Rationale †how women are treated in soap operas Essay

I am red to be canvass into how wo men argon treated in guck operas. The reason I abide chosen to carry knocked out(p) this study is due to the fact that I think that women are given rattling stereotypical roles at bottom gunk operas and it is very hard for them to break out of those boundaries and those ad hoc labels they control been given.The order acting I will take to reach my objective is to utilise the core compendium approach. This is a method I will adopt victimisation Meehans research. My aim is to compare how much or how less has changed within that period of time. I hypothesise that in comparison to Meehans analysis of soap operas women are still labelled in the same categories. From this method I should be able to reach to a conclusion as to whether my hypothesis is correct.The method of research I am going to uptake is content analysis of magazines, TV and newspaper. Content analysis involves the very careful quantification of the content of the media messages. It is able to give a general impression sousedly media content, which can be the basis of theoretical work or policy and programme development. Therefore the way I will carry out my research is by employ Meehans study that was carried out in 1960s and 1970s on soap operas and how he categorised the women within the soaps into specific groups. I will carry out my research using a lot of primary resources.To investigate this concept I am going to look at the archetype, which is similar to the hypodermic syringe model. I am also going to use the feminist approach to picture to explain somewhat of the reasons as to why at that place are so many stereotypical views within soap operas towards women. I am going to be looking at Fergusons feminist cult theory. This high lightings how there are many stereotypical views within the soap operas.ContextShe is seen in Meehans content analysis study of the presentation of women in soap operas shows that in American drama serials there are only 10 fe potent character cases that are presented, they are The Imp, a rebellious laugher character. She is adventurous, not historically sexual, often finds herself in trouble, she is the opposite of what society expects a women to be and the trouble she gets into is often a result of this. The Goodwife, she is domestic, beautiful, home-centred and content. She does not craving to become involved with the world outside the home, leaving this to her lovely husband. The Harpy, is an high-pressure single woman. She is powerful, yet everywherepowering and not afraid to take on or chase after men.The Bitch, is a sneak and a cheat. She is manipulative, stark and deceitful. She lacks the power to be a real villain (invariably male) but she causes real trouble for the forces of skinny. The Victim, is the passive female who suffers accident, disease or violence, depending in the type of show or it could be to domestic violence. The Decoy, she is a heroine disguised as a victim. Apparently helpless and dependent, shes actually strong and resourceful. She is kind of likely to be mistreated, hurt or captured, but she is capable of overcoming her difficulties.The Siren, is a woman who uses her sexuality to lure her victim to a sticky end. The Courtesan, is close to being a prostitute and perhaps has been one. The Witch, has extraordinary power patronage this she is invariably dominated by a man and is persuaded often reluctantly to suppress her powers or use it for his aims. The Matriarch, prestige and authority. a positive light despite the fact that she is too old to be sexually attractive. Her billet is most of that of a hero.This study shows that women are pictured as neater respectable or evil, never a combination. It also shows that good women are portrayed as submissive, sensitive and domesticated. Bad women are portrayed as rebellious, sovereign and selfish. Male evil characters are always counterbalanced by good ones, this is not so wi th female evil characters. The number of occupations which women are portrayed as holding is limited to a few, primarily housewife, receptionist and whore, male roles are also few in number compared to reality, but are more(prenominal) exciting, such as doctor, spies, detective and astronaut.While studies such as Meehans, could be criticised for being dated and referring to the series of the 1960s and 70s. The content recycle of such series on satellite and cable channels nitty-gritty that they are still relevant. Moreover, many of the point she makes are relevant even in more recent television. The number of women portrayed in the media depends very much on the medium concerned and the genre type. Soap operas have relatively high proportion of women, though they are still outnumbered by as much of 7 men to 3 women in some types of soap opera. In advertisements, there are three all male ads to every one all female ads.A study conducted by Beuf (1974) was based on 63 interviews wit h boys and misss between the ages of three and six. Some girls had flea-bitten their ambitions even by this early age. Several girls mentioned that their ambitions could not be acquire because of their sex. The implication is that because of the small number of high-status female models in the media available for girls to model themselves on, the ambitions of real women are limited. The power of the media in this respect is thought to be very strong.This is not surprising as the Average American girl will have pass more time in preceding of the TV by the time she is 15 than she will have spent in the classroom. Beuf also argues that women suffer anxiety and stress due to this and because publicizing and soap operas create concerns in women particularly about their body image, the uninterrupted need to spend money on products to make them more attractive and desirable for males and also the competition with other women to fight and keep their man. prominent feminists argue tha t individuals are trained by the mass media and other societal institutions into patterns of behaviour which are performed unconsciously. Sex-roles in particular, have been built up over a long period of time and have become enter in our culture.Radical feminists identify men as the enemy. They believe that men consciously and unconsciously manipulate social institutions for their own benefit and to the wrong of women. Men hold the dominant positions throughout the media and are able to use them to reflect the images of women which they desire.According to socialist feminists the role of the media is to sustain and perpetuate the capitalist system and the supporting role of women in it. Davies says that those who control the media are almost all rich men, there is every incentive for them to present the capitalist, olden scheme of things as the most attractive system available and to change over the less privileged that the oppression and limitations of their lives are inevita ble.According to Skirrow, for example icon games are particularly unattractive to women, as they are part of a technology which is identified as male power, and they are about know a specifically male anxiety in a specific male way.