...Spieler Kristen Hughes ENG 105 October 23, 2012 Women in the Media According to Dove Research, The Real Truth about Beauty, only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful (“Surprising Self Esteem Statistics”). Women in the media are shown as having a body type that is unrealistic and impractical. Although mass media has many negative effects on today’s women, including low self-esteem, an increase in eating disorders and an inaccurate definition of beauty, advertisements and thin models can also serve as role-model and as inspiration. From dolls to Victoria’s Secret models, women are exposed to all types of media images that portray “the thin ideal” from a very early age. Media pressure to be thin can cause individuals to have negative thoughts about their appearance. According to psychologist Tiffanie Domil, “Body image is the way people perceive themselves, and the way they believe others perceive them” (“The Influence of Media Images”). Therefore body image is all about what we see about ourselves, and our opinions of our bodies, even though they opinions may not be exactly true. For example, one woman might think she is overweight when in reality she is perfectly healthy. There have been multiple studies done to connect media to women’s low self-esteem. One example of the effects of media is in Fiji in 1995, when televisions were introduced. Statistics show that after 38 months of being exposed to media, females started to be more conscious about their...
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...“perfect” female. Women have always been seen, and portrayed as a sex symbol, and usually the disobedient one. Dating back to B.C and the story of Adam and Eve, Eve was the naked one who bit into the fruit that god told her was forbidden. Why couldn’t it have been Adam that caused such scandal, and was the cause for destruction, and crime in the world, and not Eve? From the believed beginning of time, to present day, women have really only progressed a small amount up the social ladder. Today, women are looked down upon, if they are slightly more over weight then what is considered “normal,” if they are “underweight”, “darker skin color”, too “pale”, “flat chested”, big boned, “thick,” or because of their ethnicities and backgrounds. So what exactly defines the “perfect female?” Is it the girls featured on “Girls Gone Wild” in Cancun, or the half naked models posing for Victoria’s Secret? Or is it the perfectly put together “Miss America” pageant queens? Or is it the Hollywood actresses with billion dollar dresses, and priceless jewelry? Or the well toned, well defined professional team cheerleaders, and dancers we watch? WE, speaking for us “average” women, who often tend to idolize, and carry pieces of all these girls within us, and envy them, for not being able to ever look like one of them…so damn perfect in every single way. These women, among many others all contribute to the foundations, of media, public relations, and entertainment sectors. Women are usually seen...
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...of shifts in portrayal of women in media is crucial to demonstrate how traditional gender definitions are slowly deconstructed over time. Having made her first debut in the early 1960s, Barbie brought the message “Girls can be anything” to the age of a new generation of girls and women (Boomen, 2009). It is important to note that despite claims that she symbolizes the ‘cultural plastic’ phenomenon, Barbie has revolutionized girl’s doll playing (Boomen, 2009). Before the invention of Barbie, girls were still playing with baby dolls that aimed to foster domestic skills and to prepare them for stereotypical future roles as mothers (Boomen, 2009). Acting as a counter opposite to the former girls play, Barbie is not a doll for girls to simulate and practice motherhood on. In fact, Barbie acts as a platform for girls to freely create and project on her any identity they wish to take on, only to be limited by their creativity. In summary, Barbie is not confined to the traditional social expectations of women. Beneath her seemingly stereotypical idealistic exterior, she is an independent career woman with estimated eighty professions, ranging from a presidential candidate to a nurse (Boomen, 2009). Barbie does not engage in domestic duties and as stated by Lord, motherhood definitely wasn’t Barbie’s area of interest (Boomen, 2009). Subsequently in the late 1990s, Lara Croft emerged as the first main female character in video games. Prior to this, women only played supporting roles...
