The media is expected to be a mirror reflecting society within which it exists. This means that whatever is represented in the media it is often a reflection of what the society thinks about a given subject. Gender has been a contentious subject for many years with the ability to start serious fires across the globe. The media has taken a lot of heat in this context and remains a major victim of criticisms with the current gender wars that seem relentless. The two pieces of media that caught my attention with respect to their depiction of gender are Fifty Shades of Grey, a book by E. L. James and Modern Family, a TV show on ABC. The show is currently in its 6th season. I will focus on the shows 7th episode in season 6. This paper prepared by https://bestwritingservice.com/grant-writing-system.html uses the above-mentioned pieces of media to culturally analyze how gender issues were portrayed in both cases.
In Fifty Shades of Grey, Christian Grey justifies his attraction to dominant tendencies stating that he was dominated from a young age by an elderly woman (James 18). When he reveals this fact to Anastasia she finds it appalling and seeks to find out why he is not bothered by the fact that he was sexually abused as a minor. Her argument here is that if he had been a fifteen-year-old girl instead of a boy things may have turned out differently and he may have been compelled to report the incident.
Here the author seeks to emphasize the fact that male children are not as protected as the females and in most cases sexual offenses against the female gender are considered as more offensive. Moreover, while she may have been trying to highlight this fact and attract more attention to the boy child as far as sexual offense is concerned, the way Christian Grey deals with it seems to justify the downplaying of the offense. This scenario specifically brings to question the authors and the societys stand on the strength of the sexes. The girl child in this case, according to the author, would have required protection from the predator and not the kind of respect that Christian Grey had for his female predator.
I believe that the intentions behind highlighting this fact are good but the author actually risks being misunderstood by people who are likely to contend that sexual abuse against a member of the male gender is not as bad as that against an individual of the female gender. Later on in the book, Ana gets offended when she is also subjected to some physical pain as a form of sexual gratification for Mr. Grey. The fact that he actually goes out of his comfort zone to accommodate her fears and limits implies that he understands her inferiority and inability to handle the masochist lifestyle as a woman and a submissive.
In Modern Familys seventh episode of the sixth season, Cam is a homosexual coach who happens to have successfully led his football team to a well-deserved win. In his interview for the Channel 12 News, the caption read Gay Coach Wins Big, Victory knows no labels. In the picture he is actually standing next to Mitchell, his husband. This caption and the accompanying picture can be interpreted in numerous ways, two of which appeal to me.
First, the producers in the show may have been wanted to rubbish the stereotype tendencies associated with homophobic people. This would mean that they simply wanted to show that being homosexual did not hinder Coach Cam from excelling at his job. Having Mitchell at his side may have simply been a convenient way of showing how much support males can give each other within a relevant setting. This is a beautiful depiction of the masculine gender in the media, away from the stereotype of cold, thick-skinned and not showing emotional support when needed.
In the two pieces of media, that is, the TV series and the book, gender issues have been exhibited in numerous forms. In the book, the author portrays women as a gender that is closely guarded in society. On the other hand, the TV serious portrays homosexual people as ordinary persons who must be given a chance to lead a normal life just like heterosexuals.