Representation of Gender Roles and Media: The Case of TRT Children's Magazine

Abstract

The periodicals that target children in Turkey have been published with commercial concerns in a wide range of forms such as promotional products, newspaper supplements, children's literature, and publications of various state institutions in line with their public-services; and are usually based on popular cartoon characters in the West. This study focuses on TRT Cocuk Dergisi (TRT Children's Magazine) which has been published by TRT Cocuk TV (TRT Children's TV), one of the TV channels broadcasting as a part of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation that is a public institution. The content of the magazine is structured around both informative and fun pastime activities. In this context, the main question that the study seeks to answer is how TRT Children's Magazine establishes and reflects gender roles. Considering that the messages received via various media tools have major impacts on children's socialization processes, the study critically analyses how gender roles are constructed and represented by TRT Children's Magazine. Since through media children can learn their society's cultural values, embrace and integrate them into their everyday practices, it is extremely important to critically study the contents of the aforementioned magazine by paying due attention to the models and constructs children are repeatedly exposed to. Therefore, qualitative content analysis method was used in the study. Based on the issues that have been analyzed, this study highlights and concludes that the majority of the role models offered by the publication are male characters and that the content of the magazine consistently maintains the gender roles assigned by traditions.