Soap operas as generators of gender stereotypes: the case of Mexico

Abstract

Soap Operas have contributed to the reproduction of gender stereotypes that are introduced in the collective imagination as a normality. Their stories represent women with passive roles, victims of discrimination, violence, sexuality, and reification. The objective of this article is to analyze how stereotypes contribute to the maintenance of the sex-gender system as an inequitable cultural construct. The method used for its elaboration was a documentary investigation with data and testimonies about the roles played by female subjects in soap operas. One of the findings to be highlighted is the persistence of interpretations little attached to reality, which do not account for the transformation of the roles of modern life. Among the most significant conclusions of this article is the lack of commitment of television stations to contribute to cultural change by presenting real women as protagonists of their stories.