The general pattern of feminist scholarship, which emphasized the absence of gender within general social science theories, seems to apply equally to media theories (Thiruchandran, 1994). They seemed to have put their emphasis on gender stereotypes in respect to film and hold that there is a patriarchal bias in the media (1994). They also support the idea that such stereotypes are treated as natural and should not even be questioned (Agarwal and Bhasin 1984, Russell 1980, Tuchman 1978 as cited in Thiruchandran, 1994). While there are certainly similarities in the way the problem is approached, there are diverse opinions among feminists in the manner in which they are classified as liberal, radical or socialist feminists (1994). Within feminist groups, there are disagreements in the way in which media analysis is approached (1994). They do however agree that gender stereotypes and specific messages given out for women only, are repre! sentations of a patriarchal system (1994). In other words, women are shown as wives or take subsidiary roles like nurses to doctors or secretaries to bosses (1994). It is generally believed that such an under- representation and untrue representation are part of a dominant value system (1994). This is related to a value system that accentuates female beauty while minimizing female intelligence.When reading a fashion magazine or watching a film or television show, it is not surprising to find beautiful women in both subservient and dominant roles. As time goes on, women do get more power in terms of what they can do in a role. Today, women are allowed to be doctors and executives. In the show ER, for example, there are probably just a many female as male leads who are doctors and while females dominate the nursing pool, there are several male nurses as well. On the other hand, in the film Meet the Parents, the idea of having a job as a male nurse as a source of embarrassment, or equated with failure, seemed ...