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...that seeks to promote rights of women and illuminate the masses to how much women are really held back by society and its standards. The film focuses on the fact that, in the eyes of modern mass media, the value of a woman has more to do with her physical appearance than her personal achievements. There are many themes in documentaries such as this one which wish to give viewers more knowledge on a particular subject, but I will focus on the media’s portrayal of a woman’s worth is relative to her attractiveness, sex sells, and the hypocrisy society shows between women and men. Often when a female does some good for society, she is subjected to scrutiny of her looks. When she is good looking, she gets teased by comedians as “senate barbie,” or a woman who got ahead because of looks. And if she is not attractive, political cartoons take advantage and print exaggerations of physical features to caricature proportions. Both of these draw away from the work of the individual and put the focus on physical appearance. From Axe, to Victorias Secret, companies all over the world use sex as a selling point. They use buxom models to fill out lingerie, or show beautiful girls flocking to men who use their scents. They use it because it works, whether that speaks to the tactics of advertising, or the failure of our society to recognize the impact this has on our young women, it is reality. When men are fat, they are generally categorized as funny, when women are fat, they are categorized...
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...Sydney Toache March 2012 English P.5 The media portrays female models a degrading manner due to Photoshop. Thus suggesting that photo shopping/ editing women’s image in the media should not occur because it gives girls un realistic ideals of how their bodies look and in order for women to have self esteem and believe in their looks. II. Creating images that do not exist distort our females A. When putting this on covers of magazines we are supporting thinness, dieting…etc. 1. The most successful women describe themselves as above average/average. 2. Only 1 in 5 women are satisfied with their body weight. B. Women that are insecure are more likely to buy these products/ magazines. 1. Magazines have 10 ½ times more ads to lose weight than men. 2. Women of all ages look at magazines. II. If parents supported their daughters more than wouldn’t be so insecure. A. Real women do not wake up looking like supermodels. 1. Models used to weight 8% less than the average woman... but today they weight 23% then 2. Parents most supportiveness mostly wasn’t until college. B. the American dream is for your daughter to be a coach. 1. TV has turned to the stereotypes of the “bitch” the “slut.” 2. There is a connection with thin and sucsceful in movies. IV. We have the choice not to buy into an image designed t make us feel insecure A. When society accepts label, physical/ psychological abuse becomes normal 1. Were becoming self absorbed/...
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...Women in the Media The Psychological Power of the Media to Trap Women in A Role. The power of advertising to change, shape and mold the public's opinion has had a major impact on the lives of women. Women are the main target for many advertisements and are used in many forms of advertising. The media has historically used propaganda to define who women are and what they should be. The time period following WWII maybe one of the greatest examples of how completely media can control the ideas of the society on a specific group of people. During WWII women were encouraged to go out to factories and work to support the war effort. This gave women a sense of need and belonging that many had been left out of before they had the opportunity to persue any type of career in an acceptable manner. With the men away at war, women were encouraged to find work outside the home due to a lack of factory workers who could produce war goods. Once the war ended, however, this propaganda not only stopped- it abruptly changed. Once the men were back in the states there was an excess of workers. Men came back form war to find that there were no jobs or that their wives were occupying them. With production plummeting after war time highs there were few jobs to offer the men returning home. This started a media blitz on women. Women were encouraged to return to the home and take care of their families. Women's magazines were overflowing with ideas on how to make a perfect...
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...Since the early 1800’s women have struggled and strived to obtain equal rights of the average man. It was not up until 1920 when women were even granted the right to vote and it was not until 1981 when the United States finally appointed a woman Supreme Justice (Weinbaum). It has been a long and tedious process to acquire equal rights for women and fairness in politics. After over two centuries, women have almost completely overcome the gender barrier and established an equal dominant role in society as men. However, the recent provocative portrayals of women in the media have questioned the idea that, if in fact, the years spent overcoming this gender hardship was to ultimately come back to square one. With television programs such as “The Bachelor” presenting a dozen women competing for the attention of one man and television commercials highlighting a woman's thigh to sell sneakers, it is difficult for society and especially the youth to not to be influenced by the overpowering message to objectify women (Coleman). Television shows portraying woman in explicit dogmatic behaviors like “Flavor of Love” or “The Bachelor” make it difficult for the everyday women to process exactly why the media allows such depictions of women to be viewed and accepted around the world. According to author Breanna Coleman, “Television programs show slender, unrealistically curvaceous, and vulnerable young women, who are dependent on male figures for strength and survival, not their own sense...
