What Does the Media Teach Us About Gender - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... Media have significant impact on the life of every person.There are many things media teach the humanity and among of them is about gender and its significant role played. This can be depicted in various types of media such as cartoon, TV show, website and others. It is therefore a social orientation and gives specific distinction between the concept of what is a male and a female and what are the things they are supposed to do. The very difference of these two sexes lies on how the society should view what a male or a female should be in their status, emotion, roles, and more. This however, is reflected through the media. Cartoon networks for children are common venues for showing clear emphasis on gender roles. Walt Disney is known for its ability to provide young viewers with legendary fairy tale icons such as Cinderilla, Snow White, Mulan, Pocahontas and other characters. These movies could be perfect for representing the role played by gender in the society. Cinderilla Cinderella continues to believe in the fulfillment of her dream that someday she will marry a prince. This alone depicts the real emotion or longing of every woman in the society to eventually meet the man of her dreams. On the other hand, the King longing for a woman to be married to her prince son is another remarkable depction in our society that a real man eventually longs for a woman. Symbolisms are also present in this movie. Particularly, the glass shoes of Cinderella could represent the vagina and her foot must represent the penis in the same way with finger and the wedding ring (Western Kentucky University 52). This is agreed by Durand and Leigh. The glass shoes could represent the woman’s vagina while its being fragile could represent the suceptibility of hymen to be broken when a man inserts his penis (Durand and Leigh 50). There could have been other types of shoes that would perfectly fit in the movie. However, there must be a deep reason why glass was used instead. According to Duran and Leigh, the glass material must be a perfect representation of a hymen for the reason that once it is broken it could no longer be put back in its origninal shape. Furthermore, they emphasized that the very moment when Cinderilla was seized by the prince was a symbolism of how a man dearly possesses or catches a woman including her virginity. This was emphasized in the movie when the prince tried to trap Cinderella in order not to let her walk out of the ball. From the stand point of the critics regarding the association of gender and its roles within the animated movie film Cinderilla, media always have a perfect representation of male and female role, sex, and sexual organs. In Cinderilla, it is without question that male and female role, sex and sexual organs are definitely given with perfect representation through tangible objects. Of course, this movie is suitable for children and it would be safer to use rich forms of emblems instead. However, what is undeniably true in the film is the depiction of feminine and masculine nature of a woman and a man. For instance, Cinderilla wearing a white dress does not only represent her purity as a woman but her feminine nature was the focus of it. In today’s society, a woman wearing gown during her wedding day is a perfect depiction at the dance ball when Cinderilla met his prince charming. The prince on the other hand signifies how a man should long for or posses a woman as an integral part of his masculine nature. His ability to encourage Cinderilla in a dance marks the real essence of a man to be aggressive in whatever situation, as this is ...Download file to see next pagesRead More