REGION:MANICALAND______________________________________________________

PROGRAM: BANCHELOR OF ARTS HONOURS IN MEDIA

STUDIES__________________________________________________INTAKE:2________

FULL NAME OF STUDENT:COURAGE MARIYA _____________PIN: P2026187D

MAILING
ADDRESScouragemariya@gmail.com________________________________________________
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CONTACT TELEPHONE/CELL: 0775505704___________________________ ID. NO: 13-

279373A13 _________________

COURSE NAME: GENDER , RACE AND THE MEDIA

COURSE CODE: BAHM117

ASSIGNMENT NO. e.g. 1 or 2: _1_______________________ DUE DATE:

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ASSIGNMENT TITLE: Evaluate the assertion that gender is a social construction giving
supporting examples from any media landscape of your
choice .___________________________________________________________________________
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MARKER’S COMMENTS: ______________________________________________________

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OVERALL MARK: _____________ MARKER’S NAME: ________________________

MARKER’S SIGNATURE:_______________________________ DATE: __________

Gender refers to the characteristics of women , men , boys and girls

that are socially constructed .The social construction is a theory in
feminism and sociology about the manifestation of cultural origins ,
mechanisms and corollaries of gender perception and expression in the
context of inter personal and group interaction . As a social construct ,
gender varies from society to society .The assertion that gender is a
social construction is valid to some extent as we shall see in this
assignment as we unlock and examine gender as a social construction in
media especially in Zimbabwe and other countries abroad .

To begin with , gender is a social construction as we look in the media

of Zimbabwe , as we all know that men or males are regarded as strong ,
tough and powerful physically as expected by the society and presented
by the media .On the other hand females or women are said to be soft ,
emotional and caring , they are regarded as supporters to their
counterparts husband and those who are around them .Males should
conquer and dominate everything and always come victorious no mater
how the situation is .Media has played a role and influence people’s
perceptions of the difference between males and females and also the
expectations of these two .The media shows women as the weaker ones
with minor roles unlike men , this normally happen in employment
opportunities as most of the employee in media are male while females
occupy a less percentage .Women in media are always for junior and
offering support .It’s rare to see a woman leading or being a senior as
these areas are only occupied by males .Even in TV programs and films
men are always the dominant character with women casted as supportive
and minor roles to play .As for American movies man led roles include
Batman , Indiana Jones , Captain Jack Sparrow and many
more .According to statistics in 2019 44,1% movies were led by women
and the left percentage being taken by men .This shows us that gender is
socially constructed wherever we go .

In advertising , women are used for products like household items such
as tissue papers , cooking fat and soap , there is likelihood of a female to
be questioned to make a statement as an authority .Women are used in
5tthis items as they are regarded to be good at using these items unlike
men .Men are also used in adverts of big things or jobs of high quality
especially occupation of high office .This create in mind of a girl that
she cannot achieve much out there and she is destined to be in the
kitchen .Presenting such bias in the media helps to empower males than
women .Presentation of gender in advertisement provide powerful tool
or models of behavior to emulate or react against .Goldman 1992 has
argued that advertisement is a major social and economic institution
which strives to maintain cultural hegemony by providing us socially
constructed ways of seeing and making sense of our world .In
Zimbabwe , in recent years considerably attention has been focused on
the issues of portraying women in the media the movie , Tariro , Chipo
and Neriya , these endorse the image of the ideal of women as dutiful
who sacrifice individual choice and aspiration on behalf of other
women .This shows us that women are used as minor beings yet they
can do more than man , advertisement subside all these and regard
women as kitchen masters and man as high quality office and
hardwokers that’s lead us to conclude that gender is socially constructed.
Social media has also uplifted the presence of women in media as they
are able to relate well and are more active of such sites .Voices are
spreading to both males and females on the issues of gender biased but
the problem is that some men have brought online campaigns based on
opposing women and which reduce women to the lowest level in bad
light not knowing that this affect boys and girls who are still
growing .The media should be mindful of their image portrayals as this
will either instill a negative or positive thinking to the boys and girls
who are still on the way , they must know that women and girls need to
be empowered and this make them capable of dreaming good life .Men
will also be in the content that treat women better if there is general
message across the media that is empowering women . As an example in
Zimbabwe there is still a battle for gender equality in journalism ,
Sibongile Mpofu once said , journalism and media training institutes
churn out more female graduates than male in what is called
feminization of journalism but studies have found that marginal numbers
of females working in media are found in the middle levels globally the
top positions which are editors , publishers , producers and executives
are still male dominated which shows us that gender is culturally
constructed .

To move further , gender is a social construction when we look closer at

social aspects and gender performances .Gender is not formed at birth
but is shaped through cultural and social conditions ,media always
follow these aspects then introduce and encourage individuals to
participate in a gendered world according to (Krijen et al ,169) .Gender
assumptions that is casted by the media represent barriers on women to
develop and reach their true potential within society .Benoit ,72 states
that the media’s influence constricts both men and women as the sexes
are forced to conform to gendered ideals .Men and women are portrayed
differently altering the way society view sexes for example women are
used to advertise sexualized goods exposing them as vulnerable
defenseless figures according to Jhally 2009 .Men emerges in adverts
that embraces power and status and they use their body language to
convey men as powerful , aggressive beings .It become apparent to
conclude that gender is socially constructed through media and these
forms are extremely influential and this can result in altering the way
society perceives gender .

Lastly , women in the society dictates women as partners or helpers in

men’s thoughts and work .Women are always viewed as beautiful but
weak act as victims in everything that happens in the society .Instead of
being brave and stand for themselves , the society expects them to be
emotional instead of intellectual and people who create relationships in
order to be independent .Being independent and exhibit your worth as a
woman in the society is regarded as deviant and dangerous for not
meeting the society’s expectations and perceptions .On the other way
men are expected to be more rigid and strong both in mind and
physically amd this is how the media present them .It should be noted
that society paint society in its real form and so the media has to dance
according to the society’s needs hence live peaceful .

To conclude this , with changing society however , there is a tendency of

both men and women finding it hard to live to those expectations of the
society due to empowerment and education on the part of females and
their worth other than society’s expectations on feminism .It is obvious
that more and more women are coming leaders changing the way society
thinks .Even more men are becoming groomers which was regarded a
feminine .Dominant media forms have heavily assisted in constructing
gender and genderalized norms these include common values and
transmission in them , legitimate leadership and rules for allocating
goods .Media has played roles in changing the world by affecting the
way different people perceive different aspects of our lives .People tend
to believe what they continue seeing and with time they take it as normal
way of life .

REFFERENCES
Ann Kangas ,Huma Haider ,Erika Fraser ,Evie Browne .Gender and
Media pdf .July 2015
Shekh Moinuddin .Media Space and Gender Construction
2010 .Cambridge Scholars Publishing
The Internet