What should I cover in my sociology paper, The Role of Gender in the Mass Media?!?

Question

i have so far
-men and women in tv
-men and women in radio
-men and women in magazines/movies
-how gender role vs gender idenity influences these
-how media influences stereotypes

is there anything eles i can include, it has to be a 7 page paper, so, anything to fill up pages!

Answer 1

Okay, so you have a list of five items. What do you have to say about any of them? Honestly, you could easily fill all seven pages on any one of these topics. Have you done any research on any of the ground breakers -- which women have broken through the glass barrier? How did they do it? There are some very interesting books on this very subject.
Then there are the icons -- Oprah Winfrey is one. Against all logic, and against the spirit of the times, she made her way up in a field that discriminated against both blacks and women. Despite her double whammy, she became an international star. Are you planning to discuss anything of this nature?
Look at the programs like 60 minutes. What is the proportion of male to female reporters? What kinds of stories are covered by which gender?
Go to the library and get the newspaper files out. Check the editoriral listing and find out how many men and how many women hold positions on the editorial board. Does the fact that an editor is male or female influence the types of stories that are covered? Or the way in which they are covered?
Look at the by-lines. Who gets the 'hard' news stories and who gets the human interest stories.
How many editorial or other columnists are carried in your local paper? How many of them are women? Leave the 'agony' writers out of it - the Ann Landers and Laura Schlessingers -- because there aren't any men doing that kind of writing. Or if they are, they are an abberant few.
Pick up a copy of Time magazine. Read the names of the reporters. What's the ratio of men to women?
There is a TON of material to cover on this topic, and you need to do a little in-depth research.
Please, on a topic like this, don't just fill up pages. There is so much to say, and so much that needs to be said.
Good luck with it.

Answer 2

I tend to write papers based on article found in EBSCO Academic Search Premier data base, of course referencing the articles.

You could include:
- men as the only politically acceptable target of humor in the media
- the coverage of transgender issues
- the coverage of gay marriage, including the latest news from south Africa
- the use of language to reflect a political stance, such as the use of the word "gender"(a word that refers to grammar) instead of the correct word "sex"(a word that refers to male/female).

Answer 3

Just read the caption on this recent picture of future House speaker Nancy Pelosi. It's... surprising.

http://news.yahoo.com/photo/061110/480/a55d2715d77349faa9e6c610bb037c05/print

Answer 4

not only how media influences stereotypes but how it reflects them

Answer 5

you might ponder on how gender assumptions affect design