Gender Role in media

Gender Roles in the Media
Everything in the world these days seems to have been influenced by gender roles. You are always seeing things on television or in the newspaper that suggests that the creator is trying to reach out to a specific audience. There are television shows that favor the male gender; such as ‘The Man Show’, ‘Man vs. Wild’, and ‘Two and a Half Men’. These shows appeal to the stereotypical interest of men. They show masculinity at its finest. It’s either a show about babes and beer, or maybe more along the lines of outdoorsman. Then there are the television shows that attempt to appeal to the more feminine side. These shows include; ‘Sex and the City’, ‘Say Yes to the Dress’, and ‘Project Run’. These try to trace along the same line that the “male” shows do, just in favor of women instead. They show a softer and more emotional side. Whichever style of show you may be watching they both have the same implication, attempting to appeal to a specific gender audience.
Speaking for myself, I find it hard to sit and enjoy a television show that appeals to feminine styles. And in no way am I sexist, but I just don’t find interest in those types of shows. That’s how almost all men are. They just want to see hot babes, beer drinking, or things getting blown up. Just take a minute with me right now and let me break down these “man” shows. Okay, first on the platter we have ‘The Man Show’. Just by its simple name one can tell who the targeted audience is. This show preys on the instincts of all men. It shows half-naked women flaunting their bodies and showing off their assets. But not only are there women constantly paraded around the show, during random breaks the camera cuts to scenes of women in bikinis jumping up and down on a trampoline. I mean what man isn’t going to find interest in that. Now in addition to the multiple women, the hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Corrola have a fun time exploring the other interests of men. They show off cars and promote beer drinking. But what they may be known best for is their way of showing male dominance. Many of their more memorable skits all deal with the idea of “men over women”, an idea that they seem to strongly promote. Putting down women and using them as sexual favors is just one of the ways the shows appeal to men. And just like in ‘The Man Show’, the show ‘Two and a Half Men’ uses those exact tactics. The producers of the show have set up a scenario in which Alan, played by Jon Cryer, is the younger brother of a jingle writer names Charlie, played by Charlie Sheen. Alan has a son who lives with him in his brother’s beach-front house. Now while they all may live together, the two brothers could not be more opposite. Alan is an uptight chiropractor while Charlie is the ladies’ man who seems to have a different girl every day of the week. The show really spotlights on the bachelor life that Charlie leads. The producers always introduce new female interests and occasionally revolve the episode around his “party boy” behavior.