What effects does today's media portrayal of women have on girls?

One thing we touched on in the first few class discussions was how women are portrayed in advertisements. The stereotypes are that women need to have tiny, thin bodies and perfect pale skin in order to be considered "beautiful." What do these images do to the women looking at them? Specifically, what damage could this do to young girls looking at them?

Dove, as we mentioned, has their "campaign for real beauty." Part of this campaign is the Dove Self-Esteem Fund, which targets girls ages 8 to 14 in the US and Puerto Rico. The message here is that seeing these thin, even sick-looking models, distorts young girls' images of what beauty is and how they should look. It takes a huge toll on a healthy teenage girl's self-esteem to look at a model in a magazine and feel that she has to be skinny to be pretty. To quote the Dove website:

"Whether it's models that wear a size 2 or movie stars with exceptional curves, beauty pressures are everywhere. And when young girls find it hard to keep up, low self-esteem can take over and lead to introversion, a withdrawal from normal life, and a waste of potential.

For example, a recent survey in the United Kingdom indicated that 6 out of 10 girls thought they'd 'be happier if they were thinner.'"

Dove created this campaign and the fund in order to raise awareness on this issue and boost confidence in young women by introducing a new and different definition for the word beauty. The program offers activities like mentoring programs, sports, or community service work to educate these girls. I think it is important to foster self-esteem in teenagers because research shows that poor self-esteem can be the cause of teenage smoking, unhealthy dieting and eating disorders, and depression. All these things could happen because of what the media says is beautiful?? I personally think it's a great idea that Dove came up with here. It is important to counter the images and messages we receive from media about beauty. The standards that are being set are impossible to attain. It was mentioned in a previous blog that a size 6 model on the show "Top Model" was considered a plus size. I think that really says something about what the fashion industry and the media want us to think about beauty.

I came across this video from Dove's campaign called "Onslaught." It inspired this post and made me want to look into Dove's campaign a little deeper... watch it and comment on it. Did it do a good job of putting it's intended message across?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epOg1nWJ4T8

I also encourage you to check out Dove's website before you comment, it might help you get a little more insight into what they're trying to accomplish.
http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/supports.asp?section=&id=93

Women and Culture

Cultural differences play a large role in how femenism is spreading. The (practically) widespread idea of women is that they should be in the home and stick to domestic tasks and raise the kids and be the perfect housewife. America took the first steps in spreading the ideals of feminism around but other countries have not had it so easy. There's a good example right over the border. Latin American women still have to fight to make their voices heard particularly the indigenous women. North Americans don't have it too easy, but the females of Latin America have never really had a voice until recently.
One of the other classes I'm taking this semester is dedicated to Latin American women writers. What I am learning between these two classes is making me realize that women all over the globe have the right to have a say and make their own decisions regarding how they live out their life. Even as we say we are so liberal, we are still afraid of breaking out of the molds that society has set for us. This is a widespread cultural thing, not just limited to North Americans. Our cultures play a very important role in how we form our identity as femenists and how we struggle to break out of the social norms. We are stuck in a consistent struggle to break out of the norms society has set for us. So how DO we go about merging our identities as femenists while breaking free from what we know? I don't believe that there is any single answer to that question. Individually we have to find an answer that we feel comfortable with when it comes to respecting our cultural and societal values while also keeping in mind that ultimately we want equality for all across all cultures.

Women in TV shows

Before reading the article, “Gender and Sexuality” by Lehman and Luhr, I never really noticed the way women were portrayed in films. They played roles of inferiority and submissiveness, which was the objective of directors behind the camera. The objective was for females to be unheard. Not only that, but lighting also played a part in making female actresses appear radiant and flawless in films. I found it very interesting in the article, “Gender and Sexuality” that women who went against the “good girl” image in films were seen as a threat because they broke down their constraints and entered a male dominated world. As I was reading, I thought about the way women in shows such as “The Next Top Model” and “How to Look Good Naked” would be portrayed. Would women on those shows be considered objects of the male gaze?


In “The Next Top Model,” women are constantly put on display, proving that they are the next “big thing” in the modeling agency. These women go through photo shoots after photo shoots and tests in between to prove they are the best candidate. In movies of the past and some movies currently, women were not seen at the forefront; they were noticed for their looks and body parts, not their intellectual abilities or views. Although “The Next Top Model” has women constantly being thrown into the cameras, which would have been considered unusual in the past, they are still in a way under the influence of the male gaze; they are objectified. Does the show "The Next Top Model" support the view of women of the past in films?

How about the show, “How to Look Good Naked?” In the past, this show probably would have caused controversy because women of all different shapes and sizes are seen on the show, trying to enhance their self-esteem in order to feel good about themselves and their beauty regardless of their size. I believe this show definitely deviates from film’s depiction of women. Women in “How to Look Good Naked” are stripped down to their underclothes and asked to find something about themselves that they like. This act kind of supports the objectification viewpoint towards women; however, women have a voice and are in control of their bodies and image. These women are seen in all different shapes and sizes and that is beautiful. Women are no longer seen looking in the distance and being submissive, but they are seen taking action and being independent.


