DO YOU AGREE THAT WOMEN ARE STEREOTYPED?

Using examples from local television programs and advertisements examine, “whether women are stereotype?” (Cardwell, 1966) Stereotype is defined as a fixed over generalized belief about a particular group or class of people. Many have accepted a belief based on the people involved.In Ghana, the Ewes are attributed to spiritual medicines, while the Gas’ are generalized to be radical people. The Krobo’s are also known for engaging in prostitution. This is something that has gone on for a long time and has eventually become a representation of the people. The media presentations of these tribes or people have played a vital role in these representations.Representation therefore refers to the way in which ideas, objects, people, groups and life forms are depicted by the mass media. In an attempt to find out whether women are stereotype or not, I took into consideration, some local television programmes and advertisements..On Saturday, the 10^th of November 2012, at 5pm, I observed a programme on TV3 network hosted by Babiee. The title of the programme created internal wrangles as to whether it was true or not, but universally accepted. The title of the programme is “Hot Gossip”. It is universally accepted that women are naturally gossips. This is the perception created when two or more ladies gather at one place to discuss an issue.The programme looked at stories, gossip or rumors naturally relating to people. Babiee, speculated that Nigerian artists, P. square had killed their mother. This hot gossip is linked to the notion that, the two brothers committed the ordeal after producing a clip with Rick Ross who happens to be a member for the free mason group. The story is actually false based on a statement released by the two brothers in response to the rumors going on in the media.The programme “Hot gossip” also covered a story on an American hip-hop artist Snoop Dog. Reports from the programme say, he had changed his name to Snoop Lion after several killing scandals. The programme which is also hosted by a woman had already created the impression that, indeed women are gossips and good at fabricating stories.Indeed, I could not agree more with (Cardwell: 1996) that stereotype becomes a fixed over generalized idea or belief about a particular group of people. Even though some of the stories on the programme “Hot Gossip” were discarded by the people involved, some happened to be true. A story about Ghanaian hip-life artist Samini making a claim that, Rastafarians who eat meat should not be accepted as Rastafarians. Though this is a rumor from the camp of some ladies, it is true. I therefore believe that the perception about ladies being gossips is true. In the olden days, women were relegated to the kitchen. The “Onga Food Tour” was also shown on TV3 network and was hosted by Moon, a woman. The program was aired on Sunday the 10^th of November 2012, at 5:30pm. The thirty minutes programme was hosted in the Brong Ahafo region, Berekum to be precise.The person invited to prepare the meal was a woman. The representation and history of the programme revealed to me that, only women were invited to cook on the programme.The stereotype that, women are good when it comes to cooking cannot be erased. Some people can therefore not discard the notion that a woman’s place is always in the kitchen.The programme enlightened us to accept the idea that, women are the best when it comes to cooking. You can try and argue about this fact, but the ladies are good when it comes to cooking. Some are also worst. Linking the “Onga food tour” programme to the “Onga shrimp” advert, women are always the people in the kitchen cooking. This caused me to accept the fact that, it is women’s responsibility to cook in the house.A good view at “Kiss” advert, clearly shows that the young man and woman were not married. In the first scene, the young woman portrayed a character of rejection of the young man, who may be the boyfriend for not having a condom. But after the young man was advised to use “kiss” condom, the young woman was satisfied after sex and seen to be very happy in the next scene. The advert therefore confirms the stereotyped perception that, women are always happy when their men are able to satisfy them sexually. Is that true? In an attempt to look at whether women are stereotypes, I considered the “Maggie” spaghetti advert. In this advert, a woman was cooking whilst her husband watched a football match on television. When the food was well cooked, the man was served but his concentration was still on the football match. The facial expression on the woman’s face showed that, she was not happy with her husband’s behavior  The man switched off the television set and suddenly the woman smiled and sat next to him. I can vehemently say that women are stereotyped and will always like their husbands to concentrate on them when it comes to issues concerning them.The media, through various means stereotypes women.  From the television programs and adverts elaborated, women were being fixed in a permanent character; through gossip, always in the kitchen cooking, requesting for sexual satisfaction in bed and feeling bad when their husbands reject their cooked meals. These acts in nature are common to all genders; males and females, but why then should the media represent women in such a manner? This type of stereotype has gone on for so many years and is now a representation of women. Have your say on this topic.