Women in the Media Both women and men are affected by the media, but it is most often that women are the victims of being misrepresented. America uses feminine sexuality to sell products. This is easily noticed in television commercials and magazine advertisements. Commonly, a woman’s body is the star of the commercials or advertisement no matter what the product being marketed is. Examples include, Hardees, Dolce and Gabanna, and even Peta (which are pictured to the left). Sex sells, it’s the truth whether we like it or not. Teenagers in American spend an average of almost eleven hours immersed in media in a day, this includes watching television and movies, surfing the internet, listening to music and reading magazines (Azad, 2012).
The way women are portrayed in the media affects the way society views women as a whole as well as how women feel about themselves. According to a research that was done by ChildrenNow, 38% of female characters in video games are wearing revealing clothing and 23% show cleavage. Even Disney movies are guilty of misrepresenting women. Cinderella is the perfect example. Cinderella is locked away having to tend to her stepmother and sister’s every need. She has a fairy godmother that helps her get to the Prince’s ball where he falls in love with her after a dance. She must quickly hurry home before her princess attire fades back into her filthy, tattered clothing. The Prince searches for Cinderella using her glass slipper she left behind. Eventually, the Prince is able to rescue Cinderella from her evil stepmother, and they live happily ever after. Just as in Cinderella, the same thing happens in many other Disney movies. The female characters, especially the princesses, are beautiful, vulnerable, young ladies who are dependent on a male character (Coleman, 2010). The media only adds to the stereotype of women as helpless, damsels in distress. In the few films where women are found holding powerful positions, such as the boss, the character is usually a ruthless, crazy and disconnected career driven woman (Coleman, 2010). This makes it seem like successful women cannot have normal, functioning relationships and usually go crazy trying to balance themselves and their career. The problem seems easy to fix, but it is much more complicated than it seems. The problem is that some women themselves do not even realize how they are portrayed in the media. A study was published in the Journal of Advertising Research that discussed how women have varied reactions when they see different kinds of depictions of women (Trauth, 2002). The study used three groups of women to view advertisements that contained different images of women: members of the National Organization for Women, members of the League of Women Voters, and a general population sample of women. According to the study, the general sample of women were much less offended by the images than those members of NOW and the League (Trauth, 2002). This makes it difficult for advertisers to figure out if women will think their advertisement is “sexy” or offensive (Trauth, 2002). |
Photo Credits
- http://blog.cookingchanneltv.com/2012/05/13/worst-celebrity-food-endorsements/
- http://www.vh1.com/celebrity/nggallery/post/dakota-fannings-marc-jacobs-campaign-joins-the-long-history-of-controversial-ads/image/60304
- http://www.thefablife.com/files/gallery/controversial_ads_11_9_2011/controversial-ads2-pamela-anderson.jpg
- http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/cinderella-and-prince-charming/images/28505789/title/cinderella-charming-photo
- http://trueclassics.net/2011/04/30/roger-rabbit/