I was surprised when the movie, “The Women” came out on DVD. This movie focused on a group of women dealing with some issues such as marital and parenting. This movie did not have any male characters in the leading roles, which is definitely a big jump from traditional movies. One of the women in this movie was naïve in the beginning, but she gained confidence to face reality, and she came out in the end strong. The depiction of women in this movie would not have been acceptable in the past; for women would have been seen as a threat to male dominance. Media has come a long way, but changes still need to be made.

Question: How do you view women in TV shows today? Are they seen as objects in the same sense that they were seen in movies of the past?

Great start!

What I liked about Mary’s inaugural post:

*She used several concrete examples, with links to images (note: you can also imbed images by clicking on the picture icon)
*She explained her personal interest in the topic
*She related her analysis on radio to the broader discussion of media

Your comments were on target. I particularly liked Chrissy’s and Sylvie’s comments for providing examples from their everyday radio listening and commenting specifically on the ads Mary referenced.

Questions to think about:

Does radio get away with more stereotypes/sexism than other media? Does the lack of visual images and very targeted marketing mean it relies more on stereotype to get the point across? What do you think about morning DJ shows that feature men's and women's banter?

Women, Gender and Radio?

Throughout this class, and other women’s studies classes that I have taken, there has been a lot of discussion about how women are portrayed in the media. We have looked at movies, television shows, magazines, and more, but one of the sources of media that continuously seems to be left out is the radio. People all of America listen to the radio everyday, some even more than they watch TV. It’s in your car, in the store you shop in, at the gym, and in your home. So why don’t we pay more attention to how it is treating women?
I began thinking about this because my mother works for a radio station. First I began thinking about just the advertisements, but after speaking with her I soon realized that it was not just the advertisements that are the problem. When a radio station is broadcast, they know the exact demographic that they are portraying to. For example, a radio station from my hometown is a country radio station. The same company also owns a sports radio station. The country station is geared more toward women while the sports radio station is geared toward men. This can clearly be seen by the “Hunk of the Day” on the country radio stations website and the “Babe of the Day” on the sports radio stations website.

http://www.1290theticket.com/cc-common/babes/
http://www.wdsd.com/cc-common/otd_pages/Hunks_NEW_otd.html

Radio advertisements generally seem to be fairly tame. I rarely hear an ad that makes me think “wow that was really sexist!” Perhaps this could be because I listen to the country station geared toward women. Many of the ads that are heard are emphasized that women only need material goods to be happy, etc. I collected a few ads that I think really portray women in a bad light.

Client: AUTOMOTIVE NEW CAR :30 Radio
“MUMMY’S MIDLIFE CRISIS 1”
MUSIC UP
MASSAGE MUSIC
FEMALE:
No cosmetic will do it.
No facial, no spa treatment…
only a hot sports car is guaranteed to take up to 10 years off a woman’s age. Fifteen if it’s a convertible…eyeliner, chemical peel,
MUSIC DOWN
FEMALE:
Puh-lease…when the mommy mobile goes and the convertible revs up…
SFX:
CAR REVVING
MUSIC UP
HOT
FEMALE:
…watch and feel the years melt away. A red hot (CAR MODEL). Not available at drug stores.
LOCAL ANNCR:
But very available at (CLIENT NAME/WEBSITE).

Client: BOAT STORE :30 Radio
“SHE ONLY WANTS”
JINGLE:
MALE SINGER:
She’s climbin’ on in her string bikini
Barely covering her rack
Diamond on her belly button
Tatoo on her lower back
Hands up high
Holdin’ on by squeezin’ with her thighs
I must be dreamin’ ‘cause she’s screamin’
Take me on a wild ride!
She’s got a need for speed
Go faster! Go faster!
Loves the edge like me
I’m thinkin’ I have her
But the next weekend
She’s out with my best friend
All along I thought she fell for me
She only wants my jet ski
LOCAL ANNCR:
Jet World. . . . in Burbank!

Client: Nightclub :30 Radio
“WOMEN WANT BIG SCREENS”
MUSIC UP
KINDA JAZZY AND LIGHTLY SEXY
FEMALE LOCAL ANNCR:
(Hip, 20s)
Why do men think wide-screen TV was created just for them? Don’t we have needs? Don’t we have desires? Don’t we deserve the big one? I mean you haven’t lived until you’ve seen a soap opera in cinema ratio. Or, watch a chocolate cheesecake being made from scratch in hd. Come on guys get real and share that big screen with us gals. I’ll be with the girls at (client) (address) in (area/city/town.) They know what you guys need…and what a woman wants too.

In general I think that radio does the best out of all the other types of media with their advertisements and portrayal of women, but that does not mean that there are still things that need to change. People just need to be more aware that radio can affect our lives too, and sometimes when we least expect it.

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