Social Institutions
Mass media plays a big role in shaping gender norms. Movie, music, TV, radio, and the internet all influence the way we view gender roles. The media portrays women in seductive and ditzy manners in which they are sexualized and subordinate (Collins, 2011). In the recent United States movie that just came out, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016) the grandfather wants his niece to find a “nice Greek boy to marry to make babies” but she wants to focus on getting an education and going off to college. Based upon this movie in Greek culture women are essentially seen to get married and start a family right away. In some American music such as rap women are sexually portrayed behind a male vocalist. Most rap music videos have a sex themed music video (Collins, 2011) showing women dancing in provocative ways and wearing
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When do we ever see men dancing around in a music video with a female vocalist? Due to the nature of labeling women as sexual objects for men, women are labeled as unprofessional, nurtures, and “sexual gatekeepers” (Collins, 2011). Even in popular American TV shows like The Simpsons, American Dad, and Family Guy, female characters in these cartoons are seen as stay at home mothers who have children and obey their husbands they are far from empowering women. There is little to no shows that teach or show women being empowering and dominate. Mass media has a great influence on the way we view men and women in society. By social learning through viewing media, we obtain a certain notion of what a man and women should act like. Over 85 percent of people in the United States and Sweden have access to media (The World Factbook, N.d.). Mass media doesn’t allow for women to look sophisticated and proper instead they are