The Portrayal of Women and Gender Roles in Films
The Portrayal of Women and Gender Roles in Films
ISSN 2229-5518
Abstract— This paper is about the The portrayal of Women and Gender Roles in Films. This study sheds light on how partic-
ular themes in movies can be interpreted, and how these movies influence how people view themselves in terms of their gen-
der. It also suggests how people behave in light with their gender.
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Introduction Woman can be said to have a Disney plot since it describes the
life of Vivian, an attractive young woman who lived in the
streets but she ends up marrying Edward, a handsome and rich
Media plays a big role of influencing the peo-
man, who turns her into a classy and descent lady. Vivian is the
ple’s daily lives this is because it influences how people
heroine of the movie but she is portrayed as being a street
view the world in general. Mass media is an agent of so-
cialization and from this role; it has been attacked by an hooker and belonging to a lower class. She is turned into a
array of criticism from different portions of the socie- proper lady by a man who belongs to the upper class. This
ty. There is a wide range of media among them television portrays women as weak and dependent on men for survival.
shows, movies, the radio, newspapers, advertisements
and many more. In these many forms of media, there are This research about feminity and feminism will focus
images of men and women. These images are depicted in on the television show Sex and the City based on the book with
different ways and with different characteristics and having the same name (Akass & McCabe, 2004; Arthurs 2003;
different meanings. Social psychologists suggest that Southard, 2008). In this show, the characters have certain char-
these images often alter the way people perceive the so- acteristic whereby the main characters are mainly white fe-
cial realities. Manatu, (2003) argues that these images males who are well educated and economically dependent
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can therefore play a very crucial role in stimulating anti- suggesting that this show was written during a post-feministic
social behaviors such as violence, crime and delinquency era. Arguments have been made for and against this statement
among others. To people such as the critical feminists, by scholars who argue that the concept of feminism is dynamic
mass media is seen as an agent of male chauvinism. This
and ever changing and that there are different ways of looking
systematically depicts a male dominated socio-cultural,
at it as per the context of television shows. Feminity can be
political and economic order. These depictions come
about from the continuous reinforcement of the negative seen to represent the behavioral expectations of women. It can
gender role stereotype of women. Research has been also encompass women’s sexual attractiveness to men (Bazzini
made on a variety of movies in order to analyze the gen- et al., 2007).
der representation in movies. This study will analyze the
forms and patterns of portrayal of women and their gender Theoretical Approaches to Gender Paradigm
roles in Nollywood movies and in Hollywood movies. In
Nollywood, two movies, Ije and Mr. and Mrs. Both acted in Social constructivism is an ontological viewpoint
2012 will be analyzed. Sex in the City 1 and 2 will also be
harboring the basic idea that the world has a social foundation
analyzed. The results obtained will help shed light on how”
suggesting that the world is socially constructed. This is about
the man” and” the woman” are perceived. The findings
from the chosen movies revealed that women were per- the social order on how people perceive the world and how
ceived as the weaker sex and, consequently, as sex ob- they distinguish between right and wrong (Good, 2008). It is
jects suggesting that women are stereotyped in the vari- crucial to note that gender roles have been constructed inter-
ous films and movies. estingly in the set movies.
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International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 7, Issue 4, April-2016 534
ISSN 2229-5518
are the cause of misery to their homes and even get the greatest and most popular genre and it should be ap-
blamed for the deaths of their husbands. proached with caution.
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choices of males and females pushing them into certain behav-
ioral modes, personality characteristics and occupational roles
as approved by the society. Men will, therefore, have an oppor-
tunity to develop their talents (Busby, 2005) while women will
be denied such an opportunity. For instance, Indian films depict
women as housekeepers who need to bear enough heirs for
the family. They also show that women should not have career
but the men are portrayed as being able and learned who enjoy
white collar jobs. This will in turn discourage women from
schooling and formal education thus limiting their career choic-
es to those careers which do not require too much time outside
the family home.
Conclusion
Gender representation in media influences how
people perceive gender issues since some specific gender
roles uplift and strengthen the images of men. These mov-
ies clearly show the gender power structure where men
are depicted as the stronger sex. Although some women
in movies are portrayed as being strong and independent,
they cannot dispute the evident gender power structure.
For instance, Carrie, who enjoys a good economic status
from her writing career, agrees to get married even if she
doesn’t need it, in addition she does away with her dream
wedding thus getting married in a small city hall wedding
just for the sake of someone. When she cheats, she is
given a big black diamond ring just to remind her that she
is married. Even though Carrie comes out as being strong
and independent, she is still seen as being dependent on
a man at the same time. A variety of scenes portray her as
being submissive. This supports the gender ideology that
women have to be submissive and dependent on men.
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