Although much of the existing research on gender representation in media has focused on girls and women — and for good reason — there is a lack of awareness around portrayals of masculinity in television and gaming. Depictions of boys’ development and the fathers who raise them – particularly depictions of violence and “deadbeat” dads – impact social norms around boys’ emotional expression, normalize the use of violence, and misrepresent what it means to be a father.
This webinar brings a gender lens to issues of boys and media by focusing on the changes in recent years both in front of and behind the camera, and what the industry can do to portray more holistic representations of boys, men, and all their diversity. We discuss what more inclusive storytelling can look like, and how parents and educators can maintain open dialogue with boys at home about the media they consume.
The Global Boyhood Initiative is coordinated by Equimundo and is designed to support boys aged 4 to 13 and the adults in their lives with the resources they need to raise, teach, coach and set an example for boys to become men who embrace healthy masculinity and gender equality. Learn more about GBI here.
Resources:
- If He Can See It, Will He Be It? Representations of Masculinity in Boys’ Television – Equimundo and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
- Storytelling Tip Sheets on Boys and Men – Center for Scholars and Storytellers
