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Because the overwhelming majority of births in the United States (U.S.) occur in hospitals and other medical settings rather than at home, the only births many U.S. women see before giving birth themselves are those shown in media, such as films and television series. Using thematic analysis of 111 media pieces consisting of fictional films and television show episodes that feature childbirth and were released in the U.S. from 1988 to 2023, we investigate what these depictions communicate about women during childbirth and whether these portrayals have changed over time. Overall, we find that the depictions in these movies and television show episodes rely on institutionalized medicine, emotionally intense labor and deliveries, objectification of women, and gendered behaviors during childbirth. These depictions have changed little over the time period we examined and convey the strong preservation of the gender structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate whether adherence to dominant masculine norms and choice of college major are related among undergraduate men in the United States. Our results indicate that men's level of conformity to certain masculine norms is associated with their postsecondary field of study. In particular, we find men's adherence to the masculine norm of emotional control is associated negatively with selecting majors from such academic fields as clinical and health sciences or arts and humanities compared to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and doctoral-track medicine (e.g., pre-medicine and pre-dentistry). Conformity to the masculine norm to focus on work is related negatively to choosing a major in arts and humanities or communication and media fields compared to STEM and doctoral-track medicine fields. These results suggest ways that dominant social norms about masculinity may contribute to gender segregation of postsecondary fields of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate associations between adherence to femininity and choice of college major using a sample of university women in the United States. Our results indicate that general conformity to feminine norms is related to postsecondary field of study. With background factors controlled, general conformity to feminine norms is associated negatively with women’s odds of choosing STEM and doctoral-track medicine majors, as well as arts and humanities majors, relative to other fields of study. Our multivariate results also indicate that level of conformity to specific feminine norms, including norms for being relationship-oriented, caring for children, and being domestic, is related to postsecondary field of study, especially for choosing a major in arts and humanities, business, and communication and journalism. Taken together, our findings suggest that cultural norms about femininity contribute to ongoing gender segregation of academic fields of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]