Male Media Stereotypes, Essay Example

The article “Gender Sneer”, in conjunction within the given ad campaigns, certainly illustrated a truth that is almost accepted into society as a norm–the stereotype of the male as unintelligent, easily distracted, irrational, and certainly subordinate to their female companions is everywhere in modern media. This is a real and relevant social problem that is only growing–and it is going virtually unaddressed.

While observing an hour of television, which was at 5:00 pm, October 2nd, 2013 on FOX, there were three commercials in particular that caught my attention and definitely fit with the thesis put forth in “Gender Sneer” by Ms Kane. There are a few obvious parallels in these commercials to the article, as well as a few subversive themes that cast men in certain, media-defined roles.

The first commercial, promoting the car company Nissan, never actually had a male’s face in it, but certainly cast the male voice and “hands” in a stereotypical role. Car commercials are one of the things Kane herself mentioned with regard to male stereotype–all that was able to be heard or seen was a male’s voice and hands working on a technologically advanced program that paired him with a car. This fits Kane to a tee.

The second commercial I noted was one directly after the Nissan commercial that was a seemingly perfect parallel. While a man was used in the ad for cars, a Stop and Shop commercial came on where all that could be seen was a woman’s hands, and heard–a woman’s voice. This was the most clear and unlikely example of Kane’s ideas that I could ever witness.

The third commercial I noted was actually atypical in many ways, and did not jive with Kane’s article at all. A commercial for The Cancer Institute, it showed a Latino man speaking about how grateful he was to the Institute for saving his son. He was cast into the role of a very caring and emotional father, rather than the blundering idiot Kane suggests.