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...Media Representations of Canadian Women in Politics. Introduction The mass media have largely helped female political participation and electoral success. Media notice of the ‘gender gap’ helped women in the political arena, decades ago, and instilled awareness of the women’s vote and needed female representation (Kahn & Goldenberg, 1991, p. 104). Women are still presented in ways that differ from males in political coverage or other media, apt to be discussed for personal attributes, appearance or private lives, described as perky individuals, and often as soldiers or otherwise masculine persons, and as special achievers. It seems that Canadian female politicians cannot be simple representatives. Lively, Perky, Individuals Cody Groat (2013) discussed Sheila Copps, a longstanding Hamilton East MP and deputy prime minister to Jean Chretien that through twenty years in office continued to be presented in the media as cute and singular. Donatella Campus (2013) explained that women politicians find a ‘double bind’ in the need to be presentable, as means feminine in expected ways and competent (p.39). Canadian politics at all levels require media success according to established patterns. Much is applauded of how women balance family obligations and careers or for that matter, how they spend their free time. Male politicians when interviewed are not apt to be asked about family strain, stress or how they cope with criticism...
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...In the article “Mob attacks on women in Egypt protests go unpunished, report says”, Emily Alpert addresses the recent increase in sexual assaults in Tahrir Square in Egypt. In light of these violent acts, women gathered in Tahrir Square to persuade President Mohamed Morsi to take greater measures to ensure that the men involved in these crimes are punished. During the protest however, dozens of women were attacked and raped by a mob of men. In a seemingly systematic method that mirrors previous attacks, the men surrounded individual females and proceeded to rip off their clothes and violate the women with their fingers or in some cases, weapons. Because these events happened in public, many now fear that without some sort of punishment, these events will only become more frequent. Women who are victims of these attacks are often too afraid to report it, and if they do, the men responsible are not punished. Like these crimes, many others have gone unpunished, like the “virginity tests” done by military officials. While some believe that these attacks are the efforts of the government to keep women out of the public, it has only succeeded in strengthening women and their fight for justice. This article relates to women and their bodies because it shows the battles still being fought against violence aimed at women and unequal treatment. In Egypt, gender-based violence, like public sexual harassment and rape, has become an epidemic. Sexual harassment in Tahrir Square is not a new...
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...The media and womens body image Its been argued that the western culture is a culture so consumed by image that those with fame give praise for being thin and disapproval for being fat, birthing a generation of women and girls that are often extremely self conscious about their appearance and body image. Media images of the unattainable thin body can be found almost anywhere. There has been continual interest in women’s body image throughout the years. Is there truth in the fact that women’s self-esteem and eating patterns are affected by what a woman sees in the media? Have this been researched enough to show the link between poor body image and the media’s portrayal of women and could this research allow for successful interventions to be evaluated and implemented. Could and intervention lead to fewer cases of anorexia and bulimia and could this lead to increased self-esteem and a more positive body image amongst women? The question many people want to know is if this is the case, where did these stereotypes come from exactly? Is it from the movie, television industry, fashion and beauty magazinesor is it from social and cultural influences , or maybe its just something we learn naturally. Does it really affect women and adolescent females selfworth, or does it go beyond that, leading to serious medical conditions? This paper explores the different factors that influences women body image and if the media is soley responsible for how adolescents and women view their body...
