Gender in media

the 6 representations and how they connect to gender

• age- this is linked between the way that older women may be seen as frail and needed to be cared for whereas lots of older men can be seen as grumpy or depressed. this is not a huge stereotype but it can be seen through lots of films and TV programmes. younger boys are seen as youths, linked with antisocial behavior or being naughty as toddlers whereas girls are generally seen as better behaved and more organised and mature as children.
• ethnicity- Asian women are often seen to be cooking a lot and cleaning the house, sometimes overpowered by males stereotypical through Indian backgrounds. black men are usually seen as strong and sometimes dangerous or linked to crime.
• sexuality- there aren't really many stereotypes linked to heterosexual men and women although they are generally openly attracted to their opposite sex. homosexuals or transvestites are usually seen as overly camp (men) or overly butch (women) however again this is a stereotype in many films and tv programmes which is not necessarily how it is in real life.
• class and status- lower class men are usually seen as hard working people trying to provide for their families but struggling to keep up with work and home life often working into the night with very little to show for it. lower class women can be seen as lazy in media and have many children so constantly cooking and cleaning and worrying about money and other necessities. upper class men are usually shown as dominating characters, sometimes controlling their wives to the point where it can become abusive whereas the women are mostly seen as being their for the benefit of the men, looking elegant but not working or doing any manual labor.
• physical ability and disability- men are usually seen as being more able bodied: going to the gym and having big muscles and carrying out manual work like building. whereas women can often be stereotyped as being ditsy and incapable of doing heavy amounts of physical work. 
• regional identity- lots of shows like 'the only way is Essex' prove massively how men and women are viewed from different regions for example women are seen as quite dumb and only really caring about fake nails and fake tan, however lots of the female characters own successful businesses and are fairly independent and the men are also made out to be more feminine, caring a lot about their looks and physical appearance rather than work ethics.