The last theme relevant to my research is events and feminist movements. This is a critical theme in understanding different shifts of my independent variable (gendered stereotypes). In order to fully understand gender stereotypes in American culture, it is important to be aware of certain contributing factors that might affect the characterization of female leads in television shows over the years. Schulte (2011) dives deep into feminism in her article, Surfing Feminism’s Online Wave: The Internet and the Future. By understanding the different forms of feminism and ‘the fourth wave’ that has emerged more recently, one can see that technology and media play more important of a role than ever. Schulte defines the term cyberfeminism as, “the use of technology for addressing gender inequalities in digital discourse, as well as in material and ideological spaces,” (Schulte 2011). Another scholar, Gronert (2020) analyzed the #MeToo movement and its effects on college campuses. This is a more recent movement in order to bring awareness and start conversations on sexual violence. This movement went viral in Hollywood, it is interesting to note how events in American society influence the characterization of female leads in the shows.
Explore Themes:
The Perpetuation of a Heteronormative, Male-Dominated Society
Influential Factors on Children and Pre-teens
Gender Representation in Television and Movies
Read about Methodology
