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Women in Media


5/25/19
By watching MissRepresentation, I learned a lot about the history of women’s roles in media. I was surprised to watch how women journalists on the news were depicted by their appearance so much by men. It was unbelievable what men said about women on national television showing no respect. This movie helped me understand why women often feel so discouraged to be involved in politics and media in general. In the film a man said the more power  women get, the more backlash they receive for it. I agree with this statement and think it’s a result of men being taught that they have to be smarter, stronger, and better than women. The film also talked about this issue. I think boys are being raised to believe they can’t show their emotions and they have to act tough and strong. They learn these ideals through media and common phrases like “Boys will be boys” and  “You throw like a girl.” Although these may not have like they have a big impact on boys, when everyone in our society uses it, it results in the major problems we see today. The media is a main part of the problem as well. I think this perspective of the issue is less talked about and ignored as boys are easily put at blame for these actions, not society. Commercials use young girls in their teens and twenties to target men. There’s commercials of models with “perfect” bodies eating a cheeseburger to promote food. The ad obviously isn’t about the actual food, it’s about the model. A solution suggested that aid agree with is getting women in higher positions and in politics. Although they are often criticized for things having nothing to do with what they believe in, I believe it’s a good start for children to see both women and men in powerful positions from a young age. I think now that this problem has raised awareness, the next step is to start teaching younger generations to want equality.

Comments

  1. Parker Van OstrandMay 28, 2019 at 4:57 PM

    I thought it was interesting how you included the common phrase "You throw like a girl" to emphasize how we often look down on a woman's power. The stereotype around women are that men are supposed to be tough and strong, able to withstand hardships. Otherwise, these men are regarded as a "girl" instead of just being called "weak." Until now, I've never really thought that media could be having an impact on this stereotype, but watching this film allowed realize that the portrayals of women in movies, commercials, videos etc. could be causing this deep issue in our society. I also definitely agree that as children, we need to see that men and women can fulfill similar positions and roles to promote equality.

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  2. Mia WakiMay 29, 2019 at 4:59 AM

    You said that men were being taught to hide their emotions, but have you ever thought about how women have to do the same? Just like men, women are forced to hide their emotions because if they show any sign of weakness people will thrive off their emotions. Another stereotype that I think is used to degrade women's power is, "oh, she is just on her period." This is an excuse for men to use whenever a female shows her emotions, especially in politics. If a women shows her emotions in an outburst of tears, no one will take them seriously and will usually be thought of as being over dramatic.

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