Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Portrayals of women in media
Portrayals of women in media
Media and its effects on attitudes towards women
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Portrayals of women in media
Women have made great advancements in improving their rights and roles within society and are now less likely to be viewed as inferior by males. Nevertheless, they are still facing many challenges including being perceived as objects and being expected to dress and behave a certain way. In his essay “Looking at Women,” Scott Russell Sanders analyzes how men often perceive women as objects because of their indecent wardrobe and their willingness to put their bodies on display. In her essay “Why Women Smile,” Amy Cunningham explains the value of a smile and how it does not always reflect how a woman is truly feeling on the inside. Both essays spend much time looking at women and how they are under the constant scrutiny from those around them. What the essays of Sanders and Cunningham illustrate is that, while trying to shake old stereotypes, women find their identities constructed from their external appearance. The problem is and remains that women are complicit in the shallow construction of female identity that trades depth for surface because they have bought into the idea that a woman must trade on her external appearance to succeed in her public life.
Women celebrities often remark that the media negatively displays women and sexually objectifies them through many mediums such as film, TV, video games, and advertisements. However, there are many female stars that are willing to pose provocatively for a wide variety of men’s magazines such as Maxim, a European magazine targeted at men. Their hypocrisy in shooting the pictures invalidates the argument that men exploit female sexuality, as they are likewise eager to take those pictures. These women are so quick to jump at an opportunity to pose seductively for the camera, a...
... middle of paper ...
... be viewed and represented. It is difficult to believe that they want to be understood as smart bright women when they appear so artificial and vain. Pretty looks can only take a woman so far before she must rely on her intelligence and skills. From their apparel to their body language to their facial expressions, women are constantly being examined by the public, and moreover by men. It is a cause and effect relationship since men looking at women makes women feel like objects, which in return makes them want to become like pieces of toys for men to stare at and play with. Sanders and Cunningham make it apparent that women are much more than their appearance, and have a lot more to offer than a provocative picture or a plastic smile. However, it is up to the women to change the way they portray themselves to the world if they want to be seen in a different light.
Amy Cunningham, an editor and author from New York, wrote an article “Why Women Smile” to emphasize on how women are no longer smiling because it is a natural thing, but rather an everyday habit. Coupled with Cunningham’s supported reasons by using logos and ethos, she also uniquely brings in her personal experience by having ethos, making her argument more relatable. A long side with that, societies’ past and present impact on today’s world about women was also included as Cunningham put her own take into proving her point. Although this may be true, there were some fallacies found in her argument leading it to lack of fully portraying the audience.
In fewer words, Jon Berger’s Ways of Seeing discusses how humans see the world and he does so through the lens of art, seeing as he is an art historian. Specifically, in chapter three, he brings to attention how the portrayal of women in art and in the world is contingent on the male eye and its ideals. Women have been oppressed in their sense of selves because men dictate what they prefer in a women. Even in this day in age, a woman’s self-worth banks on the acceptance of men. Her only way of making a way in the world is by impressing men with hyper-sexual and or submissive tactics because that tradition has been drilled into all of our brains since Adam and Eve.
In Rosen’s article she emphasizes how mass-produced images are playing a negative role in society; Hymowitz supports this by showing that these images lead to the overexposure of women. Hymowitz discusses how Britney Spears “revealed her waxed nether-regions” (Hymowitz 234), and how there were so many cameras there to capture the moment. Within hours the images of Britney were flooding the internet and were all over social media. Hymowitz argues that images like Britney’s are exploiting women and promoting negative gender roles by displayng women as sexual objects. The mass production of these promiscuous images are used to please society, all the celebrities that Hymowitz mentions are forced to conform to society and as a result are seen as sexual objects. Hymowitz’s argument emphasizes society will mass-produce these images while unconsciously promoting the sexualization of women. Hymowitz is warning women that if they continue to overexpose themselves with these images, then people will never respect them for who they are. Rosen would
The images that infiltrate our lives appear to focus on maintaining the status quo or the norms of society. They are designed to show what is expected in life. Berger states, "Images were made to conjure up the appearance of something that was absent"(107). Berger argues "images" are "conjured up" or imagined to represent what is "absent" or what the individual wants to see as reality. There used to be a tendency to over exemplify the way in which women were thought to be, but "today, that opposition no longer seems to hold quite as rigidly as it once did (women are indeed objectified more than ever, but, in this image-dominated culture, men increasingly are too)" (156). Regardless of so...
