Judith Butler's Queer Theory suggests that gender is socially constructed, not something done by nature. This means that stereotypical female and male roles are both constructed and reinforced through media and culture.
The 1995 film 'Clueless' is an example that reinforces stereotypes on gender. The main character of this movie, Cher, has a strong concern about appearance, and little concern about intelligence and achievement which embodies the sexist stereotype of the “dumb blonde”. Other sexist stereotypes are noted in this film, such as women being bad drivers and being in the kitchen, as quoted, “whenever a boy comes you should always have something baking”. The film places a heavy emphasis on the importance of physical appearance to femininity as Cher is always altering her appearance. She is constantly seen fixing her hair, doing her makeup and shopping, all with the intent on looking good so that she can attract a man for herself. This highlights stereotypical gender ideologies by defining women through their appearance. The entire film centres around love and relationships, particularly Cher's and her friends, Tai's and Dionne's, portraying relationships as the meaning of life for women. The film highlights both stereotypes such as the sexual objectification of women for the attention pleasure and of men, and female identity and happiness coming from heterosexual relationships.
A film that breaks stereotypes on gender is The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games portrays a female as being the heroine, something that is not usually seen in media products. In the film, Katniss is portrayed as being courageous and leader, characteristics that stereotypically males are thought to possess. Examples of her heroine actions included volunteering as tribute in place of her sister and putting food on the table for her family, her sister and her mother, by hunting. She owns stereotypical 'male' traits, such as being a hunter, well at hiding her emotions, good survival skills etc. Contrasting to this, Peeta is portrayed as being more emotionally open and vulnerable. Usually in movies we see females needing to be rescued by 'heroes', this is the other way in The Hunger Games, as Katniss saves Peeta multiple times during the series. This shows that different characteristics that we usually associate to a certain gender can be owned by anybody, regardless of what gender they identify with.
Many video games reinforce gender stereotypes. In a number of mainstream video games, women are either portrayed as aggressive and violent or vulnerable and weak. Female characters are often cast in the role with their rescue being the objective of the game. They are usually shown with disproportionate body features (very small waist, emphasised breasts) to often sexualise the character, which is done most of the time to appeal to a presumed male audience. Male characters in video games are usually portrayed as hyper-masculine and dominant. With body features such as shoulders and abs being emphasised to present them as strong and a leader. Neverwinter Nights for example, sexualises female characters by giving them disproportionate body features and very little clothing. Male characters' body features are also emphasised, showing muscles and abs threw clothing. Although this is usually done in 16 and 18 rated games, it could also happen in 12 rated games and even PG. An example of this is Fortnite, which is a PEGI 12 rated game.
An example of a videogame which breaks gender stereotypes is Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The series received criticism due to the gender stereotypes, especially when it came to how a character can look. Previously, after a gender was selected, the player couldn't change it, and their character was limited to boy- or girl-gendered clothing and features. In the new game New Horizons, players now have the option to customise their character throughout the game, and you’re also no longer limited to male and female-only features and hairstyles. As well as this, all clothing and accessories are available to purchase to all users. Another thing that has changed in the series are the 'villagers'. Previously, the villagers would only receive 'feminine' or 'masculine' gifts depending on what gender they were. This has now changed, and users can now gift their villagers whatever they want to, and every interaction with the animal villagers is decidedly un-gendered. To highlight this, the game allows player interaction with all aspects of the game anytime they desire, and nobody has any particular advantage or difference when playing the game.