The Impact Of Sexism On Women: Stereotyping, Gender Roles, And Media Essay.

What is Sexism?

Discuss about the Sexism in the Media.

Sexism is a general term referring to prejudice or stigma towards an individual’s sex. The name covers both men and women, but sexism towards women is more common (Gervais & Hillard, 2014). This observation is supported by the multimedia report on gender and media. Women are reflected as inferior people with a lower value than men. They are also portrayed as sexual objects and there to serve as men’s pleasure. Sexism entails viewing one sex as superior to the other (Bligh et al., 2012) In this report, the male gaze theory indicates that men define women according to their opinion. In return, women should accept it and begin perceiving themselves according to men’s views. The media undermines women’s integrity by showing they are comfortable being used as sexual figures (Bissler & Conners, 2012). Sexism towards women is a challenge that has existed for centuries. The 21st century has brought a lot of progress on this issue, but the problem is yet to be resolved.

The purpose of this project is to investigate:

1. The scope of women-related sexism
2. Theories explaining sexism towards women
3. Possible solutions for sexism

According to Butler-Wall, Cosier, and Harper (2016), sexism has been linked to other prejudicial practices such as stereotyping and gender inequality. Stereotyping is making a generalized assumption about a group of people with particular traits. These assumptions are mainly inaccurate, and they tend to misrepresent the individuals (Wilson, Gutiérrez & Chao, 2017). Women do not enjoy video game is an appropriate example of a stereotype. Many women play video games and enjoy them. The stereotype suggests that all women do not like video games, which is a misleading perception. Stereotyping has primarily contributed to sexism in women by propagating false and inaccurate beliefs about women (Bligh et al., 2012).

Gender inequality contributes to sexism through gender roles. These roles are perceived generally ideal and acceptable to given sex. In particular, gender roles are based on masculinity and femininity. However, variations and exceptions exist in specific areas. Specific factors such as biological, culture and personal decisions determine gender roles (Bissler & Conners, 2012). This subject of gender roles has been an ongoing issue, especially on how it contributes to sexism among women. Some cultures have defined roles for women that encourage discrimination and prejudice.

Various movements identified the effect of gender roles on sexism and began petitioning for change. Roles that cause oppression and misrepresent women ought to be eliminated (Cooper, 2015). The world is changing, and women have proven to be capable of doing more than the traditional roles. Resolving sexism towards women is not an accomplishment that will be made in the short term. It is work in progress that must begin from somewhere. The first step could be not limiting women to particular scopes of their roles. Women deserve the entitlement of defining themselves as individuals (Wylie, 2016). They should have unlimited opportunities of serving the families, communities and the entire nation. According to women the esteem they deserve will end stereotyping and inferiority perceptions towards them.

Sexism, Stereotyping, and Gender Roles

The theoretical framework explaining sexism states that it has two components. Wilson, Gutiérrez, and Chao (2017), state that ambivalent sexism holds hostile and benevolent sexism as the two components. Generally, hostile sexism is about negative perceptions and evaluations about a gender. In this case, the negatives are about women. Hostile sexism entails portraying women as inferior and incompetent to men. This part of the theory is depicted in the media report. The image of the woman has been used in an inferior manner. The role of the woman in the advertisement, film, and the male gaze theory and in music is demeaning.

According to these illustrations, a woman place is to help a man achieve his objectives. A woman is not an instrument of pleasing a man and fulfilling his desires. This treatment towards women is unjust and oppressive to them. However, the woman has a role in this problem. She has agreed to participate in degrading her image. Ending sexism towards women will require them to uphold a particular stand and cease engaging in practices that ruin their image (Hilton-Morrow & Battles, 2015).

Benevolent sexism includes practices that seem positive and supportive of women. However, they are not beneficial in the real sense. Most of them are limiting the women and undermining them (Wilson, Gutiérrez & Chao, 2017). Others are methods of control disguised as kind deeds to women. For example, the society has the idea of women requiring protection. To women who do not agree, it is undermining them by suggesting they are incapable of their wellbeing. Some men will make personal decisions for women and claim they are concerned and caring. If the women in question do not want, it will be men showing unnecessary dominion. Benevolent sexism could be confusing and hence, be misinterpreted for something good. The ideal solution is to identify when it happens and address where possible.

Sexism is a broad topic and one that has been studied for a long time. Its vast scope covers various spheres of people’s lives. It is present in education, families, marriages, relationships, workplaces and politics and other areas. Literature synthesis is an appropriate method of keeping up with the newly emerging knowledge of this issue. This method entails using available and credible sources on this topic. They could be scholarly journal articles, academic books and news from authoritative media sources.

The information from all these sources will be useful in learning new trends, progress or regress and issues requiring attention. Literature synthesis is helpful for individuals who need to conduct research. It will provide a foundation for offering literature review. The method would also guide other elements of research such as objectives, questions, theoretical framework and creating the hypothesis.

Theoretical Framework in Ambivalent Sexism

Conclusion

After analyzing the media report, it is accurate to conclude that the society is prejudicial towards women. This practice has been happening for centuries, yet not much was done until the 21st century. Sexism, in particular, has deprived women their rights and ideal position in the society. Due to sexism, women are viewed as inferior people and incompetent (Hitching-Hales, 2017). They are also stereotyped in numerous other ways. These misconceptions have discouraged women and oppressed them. Some of them have lived their lives believing they should settle for less.

Sexism could be towards men or women, but societies extend it more to women and girls than men (Gervais & Hillard, 2014). Addressing this problem will have to be an effort from various parties. One of those essential parties is the media. When multiple media channels propagate sexism towards women, it aggravates the situation. People believe the media and rely on it for information. Therefore, media channels should increase messages uplifting the image and perception of a woman. Additionally, it should shun sexism and promote gender equality.

The subject of sexism is a significant issue that will be resolved continually. The timeframe is unknown, considering campaigns against it has been happening for years. The fight against it will require studies and research in various aspects of concern. The findings will significantly contribute to mitigating the effects of sexism in the societies.

References

Bissler, D. L., & Conners, J. L. (2012). The harms of crime media: Essays on the perpetuation of racism, sexism and class stereotypes. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland.

Bligh, M.C. et al (2012). Comptent enough, but would you vote for her? Gender stereotypes and media influences on perceptions of women politicians. Journal of applied social psychology. Vol 42 (3) p.560-597.

Butler-Wall, A., Cosier, K., & Harper, R. L. S. (2016). Rethinking sexism, gender, and sexuality. Wisconsin: A Rethinking Schools Publication.

Cooper, Y. (2015). Online sexism is so out of control that we can no longer ignore it. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/16/online-sexism-social-media-debate-abuse

Gervais, S. J., & Hillard, A. L. (2014). Confronting Sexism as Persuasion: Effects of a Confrontation's Recipient, Source, Message, and Context. Journal of Social Issues, 70, 4, 653-667.

Hilton-Morrow, W., & Battles, K. (2015). Sexual identities and the media: An introduction. New York: Routledge.

Hitching-Hales (2017). Who knew, eh? Study says sexism in the media puts women off politics. Retrieved from: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/uk-media-sexism-women-politics-equality-girlguidin/

Wilson, C. C., Gutiérrez, F., & Chao, L. M. (2017). Racism, sexism, and the media: Multicultural issues into the new communications age. California: Sage Publications.

Wylie, C. (2016) Sexist slant in media representation of women ‘need to change ’Retrieved from: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/sexism-latest-theresa-may-meghan-markle-hillary-clinton-angela-merkel-everyday-sexism-laura-bates-a7501491.html