Her confidence is well illustrated in the music video “Who Runs the World (Girls)” by her fierce, focused expression while dancing in skimpy, feminine clothing. In addition, she embraces her powerful feminine identity by comparing herself to a variety of powerful animals in the music video. These elements combine to illustrate Beyoncé’s acceptance of her own femininity but also show how she allows that to empower her, not weaken her. Her actions in the music video are complemented by her actions in real life such as posing in the GQ magazine in only her underwear. On the other hand, some such as Hadley Freeman feel that Beyoncé is too powerful to need to stoop to posing in such magazines; in Freeman’s words, “It’s another if you are professedly one of the most powerful women in the entertainment business who has no need of such tactics” (4). While it’s true that Beyoncé does not need such tactics, it does not necessarily follow that these tactics are in fact a bad thing and purely a publicity stunt. Rather, these tactics are her way of embracing her feminine identity in order to promote feminism in her own way. While perhaps untraditional in her methods, by fully embracing her feminine body, Beyoncé promotes a confident feminism that empowers women in order to eliminate
Catherine Rampell, a respected journalist for The Washington Post, wrote an article titled, “Be Pretty, But Not Too Pretty: Why Women Can’t Just Win.” This article talks about how women in the work place are ridiculed for how they look and how they act in corporate and political America. Women are struck with different stereotypes in the work place on a daily basis. Rampell gives examples of real life experiences with people in politics such as Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin. Both of them have been mocked for how they express their feelings too much or if they do not express much at all. Rampell also talks about an experience that she had where a man came up
In the article “Why Women Smile”, Cunningham evaluates on how societal expectation and personal goal evolves women’s daily behavior; particularly she focuses on the women’s smile. It’s for the better, women weaponize their smile There are too many good examples of female protagonists in the article, one of the best samples- Cunningham cites: “In Japan, for instance, a smile is often used to hide pain or sorrow” (371). The society loyally favors in a “happy” protagonist more than a frowning one. Believe it or not, women are highly intelligent because they manage to cover their true feeling for the societal need-
I chose these four journal writings because I believe they are the strongest pieces I have written from the second half of the semester. The main focus of these journals was based on readings under the women as objects topic. The oppression of women has led to females being objectified and used as gratification for men. A woman’s body and appearance have become a commodity, especially in the media. Films, television shows, music and advertisements use women’s bodies to attract their audience and sell products. The movie watched in class “Killing Us Softly 4,” highlights this fact while presenting how women are represented throughout the media. The media has set and perpetuated a particular standard of beauty that is restrictive, but for some many women completely unattainable. The women represented in the media are young, thin and have western or European characteristics. Where does that leave the majority of women that do not fall under this category? This leads to women developing eating disorders to achieve an ideal body image that is manufactured through Photoshop and other picture editing systems. Women of color, women with disabilities or any woman that does not follow this standard is not represented within the media. When a few women do break this mold and become famous, they are set at a different standard. These women’s differences become the highlighted feature of their fame. However, the one constant in the media when it comes to women is the objectification and sexualization of women. This sexualization can lead to aggression or violence against women and the perpetuation of rape culture. The images viewed in the media directly impact how women view themselves and how others view women. By examining the issues women f...
You can see in the media in almost all occasions women being sexualized. From beer to burger commercials women in the media are portrayed as sexual beings. If they are thin and meet society’s standards of beautiful they are considered marketable. Over the...
In the essay “What Meets the Eye”, Daniel Akst explains scientific facts about the beauty of men and women matters to people. He argues that attractive individuals receive attention, great social status, marries, and gets paid more on a job. One can disagree with Akst’s argument because anyone with the skills and knowledge, despite the appearance, can gain a decent relationship and can get paid well. Akst looks at beauty as if it can lead individuals to an amazing and successful life, but he is wrong. Nancy Mairs’ and Alice Walker’s views on beauty are explained internally and through self-confidence. Both women’s and Akst’s arguments on beauty share some similarities and differences in many ways, and an
In the early 1980’s, women were not supposed to be open-minded or even allowed to have such sexual thoughts that Madonna inspired. Women were expected to be traditional and keep their femininity behind closed doors. When Madonna first came into the entertainment business, it was a complete shock for everyone. No one could believe a woman was capable of being a sex symbol in public. It was not Madonna’s fault that she was simply a desirable creature to everyone (Allen 5). In today’s youth, people are used to watching television and music videos since a young age. We learn from the media and it helps us to comprehend the representations that it is giving of society. Madonna became the main subject of the media and society. Since, celebrities are always focused on by the media; they have the power to impact society by showing their perspective of thoughts and images. Accord...
...f any obstacles that they might face along the way. By showing that she can have the brains as well as the looks, she encourages young women to try harder to attend high class schools and to understand that with a little bit of extra work they can make it to the top of their area of work. Many women can see this as a trend that can help them achieve anything that they put their minds to. She can increase the amount of women applying for universities and jobs by inspiring them to do more than stay at home as housewives. And though the targeted audience knows that looks aren’t everything, they also know that the image they portray is extremely important in the work environment. Everyone knows that when you look good, you feel good, and having a positive state of mind is always helpful to better your chances of finding a healthy balance in all areas of your life.
Women are portrayed as weak or subjugated through pornography. Men brazenly evaluate and judge women sexually and aesthetically with their gaze pre-occupied with voyeuristic inclinations in public spaces and events like beauty contests etc. In 1975, Laura Mulvey with her groundbreaking essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema introduced the key concept of male gaze. The representation of women as an object has invaded in visual culture to a large extent. This essay uncovers the voyeuristic and fetishistic responses of male viewers to the images of women.
In my essay I’ve analyzed Amy Cunningham’s writing on the article “Why Women Smile” and how she deals with the issue of gender, the objectification of women within our society by using the act of smiling as an example through metaphors, elegant lexicon and even sarcasm. She presents it boldly by sharing her experience and supporting it with recent studies and statistics. Finally, Cunningham reflects on the fact that something made beautiful, like a smile, has become a threat to women themselves.
Women – beautiful, strong matriarchal forces that drive and define a portion of the society in which we live – are poised and confident individuals who embody the essence of determination, ambition, beauty, and character. Incomprehensible and extraordinary, women are persons who possess an immense amount of depth, culture, and sophistication. Society’s incapability of understanding the frame of mind and diversity that exists within the female population has created a need to condemn the method in which women think and feel, therefore causing the rise of “male-over-female” domination – sexism. Sexism is society’s most common form of discrimination; the need to have gender based separation reveals our culture’s reluctance to embrace new ideas, people, and concepts. This is common in various aspects of human life – jobs, households, sports, and the most widespread – the media. In the media, sexism is revealed through the various submissive, sometimes foolish, and powerless roles played by female models; because of these roles women have become overlooked, ignored, disregarded – easy to look at, but so hard to see.