Television is considered a powerful force in American life, whether for good or for ill, and the latter distinction has been much argued over the history of television broadcasting. One of the issues raised in recent years involves how television serves as an example in teaching gender roles to children, and this issue has become more heated as gender roles in society at large have been challenged, analyzed, and tested with the shifts in thinking and behavior that have taken place over the last two decades. It is not surprising that critics of television cannot agree on the effect of gender role presentation in the media when they cannot agree among themselves on what types of gender roles should be projected in the first place. Some theorists have simply approached the issue with the question as to whether or not television has any effect on gender role at all, and if so, what do current television presentations portray and what effect do these portrayals have. An analysis of Saturday morning children's television on four networks on November 21, 1998 shows how gender roles have expanded on these shows in recent years while still reflecting certain stereotypes and common themes long part of American gender depictions.
Television is presumed to have a particular effect on children over and above what it might have on adults. The heaviest viewers of television are children. Parents often use television as a form of babysitter, and children take easily to the viewing experience. However, there are numerous unanswered and disturbing questions about what effect long hours of television watching may have on children (Rowe 115). Ferris notes that young children in a survey were asked whether they would give up their toys, their fathers, or their television, and the majority said they would give up their toys and even talking with their fathers before they would give up their television (Ferris 141).
Researchers have found th...