Another line of research investigates the gender messages present within specific television series (Garcia-Munoz and Fedele 2011; Klumas and Marchant 1994; Simonetti 1994). Authors Garcia-Munoz and Fedele (2011) investigated the representation of male and female characters in teen television series by performing a content analysis on the television show Dawson’s Creek. They found that traditional gender stereotypes were prevalent among the portrayals on the program (Garcia-Munoz and Fedele 2011). One example of this stereotypical depiction is the body types of the characters “…all the thin characters are female, whereas all the muscular, well-built and fat characters are men” (Garcia-Munoz and Fedele 2011:220). This not only reinforces the stereotype that men are large and powerful whereas women are small and weak, but it also creates an unrealistic representation about “normal” body size for women. The researchers assert that the gender roles depicted on these programs contribute to the construction and maintenance of gender stereotypes as well as the formation of gender identity in adolescents (Garcia-Munoz and Fedele 2011).
Klumas and Marchant (1994) explored the male gender roles present in television, defining a gender role in terms of the rights, duties, obligations, attitudes and expected behaviors that are socially attached to a gender. Consequently, gender roles act as guidelines for the socially accepted behavior of men and women. One theme that emerged was the idea of a backlash against the alteration of traditional gender roles (Klumas and Marchant 1994). This included a finding that women were often the “butt” of the jokes which indicates their lower status in society (Klumas and Marchant 1994). Although this article examines adult male and female portrayals, these images reinforce traditional gender roles and may still influence the identity formation of adolescents.
Researchers Elke Van Damme and Sofie Van Bauwel (2010) performed a qualitative thematic textual analysis on the teen television drama One Tree Hill. The authors argued that media content is influential in teenagers’ formation of self-representation. This occurs through the repetitive “commodified meanings” and information about norms and values being portrayed through the characters. Van Damme and Bauwel (2010) found overall portrayals of dominant ideals such as heteronormativity and traditional gender representations. Although the portrayal of women’s sexuality may be an empowering look at the sexual agency of females, it may also be viewed in a more trivializing manner as women may be seen as sexual objects for the pleasure of men.
Van Damme (2013) also conducted a similar study that examined the relationship between gender and sexuality in popular American teen television series. She found that several stereotypical gender scripts were prevalent as well as a few instances of more positive portrayals (Van Damme 2013). In contrast to Van Damme (2013) and Van Damme and Bauwel’s (2010) analysis of the show One Tree Hill, Van Damme (2013) found that the show Gossip Girl exemplified a more equivalent representation of males and females. Specifically, it portrayed both genders as sneaky, able to cause drama, as well as an equal amount of objectification of genders (Van Damme 2013). Although Gossip Girl represented both genders in a more egalitarian manner, I believe these depictions of teenagers are hardly great models for adolescents to be learning from.
Many studies have discovered a relationship between sexual, gendered scripts on television and the attitudes and behaviors of adolescents (Kim et al. 2007; Martino et al. 2005; L’engle, Brown and Kenneavy 2006; Van Damme 2010). Kim et al. completed a study in 2007 in which their results showed that the representations of gender were depicted in ways that “sustain power inequalities between men and women” (Kim et al. 2007:145). These images illustrated men as “actively and aggressively pursuing sex” and, less often but still at a high rate, of women “willingly objectifying themselves and being judged by their sexual conduct” (Kim et al. 2007:145). This study supports the idea that television’s messages are gendered and can influence the scripts of adolescents.