A Deeper Look Within...Or Without

A Deeper Look Within...or Without

The word gender refers to behavioral, cultural, and psychological traits associated with a particular sex. Gender ideally is thought of to describe the characteristics that are though to be either masculine or feminine. Gender is a social construct, specifying social and culturally designated roles that men and women are 'expected' to follow.

Culture is a big factor in regards to gender. Gender roles, referring to the behaviors and characteristics that are deemed as 'socially acceptable' for a certain sex, vary drastically for different cultures. Characteristics used to classify a 'real man' or a 'real woman' in one culture may not apply the same across the board. Jobs, economic roles, hobbies, and chores are a few traits that help define a specific gender defined by a culture.

Gender stereotypes and biases are hugely influenced and promoted through mass media. Gender roles have forced society to form stereotypes of what the 'perfect man' or 'perfect man' should be. People base this 'perfect image' off of what they see in magazines, on television, through advertisements, and even what they hear through music. One example that represents how mass media promotes gender stereotypes dates back to the newspaper in the mid-1990s. During this time, men received three-fourths of the front-page coverage and appeared in two-thirds of the front page pictures.

The Social Norm

For men, in order to be categorized as a 'real man' in society today, one must fulfill a magnitude of characteristics - including: masculine, strong, a provider, in shape, and independent. As represented in this Abercrombie and Fitch advertisement, the image portrays a socially accepted guy to be strong, built, good-looking, and athletic. This image of the 'perfect man' is instilled in the minds of men since they are just young boys. This image is repetitively represented, forcing these boys to yearn for development into men that are mirror images of what is deemed socially accepted.

Although the ad I have chose to represent the ideal woman is not a common advertisement that would be recognized by many people, I decided to stick with this image because I felt it portrays several of the aspects that the 'perfect woman' classifies as. These characteristics include femininity, beauty, respectful, in shape, nurturing, motherly, housewife, dependent, caretaker, and loving.