Gender Identity

I think that the media, television, and the news influence our gender identity in a major way. I think that they influence our gender identity because in the media they always depict men and women the same way. No matter what news source it is coming from they always picture the “American” man as tough, and athletic. They always picture the “American” woman as an emotional person who is very into fashion and social life. I think that when citizens see these videos and images in the news it puts them in the mindset that if they want to be a man or woman they have to act like the people in the news. Sources like People Magazine thrive on gender identity because their magazine features all of the celebrities that people in the country want to be like. I think that this depiction of men and women in the media can hurt our country because it may make people feel like they can’t act like they truly want to while they are in public. I think that if the media were to cut back on the men and women stereotypes people may start acting differently in society, maybe men will show more emotion, and maybe women will be less emotional. But no matter what, in the end there are always going to be stereotypes in society so we just have to learn to live with them and express ourselves in our own ways.