Final Outline

Many people in the current world are heavily influenced by their access and interaction with popular culture through dominant objects like mass media. Mass media plays a crucial role in constructing and regulating social formations. Women seem to be represented differently from men in terms of gender, sexuality and race. This is evident in mass media like the TV shows we see, movies we watch or magazines we read among others. The ideas in the media and books people are exposed to present highly stereotypes portrayals of women and men (Zosuls et al, 2011). Women tend to be under-represented in stereotypically male roles. Bad Girl is a TV series that covers prison life of females. It illustrates how sensitive issues like rape, bullying, sexuality, and violence against women continue to occur in our societies including in our prisons. Popular culture significantly shapes worldviews and identities of women in terms of gender, sexuality and race.

There are several theories that try to illustrate how culture affects ideas about sex and gender. According to King (2016), cultural studies and critical theory are essential in understanding the interrelationships between structures of belief and material conditions in which we live in. Cultural studies examine how ideas about sexuality, race, class and gender establish and circulate. There is intersectionality of sex and gender with other identity categories like class and race. Media and mass culture contribute to belief and knowledge. Media shapes the consciousness of audiences in ways that match up to systems of belief, for instance, women as dominant caregivers (Lemish, 2012). Mass culture greatly manipulates passive audience members. Values, norms and beliefs of the ruling class gain cultural privilege and win the acceptance of those oppressed of injured by such norms or rules. For instance, Asian cultures consider women as the lowest members of the traditional societal hierarchy. These women are expected to show deference to males. This oppresses women but they have no option but to adhere to the norms of their cultures. In such cultures, women are likely to experience sexual harassment and abuse because they have no power.

Issues of culture, gender and race significantly affect people in different settings including students and their families. We see, hear or read news on issues with race, culture and gender often. We see campaigns and demonstrations on these issues meaning that they significantly affect our communities. Some students have been denied entry to certain schools because of their race or cultures, women have been denied job positions because of their gender and some continue to experience sexual abuse when searching for jobs. This disheartening experiences need to be examined and their intersection understood. For instance, there is need to examine why education is not accessible to every child especially the girl child in some communities. According to Blanchett and his team (2009), there is need to examine effects and intersection of culture, race, disability and language to equitable access to education from students of color. There is need to understand the implications of the intersection of culture and race for research, practice and policy.

Researchers like Becares and Priest (2015) illustrate racial academic achievement gap in the U.S based on social inequality. They argue that there is complex intersection between race, socioeconomic status and gender on academic achievement. It is common for female students to be portrayed as poor scorers in subjects like mathematics and sciences. Additionally, female students from particular races like Hispanic and Black tend to have lower scores in these subjects compared to White students. This implies that White persons are smarter than the Hispanic and Blacks. It also implies that female students are not good in subjects like mathematics and sciences that is not always the case. In fact, sciences and math are considered in the male domain while emotional and verbal skills considered in the female domain. In many movies or TV programmes, we see male students excel in these subjects and female students score poorly in the same subjects. Females will go for courses in their domain with very few taking courses in the male domain.

Becares and Pries (2015) further state that gender inequalities in sciences and math are largest among Latino and White students and smallest among African American and Asian students. Additionally, female students from poor backgrounds tend to have lower academic achievement because of the challenges the carry along to school from their homes. However, the gender gaps witnessed in test scores tend to be more pronounced among socially disadvantaged children. The stereotyping and socialization processes as well as stigmatization and racial discrimination are key factors in explaining racial academic inequalities. This issues need to be addressed in push for equality and change of women perception in our societies.

In conclusion, popular culture influences our understanding of the world. It significantly shapes worldviews and identities of women in terms of gender, sexuality and race. It influences our understanding of sexuality and gender as well as their intersection with class and race. People should be watchful of the information they pick from the media. They should be more cautious with things posted on the media that influence their beliefs.

References Becares, L., & Priest, H. (2015). Understanding the Influence of Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Class on Inequalities in Academic and Non-Academic Outcomes among Eighth-Grade Students: Findings from an Intersectionality Approach. PLOS ONE, 10(10): e0141363. Blanchett, W. J., Klinger, J. K., & Harry, B. (2009). The Intersection of Race, Culture, Language, and Disability. Urban Education, doi.org/10.1177/0042085909338686. King, C. S. (2016). Critical Cultural Approaches to Gender and Sex. Oxford Research Encyclopedias, Doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.74. Lemish, D. (2012). Gender: Representation in the Media. The International Encyclopedia of Communication, doi.org/10.1002/9781405186407.wbiecg008.pub2. Spell, S. A. (2016). Not Just Black and White. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, doi.org/10.1177/2332649216658296. Zosuls, K. M., Miller, C. F., Rubie, D. N., Martin, C. L., & Fabes, R. A. (2011). Gender Development Research in Sex Roles: Historical Trends and Future Directions. Sex Roles, 64(11-12): 826–842.

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