Gender bias in United States media advertising and sociological perspectives

Sociology Questions Relating to Gender and Culture

The media has made significant efforts to demonstrate non-bias with regards to gender in advertising as part of efforts to promote gender equality. While the media may attempt to communicate non-bias messages relating to gender and advertising, there is a considerable amount of information that communicates the exact opposite. The need for communicating a message of non-bias when it comes to gender and advertising is not only attributed to efforts to promote gender equality but also efforts towards preventing gender discrimination. Notably, there are different sociological approaches in relation to gender and research. Some of these sociological approaches are applied in advertising and the media and continue to take place in the United States despite the various attempts by the media.

There are varying sociological approaches when it comes to gender and research since sociologists explain gender roles using different theoretical perspectives. Some of these varying approaches include functionalism, symbolic interaction, conflict theory, and feminist theory ("The Sociology of Gender," n.d.). Functionalism perspective is based on the belief that men assume instrumental roles and responsibilities in the society whereas women assume expressive roles. Symbolic interaction utilizes the micro-perspective and evaluates gender stratification on a daily level whereas conflict theory consider women as disadvantaged because of power inequalities between the genders that are embedded into the social structure. Feminist theory seeks to enhance women's position in the society since it emerged from women's movement.

The significant amount of information that demonstrate bias with regards to gender in advertising despite efforts towards the contrary still occurs in the United States because of constant use of media messages that seemingly support misogyny. In this case, feminist agreement and disagreement are constantly ignored and mocked across conservative, mainstream, and entertainment media. Media in the United States has continued to utilize disagreements among feminists and present them as sound bytes that imply feminism has irreconcilable differences. Therefore, the disagreements among feminists have provided the basis for this trend, which has been used to imply that women are taking unfair advantage of their female counterparts in the working environment.

An example of a functionalist and conflict advertisement is the "Never Hide" advertisement by Ray-Ban. The advertisement was designed as part of Ray-Ban's campaign for its 75th Anniversary and entailed two sharply-dressed gay men romantically strolling on a busy sidewalk ("Ray-Ban's 'Never Hide' Campaign," 2012). This ad is functionalist because it demonstrates the changing norms of the American society while it is based on conflict theory because it seeks to advocate for gays to be taken more seriously than lesbians as part of male dominance in the society. The recent "Not There" campaign led by Hillary Clinton in March is an example of a feminist advertisement. The campaign was developed to celebrate the International Women's Day through advocating for equal rights and justice. It application to the feminist perspective is its focus on campaign for more efforts towards gender equality. Magazine advertisements that feature women are examples of advertisements based on symbolic interaction since they tend to communicate the notion that sex is primarily about men aggression and women submission.

Cultural Change

Cultural change is a process that is influenced by three important sources i.e. invention, diffusion, and discovery. Invention refers to the amalgamation of current cultural elements into something new while discovery refers to the recognition of existing cultural components of the world. In contrast, diffusion is the transmission of cultural traits from one group or place to another. Invention is important in the development of culture since it facilitates the creation of new concepts, ideas, objects, and social patterns that act as the basis of generating social change, which in turn translates to cultural change. The significance of discovery in the development of culture is that various discoveries promote changes in society, which in turn contribute to cultural change. On the other hand, diffusion plays an important role in the development of culture through creating change as a result of the spread of people, information and products from one culture to another.

An example of cultural change from diffusion is the increased globalization in the recent past, which has resulted in the development of multinational corporations that transfer products from one culture to another. Medical advances that provide a deeper understanding of the human body are examples of cultural change through discovery since they result in increased life expectancy that brings changes in society. The creation and widespread use of the Internet is an example of cultural change from invention since it has led to discovery of new social patterns such as the use of social media for communication.

Values and Beliefs of the U.S. Culture

The U.S. culture is based on several values and beliefs that help govern people's interactions and promote the development of the society. These values and beliefs are usually reflected in the societal formal and informal norms that are enforced by community members. Generally, the norms or values and beliefs exist as formal and informal rules that govern the behaviors of American citizens and residents. In order to enforce these rules of behavior, the American culture has some norms, folkways, and mores. A folkway is an informal rule that is expected to be followed though it is not offensive to violate. A more is an informal rule that is characterized by severe punishment or social sanction when violated though it is not written.

An example of a folkway that can be identified in the American culture is the fact that belching loudly after taking a meal at someone's home is considered wrong since it violates an American folkway. An example of a more is that attending church or a social gathering while nude violates morally acceptable behavior and may result in serious punishment or sanction of the individual. Based on these two examples, folkways and mores can primarily be regarded as behavioral standards that are socially approved but not morally significant.

Structural-functional Analysis of Culture

The structural-functional analysis of culture is rooted in the concepts of idealism that places values at the center of culture. This kind of analysis is based on the view of society as a complex system with various parts that work together towards promoting stability and solidarity among community members. As a result, structural-functional analysis of culture postulates that people's lives are governed by social structures that can be regarded as stable patterns of social behavior. An example of structural-functional analysis of culture is the assessment of discrepancies in wages between men and women in the United States' workplace. Recent studies have demonstrated that women are paid less than their male counterparts for the same job and even with the same education. This cultural pattern does not help the society to operate as a whole and belongs in social-conflict analysis. This cultural pattern does not promote the development and operation of the society as a whole because it contributes to discrimination of women in the workplace. The cultural pattern is applicable to social-conflict analysis since social-conflict theory views the society as a complex system of unequal groups that constantly create conflict and change. Therefore, the cultural change does not promote society functioning and development as a whole but portrays conflict and change.