Women’s Television Programming

The history of television programming intended for women is intertwined with other forces that have driven television programming, including consumerism and heightened depictions of sexuality. This entry discusses the history of women’s television programming, how it has changed, and concerns that remain about how women are depicted on television.

Women began to be seen as a strategic target group of television programming in the 1950s and the 1960s, when the television set became a family nucleus. Women’s general and niche genres and formats were intertwined with the then flourishing consumerism. In the United States, feminist movements of the time had little impact on women’s programming in the early years of television. Europe was more responsive; professional women could not be avoided in the development of characters.

During ...