pop culture
...ing and appealing to the audience, the producers of the show make sure they find the six most attractive people they can find, especially the women. Usually the women they have are very attractive with large breasts and the events they compete in are made to show off these women’s bodies, whether it be wearing a bikini, a sports bra or in one instance nothing at all. This exploitation of women is very effective when attracting audiences because sex on television has become one of the top means of advertising. According to the Gender-Schema theory, these cognitive networks which are shaped by socialization or in this case television’s use of sex gender exploitation give the general public a perception of what feminine is. The show makes sure that the women they have flaunt there bodies and give the audience something to look at. In Breyer’s article he says, “These shows tend to represent a very negative trend by exposing contestants' private lives; some even see parallels with pornography. The underlying themes are themes of humiliation and degradation.” As is seen here the use of female sexuality negative or not is very influential on viewers. Their perception of women becomes somewhat skewed as if this is what all women are like. Another gender issue associated with fear factor is the idea of male or female dominance. As one might think having three men against three women in physical challenges might not be fair. Most men tend to be in better physical condition and are able to do some of the stunts set for them better than the women. In some cases of the show it may be true but for the most part the women are very competitive in the challenges. This is another effective method by which the show attracts audiences. The idea of women being physically dominating over men in the stunts is empowering for women. Other women and sometimes men enjoy seeing the cocky athletic male get beat by a woman in a physical competition. The Schema theory does a good job of explaining this idea as well. The feminine perspective that is created by the audience as a result of this female dominance is seen as a positive. The fact that a woman can be more physically strong than a man gives the female audience a sense of pride. The development of these cognitive networks through the use of reality TV is another way the general public’s view of gender is rendered. The next show I will look at is the Real World/Road Rules Challenge. This like fear factor incorporates competition with men and women. Each team is divided up into men and women and each must work together to win the challenge. If the team does not win a member must be voted off. Usually the challenges favor the men because of the physicality needed to perform each task. One would think that the women would be the first voted out but in most cases that’s not what happens. The women tend to stick together and are able to last longer. As with fear factor also the sexual exploitation of the women on the show is used as a way to attract audiences. The use of sex itself is also plays a part. You have team members sleeping with other team members or women seducing men to be able to stay in the game. It also doesn’t hurt that most of the women in the show are very attractive. Again the use of gender as pertained to sexuality is an effective means by which audiences are drawn. Breyer says, “Another feature of the shows is the format. Here again producers borrow from both fiction and nonfiction. In the first episode of road rules and real world, we meet the people on the show all in their twenty-somethings, all with movie-star good looks and figures.” As is shown here the more attractive the contestants the better the chance of the show attracting an audience will be. The last show I will look at is the Real World. This show takes seven strangers and has them live and work together to see how men and women react to being in the public eye. The gender schema theory can give a good idea of how this show is appealing to it audience. You have a mixed group of people living together and with any situation where you have people living together for a long period of time your going to have controversy. People are going to fight and things will be said that will change the way the group functions as a whole. How gender plays into all of this is simple. Women and men living together like in this show will develop attractions for one ...