ABSTRACT
The idea of ‘role models’ comes up often in public discourse, and in discussions of gender and the media, but it’s not always clear what the term really means. A ‘role model’ seems to be popularly understood as ‘someone to look up to’, and someone to base your character, values or aspirations upon. For instance, although we haven’t considered the concept directly, this book has already mentioned ‘role models’ in a number of places:
• In the very first paragraph of Chapter 1, we noted that gender role models have changed over the decades.
