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Objectification of women in the media
Objectification of women in the media
The effects of the media on sexuality
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In November of 2014, Kim Kardashian posed for Paper Magazine baring her monstrous backside with a glass of champagne sitting on top causing the internet to so call “break.” Today, women are learning that is acceptable to over sexualize themselves at a young age because of media and its overall influence. What the celebrities and media promoting these actions do not realize is that it is forcing women to become an object. Also popular songs have promoted a rape culture aimed at women, and it does not always allow stars to use their platform for greater well-being. Celebrities, you see them everywhere, always promoting the latest trends. Some of the current trends being twerking, butts, and very revealing outfits; these of course are what …show more content…
A lot of media such as this song, are thrown into the world and are discretely promoting the welcome of rape. This hurts younger girls, because they feel that this is how you have to act to attract someone. Paula Pagila wrote a short essay about rape, saying, “The only solution to date rape is female self-awareness and self-control. A woman’s number-one line of defense against rape is herself” (Pagila 225). Preventing rape is something that young girls need know instead of focusing on teaching men to not do such actions.
Many people will lash back and say “why are we focusing on only women, men are also sexualized?” A great example of that would be when Zac Efron won best shirtless on-screen performance at the 2015 MTV Music Video Awards, when he was called to the stage he received a lot of pressure to remove his shirt. There has always been a pressure for men in Hollywood to have a perfect body, but many can still have a successful career without portraying the ideal standard of beauty. Women nonetheless, are not commonly successful if they are not defined beautiful by Hollywood’s
Not only do celebrities misrepresent women, but music adds to this problem. Specifically rap music, the vulgar lyrics and over sexualized music videos give people the wrong idea of American women. Rappers like ASAP Rocky, Lil’ Wayne, and Jay-Z use their lyrics to describe women in derogatory words that would devalue a woman’s self. Music videos also show women wearing extremely revealing clothing and dancing in provocative ways. Most of these rappers are male, and t...
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...
“I felt his hands start to move down towards my shorts as if he was trying to unbutton them or pull them off. I was still crying at this point and felt so scared that I couldn’t move” (Henneberger, 2012). These are words written by a college freshman after she had been raped, but they are true for many others as well. According to the Rape Crisis Center of Medina and Summit Counties, “every two minutes someone in the US is sexually assaulted” (Get the Facts). “Girls ages 16-19 are four times more likely than the than the general population to be victims of sexual assault” (Get the Facts). These women may be described as slut, cheap, or ready for action, rather than victim, sufferer, or survivor. Rape myths encourage these demeaning terms for women and conceal the reality of rape culture. I will describe the pervasiveness of sexual assault on college campuses as well as the systems and procedures in place to address it. Power plays a role in this issue, including the powerful men on campus such as athletes and fraternity members as well as the administrators in power who regulate the punishments and actions that are taken against the perpetrators. The influence of those in power often goes overlooked in our society because it has become so intertwined with our culture.
Sexualization of women is taught to the public from an early age through the media. This is not a new phenomena, however. As Roberts and Zurbriggen (2012) address, the problem exponentially compounds over time, as evolving mass communication technology creates more opportunities for the press to teach sexualization. New technology is not entirely negative though, as it allows the public to more easily engage in discussions regarding the expression of
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...
Silverstein, Perdue, & Peterson (1986). Mass media is promoting a thin standard of bodily attractiveness. Sex Roles, 14, 519-532.
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...
While, other music genres such as rock and country are known to depict women in subordinate roles, rap is seen to do this in a more sexually explicit and graphic way. (Kurbin & Weitzen. Vol. 1. Pg. 3.) For instance, the rap song U.O.E.N.O, Rick Ross raps the lyrics “put molly all in her champagne/she ain’t even know it. /I took her home and I enjoyed that/ She ain’t even know it.” What’s startling in all these cases is that those involved refuse to see the problem or even the impact it might have on viewers. As Kate Harding perfectly sums up “The entertainment we consume both reflects and reifies the rape myths we cherish. We owe it to ourselves to take it seriously and expect better.” (179.) Unfortunately, there are those, opponents to rape culture, who seemingly do not take it seriously and see the claims of rape culture as exaggerated
It is not a topic that is brought up often, especially at schools or at gatherings, yet it is crucial that everyone be educated, or at least informed on a topic that affects women every day. “Given that sexual violence continues to occur at high rates in the United States, it is vital that we understand attitudes and cultural norms that serve to minimize or foster tolerance of sexual violence” (Aosved, 481). Growing rates of sexual violence goes to prove that it is not taken seriously by many, especially when myths excuse the actions of the perpetrator and instead guilt victims into thinking they are responsible for the horrible act. Burt (1980), in her article titled, “Cultural myths and support for rape” attempts to make sense of the importance of stereotypes and myths, defined as prejudicial, stereotypes, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims and rapists- in creating a climate hostile to rape victims (Burt, 217). Examples of rape myths are such sayings as “only bad girls get raped”; “women ask for it”; “women cry rape” (Burt, 217). This only goes to prove that rape myths against women always blame and make it seem like it is the women’s fault she was raped and that she deserved it for “acting” a certain way. McMahon (2007), in her article titled, “Understanding community-specific rape myths” explains how Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994) later described rape myths as “attitudes and beliefs that are generally
Oftentimes, the things individuals take for granted as preexisting facts are merely the products of social construction, which exert tremendous impacts on belief and action. Men and women are socially constructed categories inscribed by norms of masculinity and femininity that enables rape to occur. Catharine MacKinnon claims that rape is defined in a male perspective, which lacks the account of female experience. On the other hand, Sharon Marcus argues that rape is a constructed language that scripts the female body. As bell hooks points out, black men celebrate “rape culture” as a mean of expressing patriarchal dominance and endorsing female subordination. In order to redefine rape and to develop effective rape prevention, it is crucial to deconstruct the predetermined assumptions about men and women. Rape is socially constructed, through the ways how individuals possess misogynistic ideologies and endorse patriarchal power, turning the erotic fantasy of male dominance into “reality”.
