On this we can agree, schools absolutely need to do a better job of preparing kids to function in the world, although we can't discount media. In the US, TV advertising alone is a multi-billion dollar business because even though we think what we see doesn't influence us, it absolutely does -often in subconscious ways. So, that needs to be responsible and balanced as well. Media has improved but it still isn't good. Men still speak the vast majority of the lines in movies, even in ones that are ostensibly about women.
Gender indoctrination begins at birth and continues being reinforced by parents and teachers, but also the media.
"Media exerts a lot of influence in maintaining gender norms and stereotypes, beginning in childhood, and continuing throughout life. “One study we looked at found that the more TV children of both sexes watched, the more likely they were to believe that “boys are better”. For little boys, watching television appears to reinforce their already positive self-regard, while for girls, watching television appears to dampen it. This is concerning given that there are more than twice as many male characters as there are female characterson kid’s TV shows.” (2)
"Constant exposure to dated concepts of gender roles and norms in the media starts before preschool and continues from there — concepts like: Boys are smarter than girls; certain jobs are best for men and others for women; and even that girls are responsible for their own sexual assaults. This was the finding of the 2017 Common Sense Media report Watching Gender: How Stereotypes in Movies and on TV Impact Kids’ Development."
Despite some improvements, there's still plenty of patriarchy to go around - a lot of it deeply embedded in our collective unconsciousness and being played out at times without any ill intent. I don't think we can impact that unless we recognize that it is taking place.
