Women Through the Eyes of Mainstream Media

A woman growing up in America is faced with many trials and hardships when attempting to create an identity for herself. The media tends to be of no help. Throughout the years the media has been a major player when it comes to shaping the woman into the ideal wife, employee, and friend. Women are supposed to be loving, nurturing, a homebody, dependable, and even weak Although women have worked hard to break out of the role of home maker they are entering a new role, one more condescending than the last and the mainstream media is paving the way.

If there were no television, movies, newspapers, or other forms of media, would society really know what a woman is? Does a woman grow up learning from her parents or from the media about what "normal" is with regards to gender roles? As the world becomes more fast paced, people become more dependent on the media to shape ones life. This has led to several trends in "womanhood". From the conservative 1950's to todays party girl image, women see what they are supposed to look like, talk like, and act like in all types of media and a distorted view of femininity emerges.

There is no doubt that the media influences the general public, the real question is how much influence does it have. A study conducted by Monique Ward entitled,"Contributions of Music Video Exposure to Black Adolescents' Gender and Sexual Schemas", attempts to offer an insight to the media's strength.

"Understanding society's definitions of masculinity and femininity is a central aspect of social development. Conceptions about gender role norms are acquired early and expeditiously, with evidence that children amass a great deal of information about gender by age 5. However, gender learning does not end here. With age, gender knowledge becomes more refined and extends into new domains as children enter adolescence and initiate sexual relationships.