ABSTRACT
Early media researchers were mostly concerned with the relationship between programming and aggressive behavior of consumers. The Civil Rights and Women's movements of the 1960s prompted exploration of the media content and its possible contribution to the oppression of women and minorities. The movements encouraged a questioning of stereotypical media portrayals (Zuckerman, Singer, & Singer, 1980). Durkin (1985a) defined stereotyping as attributing qualities of a group to individuals within that group, without regard to the uniqueness of the individual. These qualities tend to be extreme and are assigned a value, mostly negative. The term sexism is the prejudice associated with sex-role stereotypes, negative feelings about either sex. The media are under scrutiny for presenting stereotyped portrayals of characters, which can influence inequality and perpetuate myths of women's incompetence.
