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Gissel Valle
English 115
Professor Beadle
3 November 2016
Gender Roles Through Media
How much of what we see everyday, whether online or on paper, actually has an effect of
how we believe we should act? The Kenwood Chef visual advertisement shows that there are
stereotypical gender roles assigned to both men and women which are expected to be followed.
This shows theres a need for a hierarchy system when it comes to sex and makes us question
why there is a lack of change. From such a young age, weve been wired to behave in a way
through observational learning. With ads like Kenwood Chef, were shown what is considered
the correct behavior. We have a predisposition to act in a certain manner that is acceptable
according to society. In the Kenwood Chef advertisement, men and women are portrayed in a
nuclear stereotype in order to give the idea of male dominance in a patriarchy. Even though the
media is a way of gaining new insight in various areas, it can be a negative resource of imagery
as many are unconsciously blinded by what they see as it tells society how either a male or
female should act and what is deemed appropriate or frowned upon.
The Kenwood Chef advertisement portrays gender roles that exemplify societys
expectations regarding gender roles. In the advertisement, there is a husband and a wife smiling
in a kitchen setting. In the upper corner, it displays, The chef does everything but cook- thats
what wives are for!. This metaphor means a man is like a chef, as chefs give orders, are head of
the kitchen, and the boss while keeping everything in control, as men are culturally supposed to.

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The wife is wearing a chefs hat symbolizing that women take care of all household items such
as cleaning and cooking. This follows the degrading stereotype Devor presented in his article
about societys expectations of gender roles, masculinity is usually characterized by dominance
and aggression and femininity by passivity and submission (39). A man is dominant while a
woman is submissive, meaning that men, in terms of power, are classified as more important and
higher value. This shows there are characteristics already assigned to a gender and theres
expectations placed upon on society that triggers the idea of what it means to be classified as
male or female. Due to the roles women are expected to follow, they feel very suppressed within
their gender role. As Dippanjeet Kaur & Sheetal Thapar stated in their article Media Portrayal of
Women, The images of women in advertisements do not symbolize women at all in a correct
manner, these images are demeaning and simply as a selling object. The authors strongly argue
that women and men are treated differently based on what the media depicts, which can affect
their beliefs of their roles.
So why do we care about gender roles? In their article, Kaur and Thapar explain how
both men and women are characterized through various media outlets, Women were rarely
shown in out-of-home working roles while men were shown regarding women as sex objects or
as domestic adjuncts (Kaur and Sheetal 62). The importance of this presents the idea of the need
for social order. Theres a hierarchy system when it comes to men and woman that puts one over
the other, clearly men above women as shown within society. As part of a stratification system,
gender ranks men above women of the same race and class (Lorber 28). Women are seen as
submissive and inferior to men, as they are always put in charge. Showing how the media
constantly degrades women, and places them in a lower class while glorifying men, Lorber states

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society does this because, As a social institution, gender is a process of creating distinguishable
social statuses for the assignment of rights and responsibilities (27). This means society needs
gender roles in order to be an organized whole, which sets limits and rules that keeps these roles
in place.
Lastly, the women in the advertisement doesnt seem to neglect doing any of her
household chores. She seems rather happy to do it even though women could accomplish more
and succeed outside the household, as these advertised women are limited to the house and enjoy
the work. No one attempts to strive against gender stereotypes. Society is so accustomed to
believe what is expected of gender norms through media portrayal that society is unconsciously
blinded in its actions. There is also a lack of change when it comes to gender role even though
many know they are absurd. As Devor said, there is a constant struggle to balance out the
personal I and the social me (39). There is confusion to how society believes people should
view themselves versus how people actually view themselves. Do people act in a way that
pleases themselves or in a way that pleases society? The Kenwood Chef ad shows that since the
wife has done what was expected of her, her husband is happy with her and her work as a
women. It sends the message that if women want a happy husband and a successful marriage,
than they must comply to everything that they are told to do as the compliant wife. These types
of advertisements tell society that if individuals do what they are told, then good will come of it.
Therefore, gender identity and actions are heavily dependent on the approval of others and the
norms society has presented to people. Because of this, were in a way afraid to go against
gender stereotypes so we comply with the expectations.

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However some may argue that an advertisement is nothing but an advertisement. It does
not teach society anything nor does it make individuals believe the gender roles that are being
portrayed are the ones that society should follow. According to Thompson and Zerbinos in their
article Television Cartoons: Do Children Notice Its A Boys World?, they argued that indeed
young children are completely aware of the stereotypes being shown to them. When young boys
were asked to describe how a boy acted according to the cartoons they watched, they said they
were tough, they [chase] the bad guy, are violent, and they always gets in trouble. Young
girls asked to described girls in cartoons responded with the cartoons being polite, always doing
chores, playing with dolls, and chasing boys. When asked to describe the opposite sex, girls said
that boys were violent and engage in more active behavior (428). Meanwhile boys said that girls
followed what boys said, arent as adventurous, and teased by boys. Thompson and Zerbinos
further argued that noticing such differences entails to reporting stereotypical job preferences in
these children. Boys selected being firefighters, police officers, or athletes while girls chose to be
nurses or teachers. This shows that young children are consciously aware of what is being taught
to them through the cartoons they watched and act out on it. In fact, the clothes selected for
gender specific roles, the activities men and women do because of their gender, the way the
genders act differently shows that society has fully conformed to gender norms and are fully
aware of gender stereotypes that have been placed on the gender binary.
Many advertisements, like the Kenwood Chef advertisement, constantly model out
gender roles. Society is exposed to a behavior that is meant to come natural and taught how to
act a certain way. Gender is constructed through various media outlets and therefore performed
in a way that is believed to be correct, fulfilling our role. Society is fully aware of this yet they

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continue to follow and if one doesnt act accordingly, they are usually looked down and treated
differently. The Kenwood Chef advertisement exemplifies that gender roles have existed since
long ago and will strongly continue to do so, unless more and more people, such as millennials
today continue to break these stereotypes and follow what they desire.

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Works Cited
Devor, Aaron. Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender. Composing
Gender, edited by Rachel Groner and John F. OHara, Bedford Spotlight Reader, 2014,
pp. 35-45
Kaur, Dippanjeet and Thapar, Sheetal. Media Portrayal of Women. Asian Science, 9th edition,
Issue 1-2, 2015, pp. 62-68.
Lorber, Judith. Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender. Composing Gender,
edited by Rachel Groner and John F. OHara, Bedford Spotlight Reader, 2014,
pp. 19-33
Thompson, Teresa and Zerbinos, Eugenia. Television Cartoons: Do Children Notice Its A
Boys World?. Sex Roles, Vol. 37, No. 5-6, Kluwer Academic Publishers-Plenum
Publishers, 1997, pp. 415-432

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