Women and men are nestled into predetermined cultural molds when it comes to gender in American society. Women play the roles of mothers, housekeepers, and servants to their husbands and children, and men act as providers, protectors, and heads of the household. These gender roles stem from the many culture myths that exist pertaining to America, including those of the model family, education, liberty, and of gender. The majority of these myths are misconceptions, but linger because we, as Americans, do not analyze or question them. The misconception of gender suggests that biological truths no longer dictate our gender roles as men and women; they derive from cultural myths. We, as a nation, need to do severe critical thinking about this …show more content…

The prime example for TV's new "wonder woman," is found in the four women of HBO's Emmy Award winning series, "Sex & The City." These characters are successful, single Manhattan women who never hesitate to be outspoken, particularly about their sexual endeavors, opinionated, and possess no apprehension about living the single life. Some may call them promiscuous due to their numerous conquests, some of them one-night-stands and relationships with married men, which was completely unheard of in television of earlier years. These women are high paid, successful, fashionable women who have broken through the cultural myth of gender into a class of their own without an apron or husband to protect them.
However, in sports media women have yet to catch up. Sociologist Michael A. Messner, after researching through over 23 hours of sports media, identifies a set of recurring themes of masculinity in sports media, which he calls "the televised sports manhood formula." In his formula, Messner asserts that men dominate televised sports media and the commercials that surround it, and that women either play the role of "castrating @#%$…to be avoided" or "sexy props or prizes for men's successful sports performances or consumptions choices." (Messner, M.A. (2002) Center of Attention: The Gender of Sports Media). In televised sports, the male athletes