Acceptable Gender Behavior

As I sat in class on Monday, I found myself deeply concerned for how media actually does influence acceptable behavior for each gender. I found myself frustrated that at times the media (mainly tv and movies) reinforces ideas that may not be true about genders. I was frustrated not only for my sisters across the United States who were told for far too many years that their place was only in the home (thank you June Clever), but also for the men across the United States who have been told by the media that they are not to show emotion with other men. It is arguable that to some extent it is the media that does not allow people to act the way they really are designed to act. Okay, so I might sound like a liberal right now, and recognizing that is sometimes unpopular I will attempt to justify my ideas through scripture. I appeal to the story of David and Jonathan in I Samuel 18-20. I can recall when I read this that people today, were they to see the loving nature of their friendship, would probably condemn them for getting "too close" as male friends. Then I felt bad because David and Jonathan's story of friendship is truly beautiful, but it would not be widely accepted in our culture. For some reason, men are not allowed to make sacrifices for each other (unless on a battle field) and they are not allowed to "love" their friends or "become one in spirit" with thier friends. I can't help but think that the media has reinforced these ideas that might be false and might not necessarily be Biblical. As a Christian community it is important that we see the harm in these myths and live our lives counter to them if the myths are not Biblically based.