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Learning Gender Stereotypes
Level(s): Grades 8 - 9 Overview
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| This is the second of three lessons that address gender stereotypes. The objective of these lessons is to encourage students to develop their own critical intelligence with regard to culturally inherited stereotypes, and to the images presented in the media - film and television, rock music, newspapers and magazines.
The lesson begins with a review of stereotypes that are associated with men and women and their possible sources - including the role of the media. Students deconstruct a series of advertisements based on gender representation and answer questions about gender stereotyping about articles they have read. Learning Outcomes
Students will: - understand the importance of distinguishing between fantasy (what happens on television, in the movies, and in ads) and reality (what really goes on in their lives).
- understand that stereotypical perfection is illusory and unreal.
- recognize the futility and the harmful effects of striving to attain stereotypical perfection.
- appreciate the benefits of celebrating who they really are.
Preparation and Materials Procedure
Background:
From infancy, our culture teaches what it means to be a boy or a girl. From the colour of clothes to the toys we play with, the messages begin at a very early age. Young people are influenced by a barrage of messages to conform to a variety of expectations, to buy this widget, and to preserve a rigid set of values that stress the differences between genders.
The world of make believe as it is presented on TV and in the movies - from thriller films to soap operas on television - has a big effect on the viewer. Even though the plot and characters are fictitious, the underlying attitudes and messages are not. They communicate cultural values, which shape the way we think and the way we interact. Understanding this, it is important to begin to unmask a double standard that is pervasive in our culture. The dichotomy is that we buy into the stereotypes that reinforce abuse, while trying to "root out" violence in our community.
In order to combat this destructive hypocrisy, students must begin to ask questions, rather than passively accepting whatever they see and hear. Recognizing media myths for what they are is a good first step. The objective here is to draw a thick line between the stereotypical behavior of TV, film, and video heroes, on the one hand, and our own lives, on the other.
Activity 2.1: Messages from Magazine Ads
Facilitator's Introduction: Last time we exposed the gender stereotypes in the Act Like a Man/Be Ladylike Box, and what it meant to be outside them. We concluded by naming some of the influences in our lives that can teach us or pressure us to fit into these stereotyped ideas of what it means to be a man or a woman. In today's activity, we're going to explore how the media helps to build these stereotypes. Ask your students: - How can parents pressure us to act like a man? (Preference for the colour blue, as opposed to pink, "don't cry," "be strong," go out for sports, etc.)
- What about being pressured at home to be ladylike? ("Don't get your hands dirty, " "have good manners," develop the right interests like cooking, decorating, tidying up the house, etc.)
It's easy to see that our parents encourage us to do certain things, like going out for sports if we're boys and paying more attention to our wardrobe if we're girls. The way the media influences us is not always so obvious. - What do we mean by "media"? (Write students' definitions on the chalkboard and list examples under the areas of television, films, videos, newspapers, magazines, and radio.)
Discussion:
The media, in whatever form, is a business that sells information and reaches millions of people. The partnership between advertisers and the media dates back to the eighteenth century when the first advertisement appeared in a newspaper (a slave owner requesting the return of his lost "property").
Advertisers have since developed a multi-billion dollar industry to convince consumers (like us) that we need to buy their products. The Pepsi/Coke wars are a recent example of how marketers rally for the buying public's attention and loyalty. Statistics tell us that we see 350,000 ads by the time we graduate from high school. How this influences our attitudes is rich material for social scientists. One thing is for sure: ads do influence our choices when we go to buy something. But the influence of advertisements is tricky to deal with because they affect us subliminally.
We often see ads that feature superficially beautiful or "desirable" models, so it comes as no surprise that sexual imagery is used to sell products. But depicting people this way can also contribute to gender stereotypes. Today, we're going to take a look at some media messages that tell us how to be a man, and how to be a woman. Ask students: - Do you think the message to act like a man has changed in the twenty years between the publication of these two comic book ads?
- Organize students into working groups of four to six. Distribute the Activity Sheet Media Messages and the magazine ads they brought.
Instructions:
These ads were taken from popular women's and men's magazines. Answer the questions, bearing in mind there are no right or wrong answers - just write down what the picture means to you. Don't spend much time on each question; just write your first impressions, and go on to the next one. (Note: For question 6, ask students to refer to the stereotype boxes on the board.)
Question 7 may be difficult for students to answer. It may be necessary to point out that, by association, advertisers depict people who look like they have it together so that their products will look desirable to the consumer.
Procedure options: - Have students come forward one group at a time to relate how the ad portrays the stereotypes in the box.
- Ask a student from each group to read answers to questions and record their responses on the board or flip chart for comparisons.
- Hand out flip chart paper to each group.
- Have students draw the outline of a female and a male, and fill in the outline with the expectations or stereotypes projected by the ad.
- Present and display their results for the class to see.
Closure:
Ask students: - What common themes are present in all of these ads?
- What are these ads saying about roles for men and women?
- How do you think these ads can affect our attitudes and our expectations for gender roles?
Extensions: Homework assignment: Provide additional copies of the Media Messages activity sheet and ask students to find, and bring in, magazine ads that portray sex role stereotypes to share with the class. Hand out news articles: "Sex, Violence and Advertising" and "Women's Magazines Send Us a Strange, Confusing Message" for discussion.
© Men For Change
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About the Author
This lesson was taken, with permission, from the award-winning Violence-Prevention Curriculum Healthy Relationships, produced by the Halifax, Nova Scotia advocacy group Men For Change. For more information on this curriculum, contact Roger Davies.
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