Fascades of Current Society

The media has a huge impact on the way people think, feel and act in society. The media set standards that are and are not socially acceptable to each culture. Magazines show us how to dress, TV shows show us how to act and advertisements show us what to buy. Most importantly, the media influences us to continue to live in a patriarchal society in which males are considered to be the more powerful sex, thus women have disadvantages in all aspects of society. Mass media is especially harmful toward women because it constructs negative perceptions of women and reinforces a set of cultural norms for them to fit in society.

Hopefully the people controlling the media decide they need to change some of the messages they send. Right now I believe the influence is negative because of the unattainable standards that models and celebrities set for boys ad girls, the unrealistic lifestyle that average people yearn for, and the sexism towards women. I do feel that someday things will change, but as of right now the media has a long way to go.

The government discriminated against certain people because of the way they looked. Even though the government has evolved since this period, certain businesses and individuals still partake in discrimination. Who has the right to say a particular person is attractive or isn’t? Each and every person is beautiful in his or her own way and no one is going to realize this until they look beyond the appearances, cliches, and stereotypes. Actually getting to know a person and learning their interests and hear their thoughts and ideas is when you truly become familiar with that person’s beauty.

The main issue with Unilever owning both these brands is whether or not Dove’s self esteem campaign was created in order to just sell their products or to genuinely gain support for the cause due to how Axe portrays women in their advertisements (Said et al.). These two major brands being from the same company and having opposite marketing tactics bring to question how honest the brands are. Even though Dove seems to want to generate a revolution with young girls and women around the world dealing with confidence and self esteem issues, they still have the end goal of making a profit from selling products. Knowing that Dove and Axe do come from the same company makes it seem as if the real beauty and self esteem campaign from Dove are all part of a marketing tactic to gain popularity for the brand with their positive message (Said et al.). A few do disagree with how Axe shows women in their advertisements which goes against what Dove’s campaign is trying to promote.

Two cheerleaders who are bending down and hushing their mouths accompany Doug in order to emphasize that McDermott’s talents need to be kept secret. The accompanying ... ... middle of paper ... ...sort to stereotypes in order to sell a product. Entertainment based magazines including Sports Illustrated and Entertainment Weekly are notorious for portraying female characters as sexually provocative beings, those who are attractive for their sexuality rather than their intelligence or physical dexterity. These magazines in particular are known for putting provocative imagines on the cover to attract more readers. Hopefully, as the country continues to mature and become even more tolerant of people’s differences, people’s expectations will change accordingly.

Throughout our daily lives, media implants its messages into our minds like a disease. All forms of media communicate images of the sexes, many of which perpetuate unrealistic, stereotypical and limiting perceptions. Women are underrepresented which implies that men are the cultural standard and women are not as important or appear invisible to everyone. Men and women are portrayed in stereotypical ways that mirror and endure socially endorsed views of gender. Relationships between men and women emphasize traditional roles and normalise violence against women.

These paradoxes and double standards can create cognitive dissonance amongst consumers (Millard 2009). Whilst some women may buy into Dove’s goal to change perceptions on beauty, many women may feel that their insecurities are being exploited and manipulated by the brand (Millard 2009). The real beauty message may intensify brand sentiment amongst many consumers but the loss of aspirational value and inconsistently in the brand’s message can detract from their overall brand image and damage it in the long run.

There are various types of media from television to the newspaper. Advertisements are used in every type of media. Advertisements are found on televisions, radios, newspapers, internet, cars, magazines, buildings, and etc... Gill also said that she “was concerned with the ‘currency’ of adverts- the way in which they permit the meaning of one thing to be expressed in terms of another,” because it suggested a direct correlation between someone’s worth as a person and that of owning a specific prod... ... middle of paper ... ... Overall, I believe that the media has degraded women by creating false images of how women should be. If this continues then women will no longer have identity which in time could lead to dehumanization.

Body image is the way one sees their own body, perhaps not in the mirror but in their own mind’s perception of themselves. Media is constantly trying to alter the way we perceive our own bodies to be, and what we accept as the norm for a perfect body image. This is done by creating near-fictional presentations, thanks to digital image enhancement, that fill the world with what people ‘should look like’. These images themselves can become role models for entire generations, be they an actor, model, sports star or other headlining figure. These images can have a very detrimental impact on a woman‘s self esteem and sense of self worth.

Why have people become so accustomed to the way media portrays women, that by putting a man in her place and treating him the same way makes one feel uncomfortable? Not only that, but these double standards are everywhere, and they aren’t exactly harmless. This objectification of women and men through these media sources have growing masses of alarming data on the impairments these depictions wreak on society, socially, mentally and physically. The way the media projects things that shift American ideals, especially in terms of objectification, cause harm to our people. Becoming aware of this issue is the first step in stopping its trend.