Sex and Gender Depictions on Television Survey Results

Overview of results:

1. Gender
8 females 12 males

2. Age ranges
4 18-19 year olds
3 20-21 year olds
5 22-23 year olds
1 24 year old
1 26 year old
2 28 year olds
1 31 year old
2 in 50s
1 85 year old

3. Average amount of television watched per day:
11 of the 12 men chose A) 1-2 hours
Only 1, the 85 year old, answered B) 2-3 hours
4 females chose A) and 3 chose B), 1 did not answer

All of the findings were very interesting because it is always fascinating to see how people perceive themselves and the world around them, as opposed to what might actually be going on. It is estimated that the average amount of time spent with the television on per day is actually 6 hours 47 minutes per household (www.csun.edu). This is a stark contrast to what people reported. Now, this finding does not actually relay per person consumption, but somebody has to be in charge that television set.

According to another finding in the results is that many people believe that gay and lesbian characters are well represented on network TV. Network TV is channels 2 through 13. 11 respondents checked that they do believe that gays are well represented, 3 put no, and 7 responded 'rarely.' If gay characters are present on storyline on network TV, they re not main characters (at least not since the cancellation of "Will and Grace" in 2005), and they are usually always as an incidental, 'friend' character.

Interestingly, 6 0f the 12 male respondents, have not noticed a surge of violence towards women on cable TV shows, as opposed to network TV shows. 3 of the respondents put 'does not apply,' which leaves only 3 men who have noticed this trend. In my own personal watching of cable TV shows (the fictional ones, not the reality ones), I have noticed that there is a large upsurge of violence towards women and that the violence is more graphic on cable than on network TV. There is an infamous scne from the popular FX show "Rescue Me" where a man is raping his wife. Not only did they show this, but the female character got an orgasm. There was some backlash because of this, but really not a whole lot was said or made of this crude representation of violence against women.

Overall, the results tell a lot about how people view themselves and their society in relation to television, still one of the largest media markets available.

Survey Questions:
1. What gender are you?
2. What is your age?
3. About how many hours of television do you watch per day?
A) 1-2 B) 3-4 C)Over 5
4. Do you think blacks are well represented in Prime Time?
5. Do you think gay and lesbian characters are well represented on network TV?
6. Are women characters often portrayed in positions of power in dramas during Prime Time?
7. Have you noticed a large amount of couples (male and female) that are of two different races/ethnicities on any shows- drama (crime, medical, paranormal, etc.); sitcoms, soap opera, etc?
8. If you watch cable TV shows, have you noticed a surge of violence against women as opposed to shows on network TV?
9. Is sex more explicit on cable TV than on network?
10. Do you think minorities are well represented on television as a whole?

~Hayley Arrington