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Gissel Valle
English 115
Professor Beadle
3 November 2016
Gender Roles Through Media
How much of what we see everyday, whether online or on paper, actually has an effect of
how we believe we should act? The Kenwood Chef visual advertisement shows that there are
stereotypical gender roles assigned to both men and women which are expected to be followed.
This shows theres a desirable need for a hierarchy system when it comes to sex and makes us
question why there is a lack of change. From such a young age, weve been wired to behave in a
way through observational learning. With ads like Kenwood Chef, were shown what is
considered the correct behavior. We have a predisposition to act in a certain manner that is
acceptable according to society. In the Kenwood Chef advertisement, men and women are
portrayed in a nuclear stereotype in order to give the idea of male dominance in a patriarchy.
Even though the media is a way of gaining new insight in various areas, it also can be a negative
image as many are unconsciously blinded by what is shown as it tells society what male and
female behaviors are deemed appropriate or frowned upon.
The Kenwood Chef advertisement portrays gender roles that exemplify societys
expectations regarding gender roles. In the advertisement, theres a husband and wife smiling in
a kitchen setting. In the upper corner, it displays, The chef does everything but cook- thats
what wives are for!. This metaphor compares a man to a chef, as chefs give orders, are the head
of the kitchen, and the boss while keeping everything in control, as men are culturally supposed

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to. However, men arent meant to cook or clean because that what wives are for. Rather, the
wife is the one wearing the chefs hat which symbolizes that women do the harder part of the
job, such as taking care of household items such as cleaning and cooking. This follows the
degrading stereotype Devor presented in his article about societys expectations of gender roles,
masculinity is usually characterized by dominance and aggression and femininity by passivity
and submission (39). A man is dominant while a woman is submissive, meaning that men, in
terms of power, are classified as more important and higher value. This shows there are
characteristics already assigned to a gender and theres expectations placed upon on society that
triggers the idea of what it means to be classified as male or female. Due to the roles women are
expected to follow, they feel very suppressed within their gender role. As Dippanjeet Kaur &
Sheetal

Thapar stated in their article Media Portrayal of Women, The images of women in
advertisements do not symbolize women at all in a correct manner, these images are demeaning
and simply as a selling object. The authors strongly argue that women and men are treated
differently and unequally based on what the media depicts, which can affect their beliefs of their
roles.
So why should we care about gender roles? In their article, Kaur and Thapar explain how
both men and women are characterized through various media outlets, Women were rarely
shown in out-of-home working roles while men were shown regarding women as sex objects or
as domestic adjuncts (Kaur and Sheetal 62). The importance of this presents the idea of a
wanted need for social order. A hierarchy system exists when ranking both sexes which places
men above women as shown heavily within society. As part of a stratification system, gender
ranks men above women of the same race and class (Lorber 28). Women are seen as submissive

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and inferior to men, as theyre always put in charge. Showing how the media constantly degrades
women and places them in a lower class while glorifying men, Lorber states society does this
because, As a social institution, gender is a process of creating distinguishable social statuses
for the assignment of rights and responsibilities (27). This means society needs gender roles in
order to be an organized whole, which sets limits and rules. Because of this, gender roles are kept
in place in a never ending cycle.
Lastly, the women in the advertisement does not neglect doing any of her household
chores. She seems rather happy to do it even though women are capable of succeeding outside
the household, as advertised women are shown to be limited to certain activities. Society is so
accustomed to believe what is expected of gender norms through media portrayal that society is
unconsciously blinded in its actions. Therefore, no one attempts to strive against gender
stereotypes. Theres also a lack of change when it comes to gender role even though many know
theyre absurd. As Devor said, there is a constant struggle to balance out the personal I and the
social me (39). Theres confusion on how society believes people should view themselves
versus how people actually view themselves. Do people act in a way that pleases themselves or
in a way that pleases society? The Kenwood Chef ad shows that since the wife has done what is
expected of her, her husband is happy with her and her work as a women. It sends a message
across that if women want a happy husband and successful marriage, they should comply to what
theyre told to do as a compliant wife. These types of advertisements tell society that if
individuals do what they are told, then good will come of it. Therefore, gender identity and
actions are heavily dependent on the approval of others and the norms society has presented to

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people. Because of this, were in a way afraid to go against gender stereotypes, therefore
complying with the expectations.
However some may argue that an advertisement is nothing but an advertisement. It does
not teach society anything nor does it make individuals believe that the gender roles portrayed
are the ones that we should follow. According to Thompson and Zerbinos in their article
Television Cartoons: Do Children Notice Its A Boys World?, they argue that indeed young
children are completely aware of the stereotypes being shown to them. When young boys were
asked to describe how boys acted according to the cartoons they watched, they said they were
tough, they [chase] the bad guy, are violent, and always gets in trouble. Young girls asked
to described girls in cartoons responded with characters being polite, always doing chores,
playing with dolls, and chasing boys. When asked to describe the opposite sex, girls said that
boys were violent and engaged in more active behavior (428). Meanwhile boys said that girls
followed what boys said, arent as adventurous, and teased by boys. Thompson and Zerbinos
further argued that noticing such differences entails to reporting stereotypical job preferences in
children. Boys selected being firefighters, police officers, or athletes while girls chose to be
nurses or teachers. This shows that young children are consciously aware of what is being taught
to them through the cartoons they watched and act out on it. The Kenwood Chef advertisement
exposes young children to gender roles and sends out a message that there are certain behavioral
and personality traits that are associated with either sex. This is important because it shows that
such portrayals affect their gender construction throughout life. In fact, the clothes selected for
gender specific roles, the activities limited to men and women because of gender, the way men

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and women act differently shows that society has fully conformed to gender norms and is fully
aware of the gender stereotypes that have been placed on the gender binary.
Many advertisements, like the Kenwood Chef advertisement, constantly model out
gender roles. Society is exposed to behavior that is meant to come naturally and taught how to
act a certain way. Gender is constructed through various media outlets and then performed in a
way that is believed to be correct, fulfilling our role. Society is fully aware of this yet they
continue to follow these norms and if one doesnt act accordingly, they are usually looked down
and treated differently. The Kenwood Chef advertisement exemplifies that gender roles have
existed since long ago and will strongly continue to do so, unless more and more people, such as
millennials today continue to break these stereotypes and follow what they desire.

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Works Cited
Devor, Aaron. Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender. Composing
Gender, edited by Rachel Groner and John F. OHara, Bedford Spotlight Reader, 2014,
pp. 35-45
Kaur, Dippanjeet and Thapar, Sheetal. Media Portrayal of Women. Asian Science, 9th edition,
Issue 1-2, 2015, pp. 62-68.
Kenwood Chef. Google Images. Web. 3 Nov. 2016
Lorber, Judith. Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender. Composing Gender,
edited by Rachel Groner and John F. OHara, Bedford Spotlight Reader, 2014,
pp. 19-33
Thompson, Teresa and Zerbinos, Eugenia. Television Cartoons: Do Children Notice Its A
Boys World?. Sex Roles, Vol. 37, No. 5-6, Kluwer Academic Publishers-Plenum
Publishers, 1997, pp. 415-432