Kelcie's+Media+Paper

In this essay, we observed how media affects the way men and women view themselves in society. I never actually realized how much media has had an impact on society as well as myself. It amazed me at how vulnerable I was to commercials that want to make viewers feel a certain way. The channel that I focused on was the Travel Channel. Although many may feel that the Travel Channel is a gender neutral channel (as I thought it was), much of what this channel shows is either geared towards men or geared towards women. I have a completely different view on media and now when I watch television, I think about how the commercials and television shows are trying to appeal the audience.

** “Travel” Behind the Travel Channel ** 

 The Travel Channel has portrayed various stereotypical ideas of travel to their audience. To men, travel is considered a masculine quality because it means adventure--going to the most extravagant places to explore what others are afraid to explore. They take travel as an opportunity to challenge themselves in places that are unfamiliar to them. On the other hand, women view travel as a feminine activity. Shopping, sight seeing, and sun bathing are considered feminine stereotypes. Women view travel as their opportunity for an exotic experience for relieving stress and relaxation, in other words, “Girls just wanna have fun.” The Travel Channel tells their audience what they’re //supposed// to receive out of travel so that their audience travels to get the experience that they see on television.  Many females are familiar with the advertisements for //Best Romantic Beaches//, //Swing Dance Hot Spots//, and //Samantha Brown//. Similarly, they all present the stereotypical feminine quality of traveling. //Best Romantic Beaches// depicts the perfect getaway for any couple. They show clips and photos of couples walking along the shore, hand in hand as the sun sets. //Best Romantic Beaches// states that travel is romance; something that most women desire when on a trip with their loved one. //Swing Dance Hot Spots// offers a different aspect of travel in the eyes of women. Like //Best Romantic Beaches//, //Swing Dance Hot Spots// also promotes a romantic, yet fun way for couples to spend “alone” time together, but its mainly directed towards women who are out to have a good time. //Swing Dance Hot Spots// shows three young women dancing, grooving, and letting loose. This picture states that women need a GNO, or girl’s night out, to embrace their inner femininity and get away from their husbands for a night. As a woman with freedom, they want to feel independent and strong. The Travel Channel shows them where and how they can fulfill their desire for independence. Samantha Brown encourages women to travel around the world for the best and most exotic fashion. Various pictures are shown of Brown wearing different outfits in different foreign cities. In one picture she looks hip while in the other she looks sophisticated. Her facial expression is satisfied and slightly cocky, giving off the impression that women can look hip and sophisticated like her if they wear fashion from around the world. The Travel Channel does well in capturing their female audience through romance, enjoyment, and fashion.  The idea of travel for men, however, greatly differs from that of women. If men are not watching //Swing Dance Hot Spots//, they are probably looking at //Top 10 Burlesque Shows//, //Bizarre Foods//, //Bert the Conqueror//, and //Ghost Adventures//. Fulfilling the same desires as the //Swing Dance Hot Spots// does for women, //Top 10 Burlesque Shows// offers men the opportunity to have a boy’s night out. In contrast, //Bizarre Foods//, //Bert the Conqueror//, and //Ghost Adventures// present a masculine quality about traveling. Conquer the food, conquer the challenge, conquer the ghost. Andrew in //Bizarre Foods// asks men: “why go out to an expensive restaurant to eat food you have probably already tried when you can get a taste of the most exotic meals?” Andrew is always eating food that no one would dare to taste. Bert takes on a different stance by showing his audience that he’s gutsy—riding monstrous roller coasters and physically challenging himself. //Ghost Adventures// offers the masculine idea of bravery; visiting the most haunted places that no one has visited before. All three shows state that men want adventure and challenge when they travel because it’s about achieving what the Travel Channel feels as having “manliness.”  The Travel Channel can easily be seen as gender neutral, but the Travel Channel seems to perpetuate sexist stereotypes. Not all women only want romance or fashion when traveling, but the Travel Channel leads them to believe that those //are// feminine qualities and that is what women //want.// Stereotypically, women are gentle and delicate. Likewise, the Travel Channel also maintains stereotypes for men through their masculine television shows. //Bizarre Foods//, //Bert the Conqueror//, and //Ghost Adventures// all seem to say, “you’re not man enough if you’re not doing this.” They’re showing men that they are not fulfilling masculinity if they’re not taking risks or challenging themselves in traveling. The obvious gendered appeal of the television shows demonstrates that the Travel Channel tells their audience buys into stereotypes that easily influence their audience on how what is “real travel.” It’s a state of mind that the Travel Channel uses to question their audience of whether or not men and women match gendered expectations.
 * MEDIA PAPER ASSIGNMENT **Men and women are constantly influenced by what they watch on television. Television channels such as the Travel Channel have been considered to be a gender neutral channel. One would not normally see DVD commercial for //Girls Gone Wild// or a TV show about seven strangers living in a house together on this station. By most audiences, travel is generally viewed as an exotic, satisfying, fulfilling adventure. However, although the Travel Channel is assumed to be a neutrally gendered channel, they display different ideas of “travel” for men and women.