What kinds of themes connected the males and females in the television programs you watched? Were the themes stereotyped for male-female relationships?

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Evaluate three television shows for gender-role stereotyping. Choose shows that children tend to watch between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. For each show, you should record the following information:

• Number of male and female main characters
• Occupations of main male and female characters
• Thematic connections between males and females (e.g., female in distress and male as rescuer)
• Personality characteristics of one male and one female from the show (use the Bem Sex-Role Inventory to determine masculinity, femininity, or androgyny)

After collecting your data, answer the questions that follow in a brief report.

1.

Program:

_____

Number:

_____

Occupations:

_____

Connections:

_____

Sex Type:

_____

2.

Program:

_____

Number:

_____

Occupations:

_____

Connections:

_____

Sex Type:

_____

3.

Program:

Number:

Occupations:

Connections:

Sex Type:

Questions:

• In the shows you watched, were more main roles taken by males or females? What kinds of occupations did the males have? What kinds of occupations did the females have? Were there status differences in the occupations of the males and females? What were they?
• What kinds of themes connected the males and females in the television programs you watched? Were the themes stereotyped for male-female relationships?
• What were the sex-typed categories of the males portrayed on television: masculine, cross-sexed, androgynous?
• What were the sex-typed categories of the females portrayed on television: feminine, cross-sexed, androgynous?
• What do you think these models are teaching children about what it means to be a male or a female in our society? Do you think these models are a fair representation of the way women and men act in the real world?