What do you think and feel when you hear the word rape? Do you feel uncomfortable? Maybe even angry? Your certain feelings and emotions towards this word is a result of rape culture. Rape culture, essentially, is how a society as a whole sees and reacts towards rape or instances of rape. In 2013 rape was defined by the FBI as, “Penetration… of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” (Division’s Crime Statistics Management Unit 1). The definition was finally changed after the old definition deemed inappropriate by today’s standards, which beforehand, stated that physical force needed to be used for rape to be considered rape. This is good news for men and women who have been fighting for the definition to be changed, but unfortunately this does not mean that state laws are being changed the same way. Even though the FBI may acknowledge the older inappropriate definition, most states do not. Sexual assault is a commonly unreported crime, where only an average of 36% of sexual abuse is actually reported to the authorities (Planty 7). Some forms of rape can include physical harm, threats, and even death of the victim, and most victims do not want to tell others for fear of criticism, self-blame, or even the fear that their attackers will carry out on their threats. In many cases, victims do have a reason to be afraid. When someone is brave enough to come forward and say they were sexually assaulted, they are putting themselves in the position of being in not only a long legal process, but also having their motives questioned and misunderstood, which is the last thing they want after their experience. The legal system in the United States...
37% of country music and 41% of Pop music involve violence against women and date rape. These statistics don’t surprise me at all and honestly why should I expect anything different. I go throughout my day hearing mixed information from pop music saying that I should succumb to a males need, and then at the same time I am told that rape is illegal and affects my college campus. Existing in a society where violence against women is glorified in popular music, is terrifying (Katie J). Knowing that I sing along to songs that are about rape and objectification of women is disgusting, but I bet I do it every day and don’t think twice about it. The objectification of women is so common, we see it everywhere. In movies, magazines, TV show, billboard ads, and literally everywhere we go. We are constantly told that sex is good, promoted and should be at the discretion of the man. One song can’t change this, and stopping all pop music won 't change this. This is a societal shift to normalize rape and reinforce dominant/submissive stereotypes that is derived in the music industry and it needs to be shifted
It is shocking to see the digression in humanity’s morals and values over the past decade. As cliché as it sounds, the media is the center of it all. The way women are being represented, from our television sets, the radio, pornography and even art has pushed beauty to the top of the list of controversial and widely debated topics around the globe. “Whenever we walk down the street, watch TV, open a magazine or enter an art gallery, we are faced with images of femininity,” (Watson and Martin).
A common trend in the entertainment industry today is the objectification of women in society. Sexualizing women are seen in media such as; movies, advertisement, television show and music video, where their main focus is providing the audience with an image of women as sexual objects rather than a human. This is detrimental to society since the media is producing social stereotypes for both genders, which can further result in corrupted social habits. Objectification in media are more focused on females than male, these false images of women leave individuals with the wrong idea of the opposite sex. As media continuously use sexual contents regarding women, the audience starts underestimating women. Specifically movies, it allows media to shape the culture’s idea of romance, sex and what seems
For instance, before Nicki Minaj gets famous, she started her career by degrading women in her mix tape, “Sucka Free,” cover picture because most people think hip-hop is only male profession, and it has little respect for women because mostly men listen to hip-hop. And so for female rappers to get the attention from those men, she has to jumpstart her career by using her sex appeal image. In addition to her degrading cover pose, that might caused young women in our society to accept it as a norm, she was criticized by many because that posture was not only inappropriate, but it was copied from Lil’ Kim. In fact, it was the same pose Lil' Kim uses on one of her older cover...