Topic > Gendered Media: The Media's Influence on Views of Gender

Among the many influences on how we see men and women and the limited perceptions they themselves have, the media, particularly advertising, are the most pervasive and powerful, being largely uncritical and stereotyped in nature, created by consumers' continued gendered exposure to image models. Advertisers use the idea that men and women are different to develop stories, create conflict, and provide persuasive images that result in different inferences about the meaning of advertisements across different sectors of society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. Most of the heroes and protagonists are men and women are mostly shown in the traditional roles of housewives. International advertising still confirms traditional gender representations. A meta-analysis of advertising globally found that women are more likely to be depicted as employees in advertising and homes than men. One of the advertisements of Airtel Telecom Services called “Boss” caters to these prevailing notions that even if a woman is in a position of power, she has to act and is depicted in socially sanctioned ways. The advertisement that attempts to portray the economic independence of a woman by showing her as the CEO of the company, who kicks off the office, setting a deadline for her employees including her husband. This initial phase of the commercial is followed by the representation of "not a demanding boss but a caring wife", where on her way home she calls her husband to ask him about his choice of dinner. Here one might think that the telecom services use this situation to promote their network by showing her ordering food, paying bills or any other alternative, but the advert fails to do so, rather it successfully highlights the importance of cooking and take care of your husband. taking into account the fact that the woman also worked. But once home, she is a stereotypical "stay-at-home wife" who doesn't understand the pressures of work life and begs her husband to come home suggesting that being a conventional wife is more important than a good boss to a woman who indicates it doesn't matter. how successful and independent a woman becomes in life, her most primary and important duty which is characterized as "natural" are her domestic duties which limit and confine her within the boundaries of the family: family, husband, children. As Simone De Beauvoir says "you are not born a man but you become one, and you are not born a woman but you become one" it is this process of 'becoming' which constantly aims at the socialization of genders in this sense especially of women becoming a full ideal person of care and sympathy that puts her husband and children above her without making or even considering any choice for her, even if she is not financially or economically dependent on her husband. This advertisement like many others which tries to take a progressive approach in showing the woman who is apparently also the employee's wife acting as the boss, but her role as "wife" is over-emphasized, promoting regressive values ​​as it is not It's clear what the ad is trying to promote: telecommunications service or kitchen equipment, as is the lady shown cooking elaborate meals for her husband/employee, who is working too hard in the office to meet the deadline set by her boss/wife . This depiction further raises questions about how differently men and women are portrayed, in this case a male leader and a female leader. Mostly the.