Media Survey

You will survey 4 media resources; 1 print and 1 television program (at least 30 minutes long viewed at least 2 times) targeted to children or adolescents and 1 print and 1 television program (at least 30 minutes long viewed at least 2 times) targeted to adults. Make sure at least one of your resources is targeted for children. You may select any of the following areas: • Print resources: o Children’s books (nursery/fairy tales, series, single books, etc.); If using short books for young children, survey several different ones. o Books for teens (except those geared primarily towards adolescent males); teen magazines o Adult/Women’s magazines (US, People, Glamour, Cosmo, Vogue, Woman’s Day, etc.) • TV shows: o Kiddie cartoons and children’s shows; cartoons and shows for teens or that have teens in a major role (family sitcoms, high school shows, animation programs for teenagers, etc.). Must be shown currently. o Adult series (can be comedy or drama; live or animated; daytime or evening). Must be shown currently (e.g. not a re-run over 4 years old). Can not be a morning show, talk show, news show, etc. • Main Premise: Describe the main premise of the resource. What is the gender distribution of the main and secondary characters? Who tends to get the most attention? Is there a gender difference here? • Character Roles: Describe the roles that the female characters are playing. What do they do, enjoy, etc. Are the roles gender stereotypic? Do any of the characters (male or female) defy the common gender stereotypes of our culture? Is this represented as positive or negative? • Communications and Power: What are the relationships between the female and male characters? Is there a gender-related power structure in these relationships? (E.g. boss-secretary; teacher-student; etc.) Do the male and female characters generally cooperate with each other, show affection and respect, get along well, etc., or are they typically bickering, disrespectful, battling, at odds with each other, etc. or a combination of both. • Advertisement Analysis: Analyze any advertisements in the show or magazine as you did the text or show. Conclusions Conclude your paper with a summary of your general comments and impressions of how girls or women were depicted or presented based on your reviews. • What messages were being given about the roles of the female characters? Were the depictions of the female characters primarily positive, negative, or neutral? Did these characters emulate the gender stereotypes or defy them? • Would you want your child to learn about gender roles from this source? • What did you find most interesting, disturbing, surprising, etc. from doing this research?        

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