Public Policy Beyond Control by the Government
No matter how much work is done in Washington through laws and regulations, women will continue to struggle with equality if the popular culture continues to teach the next generation to pigeonhole women into stereotypical roles. According to a recent study by the See Jane program, a project of Geena Davis, children’s television perpetuates gender stereotyping in the roles, occupations and personality characteristics displayed by male and female characters.
Gender portrayals seen on television can have a strong impact on children. Studies of children’s television exposure indicate that heavy viewing predicts traditional sex-role attitudes, such as girls believing that females are less competent than males, or boys believing that household chores should fall along stereotypical lines. In terms of occupations, children who are heavy television viewers may believe that they have a smaller range of occupation choices based on their gender.
Gerry Laybourne, Founder and CEO of Oxygen Media says, “One of the things TV does best is breaking down stereotypes. When we make an effort to show girls who are popular for their ideas, their initiative, their brains and not just their looks, we see the difference it makes for both boys and girls.”
Television is a major presence in the daily life of most young people. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation national survey found children ages 8 to 18 spend a daily average of 3:04 watching television, compared to 2:17 with parents. Alvin F. Poussaint, Harvard Professor of Psychiatry, states, “The early exposure of children to less stereotyped gender roles will contribute to less sexism and improved relationships between the sexes, as well as a balanced approach in rearing male and female children.”
Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space and CEO of the biotech company she founded, says that too many adults exhibit "belligerent ignorance" about the sciences and their relevance. When adults refuse to promote science literacy, children notice. Dr. Jemison believes that media should make STEM careers more visible and appeared in a 1993 episode of Star Trek to help make it so. “Women today are very absorbed with what’s being shown to them in the media. It’s a bombardment now that many of the roles girls see are very highly sexually charged and dependent upon looks.”
Perhaps it is time for women's organizations to do some lobbying in Hollywood.
A summary of this article appeared in the May newsletter for the Vienna, VA, branch of the American Association of University Women.
Gender portrayals seen on television can have a strong impact on children. Studies of children’s television exposure indicate that heavy viewing predicts traditional sex-role attitudes, such as girls believing that females are less competent than males, or boys believing that household chores should fall along stereotypical lines. In terms of occupations, children who are heavy television viewers may believe that they have a smaller range of occupation choices based on their gender.
Gerry Laybourne, Founder and CEO of Oxygen Media says, “One of the things TV does best is breaking down stereotypes. When we make an effort to show girls who are popular for their ideas, their initiative, their brains and not just their looks, we see the difference it makes for both boys and girls.”
Television is a major presence in the daily life of most young people. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation national survey found children ages 8 to 18 spend a daily average of 3:04 watching television, compared to 2:17 with parents. Alvin F. Poussaint, Harvard Professor of Psychiatry, states, “The early exposure of children to less stereotyped gender roles will contribute to less sexism and improved relationships between the sexes, as well as a balanced approach in rearing male and female children.”
Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space and CEO of the biotech company she founded, says that too many adults exhibit "belligerent ignorance" about the sciences and their relevance. When adults refuse to promote science literacy, children notice. Dr. Jemison believes that media should make STEM careers more visible and appeared in a 1993 episode of Star Trek to help make it so. “Women today are very absorbed with what’s being shown to them in the media. It’s a bombardment now that many of the roles girls see are very highly sexually charged and dependent upon looks.”
Perhaps it is time for women's organizations to do some lobbying in Hollywood.
A summary of this article appeared in the May newsletter for the Vienna, VA, branch of the American Association of University Women.
posted by Lisa Schaefer at 7:01 PM
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