Our 2 families

Class on the 9th was one that kind of filled me with a lot of different thoughts. The notion of agency or our capacity to act/ our own free will struck me as something that should be a human right. However, so many women (and men) struggle with what they can do, who has the power, and who makes the decisions. Is this all based on society and what society tells us/ is our agency as people depicted through the media? Frankly, I think that's what it all comes down to. Our values are instilled in us through the airwaves and sound bytes we hear from the television/radio/and even video games. While our families and our environment play a part in who we are, our value systems, etc. it is still Hannah Montana, Mary-kate and Ashley, Fresh Prince of Bel Air that children and adolescents are emulating (random assortment, yes but all have different aspects). One becomes so invested in the lives of these television characters - that more often than not gender stereotype perfectly- that they adopt the values of the fictional characters. I would argue that the agency we have or don't have is determined by what we see or hear in the media. Gender roles become more and more enforced through television like this.

The media is also shaping the way we view families. Very rarely do we see a new television series with a nuclear family. Just the other day I saw a preview for a new series called, Raising Hope, a show about a 23 year-old boy who is now in custody of raising a baby with the help of his family while the child's mother is is prison. While the concept is strange and is definitely challenging the "norm" it is also paving the way for new roles. Yes, the show may succeed due to it's shock value, but like all other television people will become invested in the lives and rituals of the family it is depicting. Therefore, creating, or at least sparking the fire for new kinds of gender roles.