The popularity of TV makes it the most ideal medium that exists in the world today for imposing particular representations of gender.

Gender Concepts Influenced by TV
For young children, gender development happens as a result of what they observe in the environment around them and if they are subject to watching TV, they will learn gender role concepts form that source as well. In other words, children imitate what they see and incorporate it into their own understanding of how they should behave.

There is a certain level of authority awarded to television programming due largely to the fact that it is such a persistent part of a huge segment of the planet's population. Subsequently, the roles we see men and women play in TV programs are accepted and recognized as the gender ideals approved in general by society. Viewers have the opinion that what is being broadcast on TV is simply a reflection of what the general public believes anyway.

TV Trends for Gender Roles Evolve
The gender roles that are most frequently viewed on TV are stereotypical yet have been presented convincingly, so that the viewing public easily agrees that is how it "should" be. Over time the trends in gender roles have changed to reflect that fact that people generally have more access to knowledge and information than they did in the early stages of TV programming.

At one time the politics of gender revealed that the man was always "in charge" while the woman was depicted as (in the words of Betty Friedan) "stupid...insecure little household drudge who spends her martyred, mindless, boring days dreaming of love..." In the 60's and 70's the role of a woman in society began to change with the times.

In this day and age women are represented on satellite television as courageous, intelligent and powerful. Some of the most popular television programming features a woman as the Super Hero. Similar changed have affected the roles of men on TV. No longer are they relegated to being around only for their brawn and tough guy heroism. They now show up in roles that describe them as sensitive, nurturing forces in society.