UC Davis

One common area of study for media scholars is that of the norms and values associated with gender on or within media. Previous studies have mostly explored media portrayals of norms and values associated with being a woman rather than the norms and values associated with being a man. This line of study is especially important for individuals, such as adolescents, who may turn to the media to learn how to enact specific gendered attitudes and behaviors. Using social cognitive theory (Bandura, 2001) as a theoretical lens, the present studies aim to address the previously discussed gap in the literature by (1) examining the television portrayals of stereotypical gender roles that adolescents were currently viewing, and (2) surveying adolescents to understand their stereotypical gender role beliefs and behaviors with a particular focus on stereotypical masculine gender roles. Overall, the television shows that adolescents had watched recently did not portray an abundance of stereotypical gender roles. Additionally, adolescents themselves did not have strong stereotypical gender role beliefs or behaviors either. Furthermore, despite adolescence being a time for gender intensification, age and pubertal timing did not seem to moderate the relationship between television viewing and adolescents’ beliefs or enactments of stereotypical gender roles. Future directions along with the theoretical and practical implications of this research are discussed.