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...Black Women in the Media Media is defined as a form of mass communication through the use of radio, television, the Internet, music, film, and etc. Throughout history, American media has not only been used as a form of communication and entertainment, but it has also been utilized to spread stereotypes and hegemonic ideals reinforcing the racial hierarchy that has continued to survive even after the abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century. According to Tilicia L. Mayo, Indiana University communications graduate, images in the media contain the ability to teach many different lessons. Mayo states, “Contemporary films and television shows deliver images that communicate ideologies such as class, standing and position in society” (vi). After the abolition of slavery, White America searched for means of social control through the media since they lacked the power of legal control. Black women, being of the lowest racial and gender classes in America, have repeatedly been stereotyped and victimized through the use of degrading images in contemporary media. The origins of these images can be found in the racist ideologies of the African slave woman created by White Euro-American slave owners. The images of black women in American media have directly affected how black women and other people in society define black womanhood. This influence directly shows how people utilize fictitious and stereotypical images from the media in trying to understand the stereotyped group and...
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...by many. It appears to be more competitive than ever before, especially as a profession for women. It looks like a glamorous career for women because they are traveling from one sporting event to another, meeting athletes, and reporting on the sideline during games. So, as we see an increase in women striving to become sports broadcast journalist, as well as the number of women seen and heard reporting sports, it is a challenge today as it was over a decade ago. The issue is whether or not women in sports media are afforded the same opportunities that include prominent positions, reporting male games as well as female games, benefits and salary based on their qualifications and credibility...
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...Killing Us Softly Reflection One of the films that struck me the most was “Killing Us Softly”, the documentary on how advertising and the media as a whole, in general, can basically control this entire world. Sounds a bit drastic, but I really believe that this statement is true because of disgusting incidents that happen throughout the world from media portrayal today. The documentary effectively demonstrated how easy it is for advertising to send across various different hidden messages that can cause tremendous effects like bulimia, rapes, murders, disrespect towards women, and several other things that would lower a women’s self esteem level. The documentary portrays women in such a way that it is derogatory. It sets a medium for women on what the perfect figure should look like. For example, since decades, the media has been showing women who barely weigh 110 pounds as an ideal weight to be. Don’t you think every girl who weighs over 110 pounds is going to try to do the impossible and attempt to fit into what society thinks is the norm? All due to the fact that the media has embedded it into our subconscious minds that this is acceptable. The more exposure we get of something, the more acceptable it becomes in our society, whether it’s wrong or right. Personally, I’ve realized that the media brought about even my style of dressing. If you see a commercial on TV or in a magazine for a shirt you thought looked good, wouldn’t you buy it? I know I would. I guess that’s...
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...Taylor Barto English 101 Holman 4/4/2012 Portrayal of Women in the Media In society today attractiveness can be the base of the empire that one builds. A certain look could be the entire reason someone gets a role in a movie or television show. Everything today is flashier, bigger, better, and more glamorous than before so why would women fall to any exception? These women on television can all play different roles, for example, the corporate climber, the supermom, the social butterfly, the ruthless villainess, but they all have one common denominator; their attractiveness. The women seen on television are beautiful, thin, and primarily white. These are the types of women the media wants us to strive to be like because it boosts their ratings. How many people would watch a television show about someone’s life that was less successful and less attractive? Many would agree that the last 30 years some progress has been made in how the media portray women in film, television, and magazines and there has also been a growth in the presence and influence of women in the media. Nevertheless, female stereotypes continue to thrive in the media we view every day. The media’s portrayal of women plays a significant impact on the effects to body image and self-esteem to implications in sports and politics. One current popular show that many young adults watch on television is a show, Gossip Girl. Gossip Girl follows the lives of Manhattan’s Upper East Side socialites. Each show...
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...Nearly every magazine or commercial I see brags about secrets to weight loss and tips to achieve them. There are infomercials on almost every channel that try to convince women to lose weight. My Instagram and Pinterest news feeds are filled with daily exercise routines. It's rare to see ads with average/plus sized women. Instead, models have perfect skin and are extremely skinny; it is rare to see imperfect women. And it is those unrealistic images and commercials that we see in the media, and corporations that contribute to the desire of many women to be skinny and perfectly toned which eventually leads to a lack of self-worth. Today, as the United States becomes prosperous, and is shifting to a state of intemperance, rates of obesity are...
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