Gender Stereotyping

Research Paper Instructions:

To increase your knowledge of the field, watch TV. Yes, that really is your assignment: to watch two hours of children's television programs in order to develop awareness of media influences on children's thinking. Specifically, you will be looking for examples of gender stereotyping in children's television programs. This is original research; therefore, it will require no references other than your textbook and a television. You are also welcome to search the Internet for information regarding gender stereotyping in the media, but it is not necessary to do so in order to complete this assignment. Directions: Before watching your programs, think about examples of gender stereotyping. What would gender stereotyped characters or activities look like? How would stereotyped characters act? What would they say? If at all possible, videotape the shows so that as you are watching them, you can stop them from time to time to write down incidents of gender stereotyping and maybe jot a few notes on your thoughts. Watch only programs specifically geared toward children. You will find these mostly on public broadcasting channels (PBS) and such commercial channels as Nickelodeon and Disney. Watch two 30-minute programs in each of the two categories below. You will watch a total of 2 hours of children's programming in all. (1) Watch 1 hour of educational children's shows. Examples of educational programs are Sesame Street, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, Barney and Friends, etc. Just about any children's show on PBS will be fine. (2) Watch 1 hour of commercial television geared toward children. Nickelodeon, the Disney channel, etc., will work for this requirement. Do not watch cartoons, although animated children's shows are okay so long as they are relatively new. In other words, do not watch old Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck cartoons. Watch the programs with pen and paper in hand, making notes about the gender stereotyping you observe. Keep a count of the number of gender stereotyped incidents, as well as noting what the characters said, did, or what they looked like that made you judge the incident as stereotyped. Write a 2 to 3 page paper telling about your observations and reactions. Include: (1) An opening paragraph in which you define gender stereotyping in your own words and briefly explain the assignment. (2) Report your findings. The body of your paper will summarize your observations and give many examples. Compare the educational programs to the commercial programs. Which type of program contains more examples of gender stereotyping? (3) The conclusion of your paper should highlight the main findings of your observations and give your reactions. What did you learn from your research? This assignment must be a neat, professional presentation on this subject. Proper punctuation, spelling, and usage of grammar are imperative.

Research Paper Sample Content Preview:

Running Head: GENDER STEREOTYPING Gender Stereotyping Student’s Name: Professor’s Name: Course Details: Date Submitted: Abstract What is gender stereotyping? Gender stereotyping can be defined as the perception that a particular person is inferior or superior, based on their gender disposition (male or female). An example of a gender stereotype is; a boy is good at football simply because he is of the male gender. In most cases, gender stereotyping excludes the fact that the individuals being stereotyped, many have other additional information, unknown to the public that identifies them differently from the ordinary perceptions. In this research paper, emphasis will be put, into understanding media influences on children’s thinking. To fully attain this goal, examples of gender stereotyping in children’s television programs will be presented. Introduction Many children who attempt to use gender stereotyping to further individual agenda’s such as the winning of friends and becoming popular, usually end up in trouble. Why is this? It is very simple. They are not being who they are. Instead, they play party to untrue perceptions about themselves. There are many examples of gender stereotyping among children. For example, a child may attempt to be muscular when they are very much aware that is not who they are. Many studies have indicated the role of gender stereotyping in the elevation of gender discrimination. If for example on thinks of gender stereotyping as basically putting one down for their sex, then this can very easily pass for gender discrimination. Just because one is a girl, does not mean that they can only do things that girls do, and it likewise, must not be used by that same individual, to prove that they can be somebody else. Learning to accept ourselves for who we are is the first step to eliminating gender stereotyping especially in children, who apart from influence from friends, get most of their persuasion from the mass media after watching children’s programs that depict a certain gender as being either superior or inferior. Findings There exist many children’s programs in the mass media, most of them available for free, on public broadcasting channels. These programs are divided into two categories; educational and commercial programs. Each has a certain unique level of following from children depending on individual passions. In the category of educational programs, Barney and Friends, and Sesame Street rank high. Likewise in the category of commercials, Nickelodeon is the most favored. Barney and Friends, consists of a cast of four. The characters are as follows: Barney, a green and purple dinosaur, Baby Bop, B.J, and Riff. All three characters fall in the age bracket of 1-8 years. This perhaps exp...

Updated on January 26, 2024

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Gender Stereotyping

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