Gender Roles in Society

Essay by meghan32188College, UndergraduateA, September 2007

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Meghan Findley

Comm 1010

August 7, 2007

Gender Ads; The Sexes In The Cross Hairs

The 21st century has brought and evolved new styles of communication that has shaped the way our society thinks, behaves, and lives. A large influence that has existed throughout the creation of mass media has been gender roles. The evolution of our society has also caused the gender roles within mass media to also evolve. Mass and mediated communication have become the number one source for the public to witness these gender roles created by companies paying to display their message. Females in ads portray the roles of strippers, mothers, business women, and the single, money spending girl. Men are portrayed as businessmen, either blue or white collar, athletes, truck owners, or tobacco using cowboys. The media creates or uses well known stereotypes about the different sexes to target specific consumers in order to get their attention.

Companies distribute the existence of their products using mediated communication. Mediated communication uses electronic texts to create some type of symbolism to the viewers. The process these companies distribute their messages over large distances to large groups of people by the means of modern technology is called mass communication. Professionals have mastered the use of mass and mediated communication. These types of communication is the basis on how individuals receive and precept the gender roles created by advertising agencies for these specific companies. Each product seen on television or the internet has a target. Companies know what men, women, and children want for the most part, and they will do whatever they can in order to cause the consumers desire to rise to a point where they must buy the product.

Women have a very diverse role in advertising. Agenda settings are mastered by advertising agencies. They determine...