Gender stereotypes. Literature & Language Research Paper

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Gender Stereotypes
It is essential to comprehend that the digital revolution has had a significant implication in almost every aspect of society. For instance, the production of films plays a pivotal role in changing people’s views about the world. Movies are able to sway individuals’ collective imagination and their attitudes about crucial issues related to gender, race as well as class aspects. For instance, gender stereotype is a major topic that is addressed across various movies; film characters are usually developed to portray particular messages to the audiences. Some movies have been condemned for promoting gendered stereotypes where the characters carry out the traditional preconceived roles of men and women. This paper uses scholarly articles to analyzes movies, the Wolf of Wall Street, and Legally Blonde to outline where the films have portrayed gender stereotypes.
The article, “Effects of Stereotypical Sex Role Movies on Adolescents and Emerging Adults” by Polo-Alonso asserts that sometimes movies objectify women by portraying them as sexual objects to be used by men. The article stipulates that men are also depicted as obsessed with sex. The authors have also explained that exposing content based on sexual stereotypes to the viewers may cause the target individuals to accept them through social learning. Most importantly, the media content that has sex-role suggestions tends to supports some of the sexist beliefs that people already have in their minds. The authors have explained that “traditional sexual gender stereotypes imply that women are valued for their appearance and sexual appeal” (Polo-Alonso, p.129). Ideally, the movies based on gendered stereotypes are also likely to also promote the rape myth where the rape victims with the provocative dress are blamed for their acts, and these movies also tend to encourage the violence against women. Also, the article emphasizes that “sexual content appears in approximately 85% of major motion pictures”; sex is particularly common in most films, and United States entertainment televisions tend to encourage biased sexual messages when men are depicted as dominant and are highly sex-driven. On the other side, women are shown as attractive sex objects to sever the interests of men. The article has stated that continued exposure to gendered stereotypes leaves adolescents at the risk of adopting some of the views they see in the movies.
The article “Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses” by England has evaluated Disney Princess, which is popular for its various films such as Snow White. The authors explain that although Disney Princess was developed with the goal of developing a marketing campaign aimed for young girls, the characters in Disney Princess movies tend to promote gender stereotypes. For example, in numerous cases, Disney films have not represented the desired societal developments in gender. Female characters are seen to dominate in certain areas, such as performing domestic work, the author stressed that in the Disney Princess movies “the first three princesses frequently were shown doing domestic work,” this shows the different ways through which the movies can promote femininity (England, p.563). The article has also explained that gender role portrayal in films may have an impact on the audience; children exposed to such films are likely to acquire similar gender roles. Besides, in Disney Princess movies, the characters are given different traits based on their gender; such presentation of characters may have a huge impact on the children who are viewing these movies. Furthermore, the article explained the various characteristics given to both the prince and princess. For example, the prince is depicted as physically strong since he can carry something and is also seen as unemotional since there is an absence of emotions in response to things that may warrant an emotional response. Such stereotypes are common boys who believe that men should be strong and unemotional. On the other side, the princess is portrayed as physically weak since she is unable to succeed in activities that require physical strength; besides, the princess is submissive, and this is portrayed by traits such as being humble and obedient. The princess is also highly affectionate and emotional because of her expression of both positive and negative representation of feeling (England, p.559).
The movie “Wolf of wall street” is a comedy or drama film that was produced in 2013 and is directed by Martin Scorsese. The movie is based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, who became a wealthy stock-broker and got involved in issues such as crime, among other issues. It is essential to note that the movie has numerous scenes that promote gender stereotypes where men are depicted as being powerful and control women who are portrayed as objects for the rich men. On the other side, Legally Blonde is a comedy/romance movie that was produced in 2001 and is directed by Robert Luketic. The film is about Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) who is regarded as a fashionable queen, and after she is dumped by the boyfriend who is intended to join law school, Elle makes a decision to follow him, and it was after joining the law school that she realized that there is more to a woman than just the physical looks. The firm also supports gender stereotypes about how men and women are perceived in society.
Sexualization of women
When the film Wolf of wall street starts, it shows a group of brokers who are playing a game by throwing little people targeting a board targeting the bulls-eye. It is in this instance when Jordan Belfort introduces himself among other individuals playing the game. It is essential to comprehend that working on Wall Street has made Jordan successful, but he has also involved himself with drugs. Throughout the film, he uses his wealth and influence to objectify women for his sexual desires. The scene where Jordan is driving his expensive car, Ferrari, he is seen having oral sex from a female sitting on the passenger seat (Scorsese). Ideally, this scene supports that Jordan has no regard for women, and there are items that should be used to entertain men. Moreover, this scene would be interpreted as rape, where the driver, Jordan, would have forced the woman to perform the sexual act. This particular is evident about similar trends that are common among films where beautiful women are required to sleep to entertain the male characters.
Also, the film Legally Blonde has also objectified women where the female characters use their body...