Stereotypes: Contribution of soap opera media text to women’s identity construction

Abstract

abstract Gender inequality is a global problem (Khachaturyan and Peterson, 2015) as much as it is a South African problem (Salahodjaev and Azam, 2015; Morrell et al, 2012). This study records a focus group interview where participants from various townships around Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, discuss television soap operas and how women construct their identities through this genre – unaware of culture and gender stereotypes contained within – leading to inequality. Television in particular, among other media, influences millions of viewers daily (Haferkamp, 1999), including the way women see themselves and how they construct their identities (Hui, 2010). Soap opera content contains a fictional world which allows for escapism and transportation of its audience. As Cohen (2006:183) says: “By allowing us to share in the lives of others, entertainment can excite and educate us, can make us imagine, think and feel in ways we may not otherwise have a chance to experience”. This invariably contributes to the construction of audience identities, sadly through unrealistic storylines. Content producers themselves are not immune to the effects of gender stereotypes as they too, at some point in their lives, formed part of a media audience in one way or another. Their identities are constructed by their lived experiences and ‘unrealistic’ media they have consumed over the years. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that gender inequality is perpetuated by media content rife with gender stereotypes and unrealistic identities. Gender stereotypes, sometimes shown through cultural practices in storylines, contribute to gender inequality (Haider, 2017) in a subtle manner disguised as entertainment. Through this focus group interview, participants demonstrate how media content, specifically soap operas, contribute to their identities and how soap operas are not filled with images that promote aspects of women as being intelligent, independent, socially responsible and conscious (Hui, 2010). Instead, soap operas insinuate, through certain characters, that women should be seen, materialised, consumed, and fantasised (Motsaathebe, 2009).