PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF SEXIST PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY ON THE FEMALE UNDERGRADUATES OF KWARA STATE UNIVERSITY (KWASU), MALETE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The sexist portrayal of women in the mass media has continued to be a subject of debate, controversy and scholarly investigation across the globe. It has been argued that the producers of films, movies and musicals in particular has up till date made no genuine effort to project the image of women in a positive and systematic manner. The major critics of the entertainment industry in Nigeria have constantly condemned the predominant portrayal of women along the narrow minded traditional culture of subjective stereotyping of the women folk. A number of scholars and cultural critics argue that the entertainment industry in Nigeria specifically the Nollywood had yet to exorcise itself from gender bias and stereotypical practices. this study therefore examined the psychological effect of sexist portrayal of women in the entertainment industry on the female undergraduates of Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, Nigeria. The researcher employed a single cross-sectional design using the survey questionnaire as the instrument of data collection. The findings revealed that the entertainment industry in Nigeria through their movies and musicals has continued to depict the women folk with sexist approach thereby demeaning and belittling the dignity of womanhood. This negative characterization of women also psychologically affects the women in the society and somehow limits them from carving an enviable niche for themselves on male dominated areas like business, politics or other professions. Furthermore, the study revealed that the representation of women in entertainment industry in Nigeria has not witnessed any departure from the traditional bias, stereotype and sexist approach in the societies over the last two decades or more. There is therefore the need for a change in the narrative where the entertainment industry should rather emphasize and promote the potentials, current achievements and success of the women folk in many spheres of human endeavors.