By Khadija Hamza Sulaiman
Discussions about gender stereotypes are on the rise, and there is no sign of slowing it except media avoidance of such portrayals. Every day, different researchers put forward different points of view to understand this phenomenon. Those who are in the vanguard of the media and other cultural institutions are mainly at the receiving end of this wave because their responsibility is to act as a mirror of the society in which they exist and operate. As a powerful social-oriented and transformational institution, the media is plagued by gender prejudice, especially the prejudice against women. More importantly, it has been established that the performance of women in the mass media shapes how society views women and influences their behavior towards them.
Nigerian women have contributed enormously to what is known as the family unit by specializing in maintaining their households, rearing children, and emotionally supporting their respective husbands. Despite the continued hardships and degree of poverty that continue to ravage the country, women continue to contribute to the economy, educational, social, cultural, and political development of the country. The media establishment continues to maintain its control over the media industry. They are dominant in the industry, since men are, and have always been in charge, thus creating an atmosphere of total domination in the profession.
For instance, Nigerian movies regularly paint women as willful, low moral requirements, materialistic, lazy, obedient, and depending on their men folks, and are suitable for family as opposed to profession and roles. These stereotypes have determined expression in social truth as ladies are considered for their home and vain attributes and confined to these limits. This development has had a big impact on the way society talks about gender equality and feminists are looking to alternate the arena. Movie, as an effective medium that conveys the values and ideals of modern societies, has grown to be a subject of severe scrutiny for its roles in reinforcing and perpetuating gender-based stereotypes.
Gender stereotypes can be viewed as one of the causes of socioeconomic disparities in Nigerian society. In Africa, the male sex appears to be the most desired, and girls are socialized to consider themselves as submissive to their male counterparts from birth.
It is critical to recognize that gender stereotypes and media underrepresentation can contribute to detrimental contempt and violence directed at women. Gendered stereotypes in the media influence children from an early age, perpetuating preferences for gender-appropriate content and activities, traditional notions about gender roles, jobs, and personalities, and attitudes toward life expectations and goals.
Journalists’ capacity to incorporate women’s expertise is hampered by unconscious bias, tight deadlines, a dearth of female leadership across industries, and cultural obstacles. The absence of female experts has major ramifications. When male experts are prioritized, women’s hard work and contributions are devalued and they are robbed of the recognition and public acclaim they deserve. Excluding women with knowledge in their industries further perpetuates the assumption that women’s jobs are to aid men in their work. The imbalance in sources can also be attributed to the higher percentage of men in positions of power and authority, as well as women’s societal conditioning to be less overconfident in their expertise. Meanwhile, highlighting progress toward gender equality might give society hope that the world is headed in the right direction.
