Results

Throughout my quantitative and qualitative content analysis of television shows from the 1970s-2020, it has become clear that there is a significant change in the portrayal and representation of women in these shows over time. The results of this study are shown below, and I have categorized them into three themes: The Evolution of Female Sexualization and Sexuality, From Housewives to Working Women, The Emergence of Gender Equality in Television. In this section, I will break down each theme as well as the number of instances each coded gender representation was found in the selected episode of each series. The textual analysis of my research is illustrated in the following examples for each code. The teen television series The Brady Bunch and The Facts of Life were selected to represent the 1970s. The teen television series Saved by the Bell and The Wonder Years were selected to represent the 1980s. Beverly Hills 90210 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer were selected to represent the 1990s. One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl illustrate teen television series from the 2000s, and finally, the teen television series selected to represent the 2010s are Pretty Little Liars and Teen Wolf.