Title: Messages From TV Land: The Influence of Media on Our Thinking About Gender
Topic: I am working on the topic of 1950s television because I want to find out how gender roles are influenced by television to help my reader better understand what role society plays in our perception of ourselves and each other.
Description: My project will address the topic of gender roles and how our thinking of gender roles is influenced by outside sources, such as television and society. This is important to think about because gender roles is part of our everyday lives; gender roles influences many aspects of our lives whether we are conscious of it or not. The American culture places a heavy influence on gender and gender roles. A person is succumbed to being exactly what society makes them out to be because of this. It is important to understand how our thinking is shaped and to understand that we are a product of our environments. To fully understand ourselves and others, we need to know how we are thought of/think of each other.
This topic has been an interest of mine since learning about gender roles and stereotypes in AP Psychology in high school. What truly sparked my interest was learning that children start learning about gender roles and stereotypes at three years old. From such a young age we are making judgments about people based on gender, something that is necessary, but that is also socially constructed. My interest was further sparked when piecing together that people can be of a different gender and of a different sex at the same time.
To fully understand a person, you have to know how he or she views themselves and what she or he thinks of gender roles, and also what you think of gender roles and gender as a whole. This becomes important when a person's biological sex does not match up with his or her perceived gender. Knowing the aforementioned will foster an understanding of how the person views his or her place and others' place in society.
Joan Scott's essay, "Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis" will be and has been beneficial in my thinking of gender and of my topic. From this essay, I can see how people have already thought of gender and where it has been studied, which can give me a starting point or base for my topic and research.
Context Description: The 1950s decade was the time when television started making its debut in the household as the "dominant mass media" source ("1950-1959"). Television had such an influential role in the household and on families because "what was portrayed on television became accepted as normal" ( "1950-1959"). People mimicked the lives they saw on television, implementing the roles and personas they viewed (ibid). Television was used as a "family medium," meaning it brought the family together while simultaneously teaching gender roles ("Family on Television"). From this, people learn their roles in society and in the household. This then influences how they view themselves, how they view others, and what they teach their children. Because parents teach their children what gender roles they have learned, the cycle is perpetuated. Gender roles are necessary for societal organization, but they are obstructions to how a person is truly viewed. When you are born, you have a tainted slate, not only because of your gender and the influence of that by society, but also because of your race, socioeconomic status, and the intersectionality of all the other roles a you play.
Though television has been a leading contributor in teaching the "most fulfilling way to live one's life, its programs have often presented multiple and contradictory messages" ("Family on Television"). Television shows are limited in the amount of racism and homophobia they present ("Family on Television"). Shows often do not portray the realities of people's lives, thus people are skewed to believe one thing is true and make generalizations for everyone, such as heterosexuality. Further with my topic, gender roles only work if a person's biological sex matches with the gender he or she perceives as his or her own. Television's display of solely heterosexuality is exclusive to a section of people who do not meet society's criteria for specific gender roles.
Works Cited.
Bradley, Becky . "1950-1959." American Cultural History. Lone Star College-
Kingwood Library, 1998. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.
Spigel, Lynn. "Family on Television." The Museum of Broadcast Communications. 2011. The Museum of
Broadcast Communications. MBC, 2001. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.
