By Omar Banoun and Chris Banks

Overview In a lot of popular television shows today there are pre- conceived notions of the role that men and women have in society. Most of the time, men are put in role in which they are strong and powerful while women are put into a weaker more submissive role. Some shows take the approach in which they switch roles, while others simply just show the stereotypes themselves.

Clip 1: SpongeBob , 1:55

SpongeBob (cont.) In this episode of SpongeBob, he and Patrick come across a baby clam and decide to raise it. SpongeBob, the more feminine of the two, takes up the role of a stay-at-home mother. Patrick picks up the role of the father who works a tiring job. Shows the stereotype that in every family, the dad works and the mom stays at home to take care of kids.

Clip 2: Futurama

Futurama (cont.) This episode of Futurama is satirizing the way men would normally talk by having a woman speaking explicitly. It switches the stereotypical role that men and women have in society.

Clip 3: How I Met Your Mother , 1:34

How I Met Your Mother (cont.) This is the playbook by Barney Stinson, a book of tricks he uses to pick up girls. It shows the stereotype that all guys are sleazy and only goal is to get women to sleep with them. In every instance, the girls are looking to get swept off their feet by men.

That 70’s Show Stereotype that girls always go to the bathroom together and guys don’t. Fez being a foreigner doesn’t understand the gender roles in America.

Summary Gender stereotypes are very prevalent in the media today. Sometimes satire is very obvious and other times men and women are put into their roles subconsciously. Typically, men are put into a more dominant role than women which is what comedic sketches usually tends to make fun of.

Works Cited