| Abstract: |
Portrayal of women in television contents has received commendable academic consideration driven by the criticism of feminist movements in the society. Nigerian women are often portrayed in television contents from the traditional perspective that presents women in an unequal position with their male counterparts. This paper seeks to identify current portrayals of women in television contents, and examine the effects on women and the society at large. Adopting a conceptual approach, the study reviewed extant literatures on female stereotypes in television contents and ascertained their effects on women and the Nigerian society. Findings from the reviewed studies revealed the prevalence of traditional portrayals of women such as domestic workers, housewives, dependent on man and sex object. The findings also showed that the stereotypical portrayal of women in television contents affects women’s attitude and contribution to national development negatively. In view of this, the paper concludes that television reinforces gender stereotypes, which affect the Nigerian society with women being the most brunt. Thus it recommends that deliberate efforts should be made by TV producers to ensure gender balance in television contents in order to dismantle the patriarchal structure which seems to be the fundamental cause of the imbalance. |
