Stereotypes in Japanese Media Analytical Essay by Nicky

In this article, the writer discusses that the Japanese media's major stereotypical images come from tradition-inspired gender roles where women are presented in a far different light than men. The writer maintains that women are shown as being more beauty-conscious than men, they are assigned certain specific traits like calmness and elegance and they are also shown as delicate objects of desire instead of women with a mind of their own. The writer discusses that these findings have been confirmed by two major studies. A study by Sakamoto et al. (1999) studies Japanese commercials and highlights the stereotypes and the second study was conducted by Ford et al. (1998) on the gender stereotypes in Japanese magazines. The writer notes that the two studies offer a close look at how Japanese media portrays women and what stereotypes can be commonly found in commercials and magazines.