Cultivating Conceptions of Masculinity: Television and Perceptions of Masculine Gender Role Norms

Abstract

The potential of television to both reflect and shape cultural understandings of gender roles has long been the subject of social scientific inquiry. The present study employed survey methodology with 420 emerging adult respondents (18–25 years old) in a national U.S. sample to explore associations between amount of time spent viewing television and views about “ideal” masculine gender roles. The viewing of particular television genres was explored in addition to (and controlling for) overall amount of time spent with the medium, using cultivation theory as the theoretical foundation. Results showed significant statistical associations between viewing sitcoms, police and detective programs, sports, and reality television and scores on the Masculine Roles Norms Inventory–Revised scale. Biological sex of respondent (which very closely approximated gender identity in the sample) moderated a number of these relationships, with positive associations between viewing some genres and endorsement of traditional masculine gender roles stronger for biological male compared to biological female respondents.

Notes

¹ A factor analysis (principal component analysis) with varimax rotation requesting a seven-factor solution confirmed that most of the items loaded cleanly to form factors comprising the subscales of the MRNI-R in the current data. Factor loadings for the items comprising the Negativity Toward Gay Men component ranged from .70 to .90, Restrictive Emotionality from .58 to .73, Self-Reliance from .76 to .82, Avoidance of Femininity from .52 to .63, and Importance of Sex from .68 to .76. Five of the seven items comprising the Dominance component loaded cleanly (.51–.69), but the remaining two items (“A man should always be the major provider in his family” and “Men should provide the discipline in the family”) loaded slightly higher with the self-reliance than with the dominance component (.46 compared to .41, and .50 compared to .42, respectively). Three of the four items comprising the Toughness factor loaded cleanly (.44–.67), but the fourth item (“It is important for a man to take risks, even if he might get hurt”) produced a lower factor loading of .29.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Erica Scharrer

Erica Scharrer (Ph.D., Syracuse University, 1998) is a professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research interests include the analysis of media content, opinions about media, media effects, and media literacy, especially pertaining to gender and violence.

Greg Blackburn

Greg Blackburn (M.A., University of Arkansas, 2010) is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His research interests include the effects of violent media, and the depictions of violence, power, and masculinity in the media.