User:DasiaTravis/sandbox

I have made some grammatical changes to the article which I forgot to put in my sandbox before publishing the changes, however, they can be seen under the "view history" tab in my sandbox.

The topic of my article was put in bold because it is the lead of the first section.

Television usually depicts fathers as dumb or incompetent. -- working on citing just in case I want to use this.

I planned on adding media examples to the portrayals of mothers section, however, I had trouble finding some.

= Parental portrayals in the media = ORIGINAL PASSAGES:

Portrayal of the family structure in the media reinforces different gender stereotypes in society today. The media tends to highlight the "traditional American family" as opposed to nonconventional configurations. Social Scientists have found that home, family, and romance are three of the most important components of the way characters are presented. Moreover, these qualities are often presented in a stereotypical and traditional fashion. In the past few years,[when?] the traditional American family has shifted from its original patriarchal structure to a more gender-equivalent dynamic. For example, two-married-parent families were the most common type of family unit a generation ago; however, in the year 2000 that particular family structure could only be found in one out of four households. The depictions of these changes in the media can reinforce or debunk society's views on raising a family. Media channels such as children's books, television, movies and advertisements are direct touch points for both youth and parents to process shifting gender roles within the family. More specifically, as roles such as "dumb" fathers, single mothers, step mothers and stay-at-home dads continue to be portrayed in the media, these roles will mirror and shift in reality as well.

Parents are at the core of every "family". Over time the meaning of the word parent has changed to reflect the transformation of gender roles in society. The traditional embodiment of "parents" used to be that of a husband and wife, but now the definition has expanded beyond this single definition. The media has played a large role in the acceptance of these many definitions. By adjusting the parental definition, the definition of family structure has become more flexible as well. Media has presented a multitude of family structures and has promoted the acceptance of alternate family structures in many ways. The integration of alternate family structures has been presented in television, newspapers, movies, commercials, etc. Media can be a very convenient source of information, being both accessible and up to date. Media makes information readily available to those seeking advice and understanding about parenthood or other family structures. In spite of the advantages the media can provide, there are many drawbacks of projecting parenthood in the media. For example, a lot of media coverage on parenthood can be taken out of context, dishonest, and misleading. Few people can benefit from highlighting the failures of new parents, but media coverage thrives on controversy. In summary, parents are at the heart of every family and the way the media chooses to portray parents has a ripple effect.

MY TWEAK:

Parental portrayals in the media in combination with  family structure reinforces gender stereotypes in society with various media outlets highlighting the "traditional American family" as opposed to nonconventional configurations. Social Scientists have found that home, family, and romance are three of the most important components of the way characters are presented. Moreover, these qualities are often presented in a stereotypical and traditional fashion. . In the 1950s the meaning of the word parent coincided with the nuclear family structure--husband, wife, and children. Parents had a responsibility to uphold traditional gender roles in society. Gender roles in society were as follows: fathers work outside of the home and bring in the bread (take on the role of providers), while mothers tend to housework, make sure they are emotionally available, and look after the children (take on the role of caretakers). In today's time, the definition and responsibility of a parent has become more flexible/adjustable since the 1950s, although some parents tend to stick to their traditional gender roles. For example, two-married-parent families were the most common type of family unit a generation ago; however, in the year 2000 that particular family structure could only be found in one out of four households. Because of the shift in parenting, media outlets took it upon themselves to provide representation for certain family structures outside of the nuclear family, leaving them flexible as well. Mass media has presented a multitude of family structures and has promoted the acceptance of alternate family structures in many ways including television, newspapers, movies, commercials, books, comics, and etc. Media is linked to the structure of families, given that parents and their children confide in it when questioning their own family and parenting practices. It's influence impacts parents positively and negatively, either by underrepresentation (dumb, irresponsible) or drawing the perfect picture (good moms and dads).

Disneyland Dads
Disneyland dads refers to fathers who are considered to be the nonresidential parent. However, any father can express this type of characteristic. "Disneyland dads" have the tendency to undertake recreational activities over real parental responsibilities that can include participating in their child's day-to-day activities. In other words, they represent the fun parent while leaving the "residential parent" to deal with child rearing. These dads can be permissive and fail to discipline their children properly. Richard Gilmore, a father and grandfather on the television show Gilmore Girls, is a splitting image of this. Richard is rich and tends to buy his daughter's and granddaughter's love and approval with his money, while his wife, Emily Gilmore takes on the role of the disciplinarian. Mothers can be classified as Disneyland parents also. According to Stewart, information on Disneyland moms is harder to come by given the fact that mothers are more likely to display nurturing behaviors when they are primary caregivers, leaving secondary primary caregiving to the fathers who fall back on more leisure activities.

Portrayal of Latino American Families
In 1984, the media portrayed Latinos as illegal aliens that were on the run. This wasn't an accurate representation of who they really were and the lifestyles they lived in reality (doctors, lawyers, husbands, wives, etc.). The study Latinwood and TV 2000 restated that Latino Americans were not accurately presented in the media. They were highly underrepresented and superficially/negatively illustrated on screen, usually characterized as nannies, gardeners, and servants. Just as there was an uproar about media not accurately representing African Americans families properly, there was a similar issue for Latino Americans. With this issue, came the emergence of successful Latino-themed shows such as Dora the Explorer, George Lopez, Ugly Betty, and Wizards of Waverly Place. As media outlets started to present more authentic Latino representation, it gave way for these shows to make an appearance: Jane the Virgin, Queen of the South, One Day at a Time, and On My Block which is a show that represents both Latino and African American families and their culture.

Portrayal of Interracial Families
Interracial relationships are likely to be invisible in the media, or they are portrayed as problematic/ unnatural. For example, Black/White relationships are depicted as dangerous. It wasn't until the an episode of Star Trek, that the first Black/White kiss was televised. Soon after, an interracial couple on The Jeffersons appeared on television. In the show, Tom (White) and Helen (Black) were often taunted by their Black neighbor, George, for being two different races. Helen and Tom had a biracial daughter who George would refer to as "zebra", which was a derogatory word. George wasn't a fan of people dating outside of their race. If shows highlighting interracial couples did premiere, they were canceled after a few seasons. The Jeffersons was canceled after a decade, True Colors was canceled after two seasons and Kevin Hill was canceled after one season. Happy Endings and Parenthood are recent shows portraying interracial couples. Although they are recent, the shows aren't portraying interracial couples properly. Interracial couples in the media are more of an elephant in the room rather than experiencing something new.