Gender Stereotypes

Total words: 1575

Film, television and other media forms can all categorise their production marked by sets of conventions and characteristics that define the norm for that category. This is known as the genre which works as an important means of communicating information about the text the audience, drawing upon ‘banks' of previous cultural information concerning individual identities, which can be used to outline expectations. It is therefore easy to see that genre plays a key function in how television texts are classified and, in turn, understood by the individual.

Most of the ‘banks' of information that the viewer will draw upon are formed by the use of stereotyping which works alongside genre to define the text. Stereotyping is one of the foremost tools used by producers of television texts as a means of portraying cultural expectations and representations that have been passed on through society and integrated into everyday thought. For example, the notion of the male being the ‘bread winner' and the female attending to the domestic sphere is a concept that is apparent in real life when it is the tradition of the male to enter the working world and be in charge of providing for others, and the female to raise the children. This stereotype can then function in fiction and be applied into a specific genre, for example a drama centred on home life, representing our expectations and allowing the audience to relate to it.

Using the example of Buffy the vampire slayer and The avengers I will demonstrate how cultural stereotypes embedded into these texts can be used for positive purposes by the audience.
The narrative of Buffy is a vampire hunting high-school girl placing its genre in the realms of a comedy science fiction. Many of our cultural assumptions of a woman would stereotype her as being illogical and irrational, physically weak and less empowered than any male counterpart. Portrayed in this programme however, the audience will notice her role to be that of the opposite as she leads her ‘team' and heads all investigation into the paranormal encounters whilst also engaging and winning fights with male characters (the vampires). Ien Ang notes that contemporary popular television does not fit the traditional ways in which female characters have generally been represented: passive and powerless on the one hand, and sexual objects for men on the other (1997:155). Buffy subverts the male power embodied in the traditional vampire and its slayer which presents an alternative feminist possibility, a female hero, but at the same time relies upon and uses patriarchal archetypes where female hero type characters often adopt ‘masculine' like behaviours and ideals. Often within a genre where a male plays the hero, the audience will note the characters attributes and stereotype him to be the hero from the outset accordingly. This may be through the use of the representation of the male being headstrong and physically active and conscious of all important decisions. Buffy, on the other hand, is a white middle-class high school girl, image aware and ‘feminine' which reinforces the audience's cultural stereotypes of the female role in television. The notion of her being the hero is not the dominant ideology apparent throughout the programme and the feminist appearance of Buffy positions her as a normal girl despite her power. It is because of the role reversal of her character that the audience is allowed to ‘read' a new cultural interpretation of the female in a male environment whilst also engaging with previous cultural stereotypes. The portrayal of her character in this way is actively promoting cultural stereotypes for a positive purpose. The audience can now interpret these new ideologies which are becoming evermore apparent not only in television but also the changing sphere of the public domain: seeing woman becoming high valued counterparts to the male, moving away from the traditional domestic sphere.

Another way in which Buffy promotes stereotypes for positive gain is through the use of emotion. The typical belief system involving female emotion suggests that this would be one of the driving factors when making decision, constantly asking if what she is doing is in the interest of others, if it is the right decision to make, how to carry it out etc. As already apparent, the actions carried out by Buffy present her as a ‘tough' female. Inness suggests that ‘tough' women display the "tight emotional (and physical) control that has traditionally associated with males" (1999:13) and Buffy's character certainly proves herself capable of this. She remains clear and focused even when facing possible moral dilemmas which, in other genre similar programmes, are not the dominant ideological stereotype of the woman.

Moving onto the avengers we can again notice the clear examples of stereotyping and their uses. This series follows the format of a police detective show and as such the roles of the characters embellish cultural stereotypes as we would expect. The male is logical and decision making, headstrong and physically able, concerned with the fighting of crime and, inline with other action series, is in charge. Many other police action texts following the same format, such as Dick Tracy for example, include a strict segregation between males and females and very few heterosexual partnerships. The Avengers was notably different from this traditional style, most apparent in the character of Steed's partner, Peel, who as a juxtaposition to her male counterpart conformed to cultural stereotypes in being a ‘pretty' woman, feminine in thought and language but maintaining the same level of ‘power' as Steed. In this it is meant that unlike the traditional conformities, Peel like her female equivalent Buffy, was empowered with her ability to fight on par, if not better, than Steed. This counter stereotype can be used positively again as it allows the audience to understand, what were at the time, new and emerging patters of thought concerning the identities of individuals.

Looking at the role of the male, Steed very much conforms to the rigidity of male cultural stereotypes. Born in the mid-twenties to a noble British family and educated at Eton, he joined the armed forces prior to World War II, all facts which appear very inline with our cultural assumptions. He is upper class and as such had a good education where he then went on to fight for what he believes in, like any male would do so. Befitting of accomplished secret agents, Steed's abilities and areas of expertise were virtually boundless which, again, is inline with cultural stereotypes. He is the male and as such is able to carry out what is needed of him and carry it out to a level only possible of the male. Although he was quite adept at using a gun, he rarely carried one, relying instead on his brolly and steel-lined bowler suggesting a skilled swordsman who has no need to use anything to stop his enemies other than his own skill which he has complete faith in. Another notable point was the way in which the producers included his skill in wine tasting. A stereotype of the upper-class would suggest that somebody in his social position, with a good education, would be ‘cultured' and as such appreciate the finer things in life such as this. It is also conforming to the idea that he is the male and should be knowledgeable about many things and that his word should be taken upon matters such as what is fine and what is not because he knows. These cultural stereotypes are used for positive purposes because although they are just reiterating previous sociological thought they allow the audience to understand the position of the character and why he is behaving in the manner that he is.

In conclusion, many cultural theorists have argued that television helps create and continue stereotypes, and there is a large sum of support to sustain these claims. They are used as a reasonable way of establishing character types who can be at once recognised and accepted by the audience without the need for background information. Although the mechanism remains continual, the forms of stereotypes and the way in which they are represented must shift with cultural norms and expectations. The style of perceiving these forms as positive works to steer audiences away from perceiving characters as not intended and to generally promote the notion of accepting the stereotype, or counter stereotype, and use it for the purpose of understanding. For example, ‘freshman' on University campuses brings to mind an accepted representation of a rather naive beginner who is not knowledgeable with both the social and intellectual life of a campus. Of course, many don't fit this narrow picture but nevertheless, the stereotype of the freshman serves the purpose of encouraging professors to construct introductory courses for those with no experience in the subject matter.

Even though stereotypes are useful conventions in popular texts, this does not mean that we can ignore them as examples of significant cultural beliefs and values. Stereotypes in imaginary, created worlds are often valuable indicators of attitudes and feelings which are very real beliefs and values held quite deeply and sincerely by the audience, not merely by the author.

Bibliography

Ang, Ien. 1997, Feminist Television Criticism: A Reader, Oxford; Oxford University Press.

Casey et al. 2002, Television Studies: The Key Concepts, London; Routledge.

Dyer, Richard. 1993, The Matters of Images: Essays on Representation, London; Routledge

Inness, Sherrie A. 1999, Tough Girls: Women Warriors and Wonder Woman in Popular Culture, Philadelphia; University of Pennsylvania Press.

Miller, Toby. 1997, The Avengers, Bath; The Bath Press

Add a Review for this free essay

Be the first one to review this free Essay

Sticky Note Text....

Welcome! Not a Member? Click here to Join Now!
Log in
Forgot Password?