In the modern era of technology, it is evident that one of the essential parts of the modern life is the mass media. Recent studies have shown the important roles that the media is playing in shaping, influencing as well as changing the society (Mahoney & Tang, 2017). The profound impacts the media has had on socialization and creating identities in the society cannot possibly be overlooked. Cultural and social ideas are rapidly spreading across societies with the mass media being the chief agent of spreading the ideas. Most notably the mass media is playing a pivotal role in promoting social stratification regarding social identities.
Media stratification of gender
The mass media forms the basis on which the representation of females as subordinates and males as dominant is founded. The media propagate continuous stereotyping of femininity and masculinity in addition to providing gender role models that individuals are encouraged to copy. Sociologists argue that the media has shown women to perform a limited range of social responsibilities while men are portrayed as able to perform a wide spectrum of occupational as well as social roles. Additionally, according to Mahoney and Tang (2017), the media propagates a negative image of women achievements with the coverage of women sporting being an example of how trivialized female accomplishments are. In the United States, gender stratification has long been evident especially in the mass media where the female gender is continuously used to gratify a male audience consequently reducing women to objects for use by the male gender.
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Media stratification of physical ability
Despite the many positives that the media has provided to the society stereotyping the disabled has a negative impact on the society. More often individuals with disabilities are displayed as victims, villains, and requiring charity and pity. The role of the media in classifying the disabled as different members of the society has worked to show disabled individuals as not having an identity with the arguments of their seemingly being a burden to the society. Negatively representing the disabled has gone a long way to affirming the pre-existing social prejudices of the individuals being inherently dependent on the non-disabled (Mahoney & Tang, 2017). The media continuously label the individuals with physical disabilities as being socially flawed with the world being majorly looked at in the eye of the physically-able.
Commercial adverts on social stratification
Corporate organizations use commercial adverts to promote sales. Unconsciously, the commercial adverts on several occasions have increased social stratification. Carl’s Jr., an American hamburger retailer, is the most recent organization that used a commercial advert that provoked massive uproar. In the advert, a ‘barely-clothed’ blonde was used in the advert to portray the hamburgers as prepared free of many additives. The advert portrayed females again as an object to gratify a male audience consequently having the advert make a gender statement. The acceptance of the female model used in the advert further shows the collusion of women in objectifying themselves for their sexuality.
The ideal women have been portrayed as having no wrinkles, smooth and shapely legs as well as having ample buttocks and breasts that seem to defy gravity. Meghan Markle, the Hollywood actress who has married Prince Harry acts as an excellent example of female stereotyping having fought hard of what the media felt is the ideal woman nature. Criticisms of not being thin and pretty enough rocked the media while she was trying to establish herself in the acting industry.
References
Mahoney, L. M., & Tang, T. (2017). Strategic social media: From marketing to social change .
