By Rosemary Whitmer, Terri Red, and Robin Dick

1. Gender role messages communicated to children and adolescents through:Film, Music, and Video Games By Rosemary Whitmer, Terri Red, and Robin Dick

2. Purpose • “Analyze how social and cultural messages communicate gender roles and behaviors to children and adolescents through imagery, language, and symbols through: films, music, and video games. • What are rating systems in place?

3. Films and Gender

4. Film Rating System • The current Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) movie ratings • All ages admitted. • Some material may be inappropriate for younger children. • Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13 years. • No children 17 or under without parent or guardian admitted. • No one 17 or under admitted.

5. Disney & Gender • In Disney movies, women are usually depicted as a princess, queen, or homemaker. • The women are shown being subservient to the male characters. The men use forceful behavior to get what they want. The women in Disney movies usually go from living with their fathers straight to living with their husbands or another male. Mother figures are absent in most Disney films.

6. Where are the girls? • Movies have more men in them than women. • The race is half and half, and movies should portray that. • When girls see women doing various jobs, they feel they can do these things, too.

7. Music

8. Rating System for Music • “Parental Advisory - Explicit Lyrics” label • Introduced in 1990 by the U.S. Recording Industry. • These labels were created to “identify music containing explicit lyrics, including depictions of violence and sex” (Media Awareness Network, 2008).

9. Drawbacks of the Rating System • Using the Parental Advisory sticker is completelyvoluntary for companies and artists. • Parents may assume that if a CD cover does not have a Parental Advisory label than the content in the music is safe for children. In actuality, the CD may contain inappropriate and explicit lyrics, but the artist or company chose not to put a label on the CD cover.

10. Another Drawback • “Of the 55 music recordings with explicit labels the FTC examined, all were targeted to children under 17. • Marketing plans included placing advertising in media that would reach a majority or a substantial percentage of children under 17” (Media Awareness Network).

11. Lyrics: Communicated gender roles and behaviors found in Language • To learn more about messages found in music, “A qualitative content analysis was conducted on lyrics to identify predominant themes in popular music. The songs for analysis were determined by ‘The Hot 100’ list generated by Billboard Chart Research Services” • Six themes found in popular music lyrics: • Men and power • Sex as top priority for males • Objectification of women • Sexual violence • Women defined by having a man • Women not valuing themselves • Bretthauer, B., Zimmerman T., & Banning, J. H. (2006). A feminist analysis of popular music: Power over, objectification of, and violence against women. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 18(4), 29-51.

12. Lyrics: Communicated gender roles and behaviors found in Language, continued • The following is an example of a song which objectifies women, communicating to girls that women are only valued as sexual objects. • MIMS' "Like This“ (Notice the Parental Adisory label. This song was included on the “Now 25” CD which was targeted for children and adolescents.)

13. More Lyrics • "Lollipop" by Lil Wayne [Verse 1:Lil Wayne] Okay, lil mama had a swag like mine even wear her hair down her back like mine i make her feel right when its wrong like lyin Man, she ain never had a love like mine n' man i aint never seen a ass like hers and that pussy in my mouth had me at a loss fo words told her to back it up like erp erp and make that ass jump like shczerp shczerp and thats when she said i lo-lo-look like a lollipop ( oh yeah i like that ) she said i lo-lo-look like a lollipop ( oh yeah i like that ) she said i lo-lo-look like a lollipop ( oh yeah i like that ) shawty i lo-lo-lookin like a lollipop ( oh yeah i like that ) CHORUS: Shawty wanna thug( oh yeah i like that ) bottles in the club( oh yeah i like that ) shawty wanna hump ( oh yeah i like that ) and ooo i like to touch ya lovely lady lumps ( Repeat 2x )

14. Music Videos: Communicated gender roles and behaviors found in imagery • The following music video objectifies women and girls; Huey is telling the girls that they are only of interest to him if they can “Pop, Lock and Drop it.” • Pop, Lock, & Drop It, by Huey (Notice the Parental Adisory label. This song was included on the “Now 25” CD which was targeted for children and adolescents.)

15. Other genres of music contain sexual and demeaning messages in the lyrics and the images. Big-n-Rich's "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy“ It’s not just rap & rock! • Honky-Tonk-Badonkadonk, by Trace Adkins

16. CD’s that target Adolescents • The NOW That’s What I Call Music! CD’s target audience is adolescent children. The songs on these CD’s overwhelmingly communicate negative messages of gender roles for girls. • All of the songs depict women in a sexual manner. • NOW Music CD's

17. Is there any good music?! • Of course there is! Some songs are positive, uplifting, and communicate strength for both genders. • The following song is an example of a song that encourages and uplifts people. Although the song maybe sung by a woman and girls like the song, it does not target a particular gender. • Natasha Bettingfield's "Unwritten“

18. Video Games

19. Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) • What is ESRB? • How was the rating system created? • Do all games have a rating? • ESRB’s restrictions and power • Does it work?

20. Gender Roles and Appearance • Why do boys/girls play? • What kind of games does each gender play? • Girl gaming • How are females represented? • Does physical appearance matter?

23. Violence & Behavior • Is violence affecting players? • Aggressive behavior in girls • Desensitization • Aggressive and non-aggressive delinquent behavior • Does it affect some more than others?

28. Final Question • Do you believe there is any correlation between the rise in girl bullying and the rise in girl gamers playing violent games?

29. References • Barenthin, J., & Van Puymbroeck, M. (2006, August). Research update: The joystick generation. Parks & Recreation, 41(8), 24-29. Retrieved June 9, 2008, Academic Search Complete database. • Bretthauer, B., Zimmerman T., & Banning, J. H. (2006). A feminist analysis of popular music: Power over, objectification of, and violence against women. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 18(4), 29-51. • Cesarone, B., & ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education, C. (1998, November 1). Video games: Research, ratings, recommendations. ERIC Digest. . (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No ED424038) Retrieved June 24, 2008, from ERIC database. • Eastin, M (2006, July). Video game violence and the female game player: Self-and opponent gender effects on presence and aggressive thought. Human Communication Research, 32(3), 351-372. Retrieved June 9, 2008, doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2006.00279.x • Funk, J. B., Bechtoldt Baldacci, H., Pasold, T., & Baumgardner, J. (2003). Violence exposure in real-life, video games, television, movies, and the internet: is there desensitization? Journal of Adolescence. 27(2004), 23-39. Retrieved June 9, 2008, doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2003.10.005 • Tallim, J. & Wing, C. (2008) Parental advisory labels. Retrieved June 10, 2008, from Media Awareness Network. Web site: http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/parents/music/ inappropriate/parental_advisory_labels.cfm • (n.d.). Retrieved June 26, 2008, from http://www.esrb.org/ratings/search.jsp