Gender and Sexuality in American Film - Assignment Example

Gender and Sexuality in American Film Thesis Argument There has been an increase in incidences of gender stereotypes brought about by the films and music depictions of the gender relationship between men and women. These stereotypes are also portrayed in the sexuality of individuals as viewed by the society. The stereotypes are as a result of the socialization process which has predominantly classified women as inferior and subordinate when compared to the men. This is so despite their academic or financial position in society (Beyer 56). The above is a stereotype because not all women are the same and hence generalizing them is wrong. This distorted stereotypical image is common in the American film “Sex and the City” and the stereotypes are portrayed under different themes as indicated below. The outline of the research will be under four different themes and each theme is going to show explicitly how the gender stereotypes are brought up in the film and the impact of those stereotypes on the characters. The film is about four American women: Carrey, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte all of who live in New York City and are trying to make enjoy their lives and careers. Carrey is a writer, Samantha is in the public relations business, Miranda is a lawyer and Charlotte is an art dealer http://www.hbo.com/sex-and-the-city/index.html. The film takes us through the daily lives of these women and it has several gender stereotypes. The stereotypes are however not on the four women only but also on the male characters in the movie. These stereotypes are in careers and relationships and what is expected of the men and also on the women. All these will be discussed below under the different sub titles and the gender stereotype pointed out. Sexual orientation This is about being homosexual or heterosexual and the gender stereotype surrounding this orientation. Charlotte has a fashion designer male friend who is gay and a relationship with Carrey’s gay friend who is also into fashion and even cross dresses. This does not appear favorable to Charlotte’s friend and even makes it hard for them to be intimate in public. The stereotype comes in where the gays in the film are portrayed to appear to be only in fashion design and not in other careers. This is a way of making them appear feminine whereas it is a fact that not all gay men are feminine in nature. This is a gendered stereotype because when it comes to lesbians (like the one Samantha was dating at a point in the film, no one seems to categorize them with being in a particular career or expect them to behave in a feminine or masculine manner.) This makes the gay male in the community be stereotyped with everyone expecting them to be in the fashion industry and not in any other job. They are also expected to have one partner who has feminine habits and cross dresses. Failure to fit to this stereotypical thought may lead to them victimized. This can happen in all the countries where the film has and is being watched. Power Power in this film is associated with male and especially when it comes to financial and decision making power. The four women throughout the film are portrayed as people who have money but have no financial power compared with the male characters like Mr. Big and even Charlotte’s ex-husband Trey. This financial power is displayed through investments and businesses. The women are portrayed as career women whose money is spent on clothes, jewelry and travelling while the male character’s money is spent on investments and business travels and even cars among other forms of assets. This stereotypes the women as not having the power to manage their finances for future and this is only done by men. The power is also in the careers. Apart from Miranda who is a lawyer (something that she struggles with due to it being seen as a male career), the rest of the women are into “small-paying and feminine jobs” which makes them have lesser money compared to the men. They therefore end up depending on the men for financial upkeep and long-term investment (like Carrey depending on Big to buy an apartment because he is the one with a lot of money). This may make the young girls and women watching the film see no wrong in being in a low-paying career and then depend on the man (Kirsh 198). Some will even shy away from venturing into male-dominated careers due to the fear of struggling to excel like Miranda and then threatening men away due to that career. This is due to the stereotype of showing women as being lower than men in their careers and finances. Relationships Relationships in this film are showed portrayed to excel based on love and commitment by the man. This is true on all the relationships formed by the women. An example is in Carrey’s relationship with Big compared with the other relationships. Their relationship is eventually stable when Big says he is in love with her and wants to marry her. Samantha is in a stable relationship with Jerrod all because he says he loves her. This distorted view leads to a stereotype which shows the happiness of women as depending on the love shown to them by the man. This is however not true most of the time but the film shows otherwise. This may lead to misleading the women and also men watching it and they end up making mistakes in their relationships. Friendships This is an aspect that is really stereotyped in the film. The female-female relationship is emphasized a lot and especially when it comes to emotional support like when Big fails to show up at the church wedding, the other women are so supportive of Carrey but there is no male friend for Big. The male-male relationship is only shown when it comes to business dealings and partnership. The stereotype here is two-way. One is that it shows men to be unemotional and that is why they don’t have emotional relationships with their fellow men but only business relationships which emotions are not portrayed. The second stereotype is that women do not have business partnerships and their relationships is only for emotional support and entertainment purposes like shopping and travelling together for pleasure. Conclusion All the above mentioned examples among others are only a small percentage of the depictions of stereotype in the films not only on America but also in other countries. The stereotypes are for both male and female and therefore need to be addressed equally. Film makers should be recommended to lose the gender stereotypes if the fight for gender equality and against gender discrimination and stereotypes is to be won in the world (Ross and Lester 124). This can be achieved through creating gender awareness in not only the film industry but to the whole entertainment industry in general. This will include the music and other forms of entertainment that is viewed by individuals in society and that act to fuel the gender stereotypes mentioned above. This therefore requires gender training and capacity building which in general comes to having gender mainstreaming in the entertainment industry. If the gender mainstreaming is ensured in this sector, then incidences of gender stereotypes as seen in the film “Sex and the City” would not be in existence and this will ensure a society that respects the rights of people as individuals and not as groups hence stereotypes would end. This however can only happen if there is political will by the film managers, directors and the actors and actresses themselves. Works Cited Beyer, Manuela. Shooting (a) Woman - Comparative Study of Gender Roles in American and Italian Western Movies. Massachusetts: GRIN Verlag. (2008). Kirsh, Steve. Media and youth: a developmental perspective. California: John Wiley and Sons. (2009). Ross, Susan. and Lester, Peter. Images That Injure: Pictorial Stereotypes in the Media. California: ABC-CLIO. (2011). Star, Darren. Sex and the City. New York: Home Box Office. (2004). Retrieved from: Web. http://www.hbo.com/sex-and-the-city/index.html Read More