Should Men Work Outside and Women Stay Home? Revisiting the Cultivation of Gender-Role Attitudes in Japan

Despite recent societal changes, the stereotyped images of men as providers and women as homemakers are prevalent on Japanese television. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between television viewing and attitudes toward the traditional gender-role notion that men work outside and women take care of the family and home. Data from the Japanese General Social Surveys from 2000 to 2008 indicate that television viewing is positively related to traditional gender-role attitudes. Data also reveal mainstreaming patterns by sex, age, education, and political orientation. Further, the observed cultivation and mainstreaming patterns were not contingent upon time. Implications are discussed in terms of the role of television in the realization of a gender-equal society in Japan.