influence of culture and media Flashcards
(13 cards)
what is media?
communication channel like TV, radio, billboards, news where promotional messages are disseminated
how does the media play a role in gender?
- media provides models for our gender identity as children identify and imitate their models
- social norms communicated
- televison portrays males and females in stereotypical ways
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
how does the media display and confirm gender behaviour?
provides info for what’s appropriate for each gender. eg research shown women are depicted as dependent, unambitious, advice-seekers wheras men are independent, ambitious
- suggests the mdeia play an important role in reinforcing widespread stereotypes
eg disney films like sleeping beauty, snow white, cinderella
evaluation points for media?
- methodological problems
- counter stereotyping
what methodological problems are there?
- gender roles and media not causal relationship, norms within family may be bigger determinant on child’s gender attitudes and behaviour
- if media representations confirm exisiting gender norms held by family then these likely reinforced
- media influences are secondary to other influences eg family
Durkin- every young child not passive of media messages
how does the media counter stereotypes?
- evidence suggests media plays positive role on challenging traditional gender stereotypes through counter sterotypes eg Brave/Frozen = independent
- gender stereotyping reduced amonst school age children when shown TV adverts featuring women in non-stereotypical role
- media changing in response to concerns by providing positive portrayals
counter-> films create backlash with teen boys who try to uphold traditional view to counter the adult view. try to be hypermasculine
how does culture play a role in gender?
Mead-> studied tribal groups in New Guinea
- Arapesh people all gentle and responsible
- Mundugumor people all hostile and aggressive
- Tchambuli women dominant whilst men passive
what does cross cultural research show?
- shows valuable role to our understanding of nature nurture debate in gender
- eg particular gender role behaviour appears to be consistent across different cultures we may think this is bio
- however we find some are culturally specific like norms and socialisation is decisive in gender
Mead’s conclusion on cross cultural evidence
- may not be direct biological link between sex and gender and gender roles may be culturally determined
- extent which ‘innate’ behaviours expressed are result of cultural norms eg mating
- men and women cross culturally look for similar things in rels. men= appearance/youth, women= wealth/status
evaluation points for culture
- critique on Mead
- supporting research
- doesnt solve nature nurture debate
what critique is there ?
Freeman follow up study of Samoan people
- Mead generalises and based on short period of study, findings were flawed as mislead by some of p’s and her preconceptios influenced her
- observer bias and ethnocentricism
- not objective and questions conclusions (invalid)
what supporting research is there?
Hofstede
- industrialised cultures- changing status and expectations of women are a function for increase active role in workforce away from domestic setting
- led to breakdown of tradtional stereotypes
counter-> indigenious populations from Western researcher, makes generalisations wordwide when differences are too large. imposes western etic to make general observations
why does it not solve the nature nurture debate?
- Mead supports idea gender roles culturally relative and vary from society to society (suggests opposite of similarities in gender roles across societies)
- gender norms transmitted within culture through observation and imitation - lacks calrity over which has most influence
- interactionist
