert &Porter, 1988). Certainly both youngchildren and adolescents recognize that women and men are filling specificgender roles on television programs. For example, television's Xena is an example of awoman who is not particularly nurturing, caring, or passive. There are indications in the research that television primarilyhas a negative effect, reinforcing stereotypes in both gender role andcareer choice (Gunter, 199 ). What is the overall influence of all these different genderrepresentations? In that lecture, we learned that theeffects are difficult to quantify and the source of much controversy.Almost for every study indicating that television may reinforce children'sviolent behaviors, there is a researcher or critic who denies that there isany direct link. Girls to TV: Get real. In general, she found that the media often offers girlsstrong, positive role models; for example, in the television programsstudied, 35% of women relied on themselves to solve their problems and incommercials, 29% targeted for women appealed to them "being in control oftheir lives." Television also showed women using their television morethan men (34% to 3 %) (Signorielli, 1998). Children's gender-rolestereotypes: A sociological investigation of psychological models.Sociological Forum, 3(2), 184-21 . (1996). Girls Re-Cast TV. Sociologyof Education, 65(3), 169-187. In particular, there are few nontraditional images of men ontelevision in either programming or commercials. Ingham, H. [On-line]. Both boys andgirls indicated that the characters they see on television are thinner thanwomen in real life, while male characters are about the same weight as menin real life. Gunter (199 ) speculated that this was becausewomen in the professions may actually be over-represented in television. and Coltrane, S. Xena: She's big, tall, strong - and popular.Ms., July/August, 1996. Inthis approach, acquisition of gender roles depends upon the child'sexposure and cognitive understanding of the social environment. Allan and Coltraine(1996) noted that television commercials had changed between the 195 s and198 s, but primarily in their gender portrayals of women. For example, qualitative research could be conductedregarding the image of Xena for both boys and girls to elicit theiropinions about how their beliefs about gender and them themselves change bywatching the show. In a 1995 survey of more than 2, children in third to twelfth grades, for example, 55% of the girlsindicated that there were too few programs about females their age and notenough shows about girls having adventures or women in challenging careers. Not only are they aware of these stereotypes, they areactive in enforcing them among their peers. It is difficult to prove exactly what influence television has on thedevelopment of gender roles and stereotyping of career options, among otherthings. Allan, K. (1997). There is evidence, however, that nontraditional portrayals influencechildren's perceptions of their options, although such portrayals are stillrare. As Ingham (1997)noted, there is no clear evidence of how television affects gender roleacquisition, although there is some indication that television imagesreinforce stereotypical images of men and women and stereotypical careerchoices. London:Open University Press. It is not clear how this affects children, however. In general, Ingham (1997), finds the research is inconclusive indetermining exactly how and in what way television affects children'sgender development. There is little rewardfor being atypical or nontraditional at this age, nor any other. In other words, television offers a mixed portrayal of women thatemphasizes some traditional characteristics and qualities, while alsooffering some alternative images of women as intelligent, confident, andinterested in having careers. (1996). [On-line]. Minkowitz, D. There are also many different theories about how children acquiretheir gender roles, from those who believe that gender is innate to thosewho believe it is almost entirely a product of socialization. Helen Ingham (1997) noted that this is difficult to discover,because television is not an isolated element, it is only one possiblevariable among many. And Porter, J.R. Some traits are associated more with female characters suchas worrying about appearance or weight, crying or whining, weakness andflirting, while leadership and playing sports is more associated with malecharacters. The results of this two-part study wereinteresting. Content analyses are only useful in informing us about the kinds ofrepresentations that are available for viewing. Researchers can makeassumptions about the meaning of those representations, but it is morehelpful to conduct research that attempts to find the meaning for theviewers. What might be helpful in future research is to ask children of bothgenders and different ages how they respond to nontraditional images ofboth women and men. Signorielli performed a contentanalysis across six media, looking specifically at messages received byadolescent girls and boys. What would be theimpact, if any? Women were shownin other occupations and other venues than the traditional housewife andkitchen of the earlier era. (1998). At the same time, Xena has been popular with both boys and girls. However, he is solittle respected on the show that it is unlikely that his portrayal woulddo anything other than reinforce traditional male characteristics asdesirable. Popularity among youngchildren is significantly associated with how closely the child representsthe stereotypical gender role (Adler et al., 1992). How much influence does television have on children'sdevelopment? Both boys and girls also indicated that the images they saw on televisionhad influenced them to diet or exercise so that they would like like thatcharacter (Girls to TV, 1998). Television, sex roles and children. Gunter, B. Images and gender roles clearly are seenand absorbed, as well as body types. Children, television and gender roles. Clearly men are more limited, sincethey are almost uniformly portrayed in traditional modes. However, the media also reinforce female stereotypes. Signorielli, N. Television is most frequently seen as only one sourceamong many for children's role models and values. Although some decry the level of violence, asa nontraditional gender model, she may contribute to increasing girls'options during the developmental process. Another possibility is laboratory research that would measuresome quality, or ability, such as decisiveness, on a pre- and post-testbasis, for men and women watching a show like Xena. Still, it is a frequentcompanion and source of much information and reinforcement of culturalnorms.Conclusion and Implications One of the things that is interesting in researching the literature isthat there are few nontraditional images available to children even afterthree decades of a feminist movement. Durkin, K. London:Routledge. Men arestill almost uniformly portrayed in traditional ways as providers,protectors, boors, athletes, and doers. Boys and girlsare likely to view the alternatives for men as more limited. Instead, sheis a warrior with a past and she tends to deal with most conflictsviolently. The cognitive developmental approach is one that emphasizes the childas creator of its understanding of reality, and its role in the world. However, there are some odd resultsindicating that girls who watch a lot of television actually have higheraspirations for themselves. She noted that it is clear that television mayinfluence gender roles and career stereotyping, but even this is notproved. These are suggestions of types of research that wouldcontribute to our understanding of how nontraditional, and traditional,gender role portrayals affect children's development. Non-Traditional Gender Roles on Television And Their Effects on ChildrenIntroduction In the popular press, much of the discussion about television'sinfluence has focused on television violence or sex on television.However, television's portrays of both women and men may also have asignificant influence on children's development. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.