Femininities And Sexualities On Ideals Cultural Power And Difference
November 19, 2014
Media Ethics Essay #12
Femininities & Sexualities: On Ideals, Cultural Power & Difference
Despite the ceaseless push for gender equality, the media continues to present a fortified roadblock towards symmetric representation. Woman, too often, are presented as defenseless, vulnerable objects through their poses, as well as their facial expressions. A gesture as simple as head tilt, or a position as simple as laying down, gives off a message of weakness to the presented audience. Women are almost never shown in any other position in order to keep the powerless stereotype in tact. Oppositely, men are projected as powerful, masculine humans that are almost animal-like. Many of the ads that contain strictly males have them staring directly into the camera making the viewer feel as if the model is staring directly at them (The Codes of Gender). This causes the audience see the model as dominant, creating a masculine impression towards the product being sold. Once a male is put into a camera’s view with a woman, a noticeable male dominant attitude looms. The male quickly takes the role of the hunter and the women fall fast into the hunted. Women are constantly shown catering to men as if they are slaves, or shown as dependent of the male. Unfortunately the stereotypes that are driven into the heads of the viewers falsely depict the actual gender roles in society. They create a flawed perspective of reality and continue to harm the minds of women.
Although the “Perfect” models that are used in theses advertisements help give a specific look towards a company, what the advertisers aren’t aware of is the negative effects that are created due to the standards the models’ bring. Through the models’ nearly perfect skin and toned bodies, the audience is tricked into believing that their bodies are the norm (Robertson, 2010, P. 4). Stated in the class lecture, 57% of the girls feel that media pressures them into having a perfect body. The perfect body set
Media Ethics Essay #12
Femininities & Sexualities: On Ideals, Cultural Power & Difference
Despite the ceaseless push for gender equality, the media continues to present a fortified roadblock towards symmetric representation. Woman, too often, are presented as defenseless, vulnerable objects through their poses, as well as their facial expressions. A gesture as simple as head tilt, or a position as simple as laying down, gives off a message of weakness to the presented audience. Women are almost never shown in any other position in order to keep the powerless stereotype in tact. Oppositely, men are projected as powerful, masculine humans that are almost animal-like. Many of the ads that contain strictly males have them staring directly into the camera making the viewer feel as if the model is staring directly at them (The Codes of Gender). This causes the audience see the model as dominant, creating a masculine impression towards the product being sold. Once a male is put into a camera’s view with a woman, a noticeable male dominant attitude looms. The male quickly takes the role of the hunter and the women fall fast into the hunted. Women are constantly shown catering to men as if they are slaves, or shown as dependent of the male. Unfortunately the stereotypes that are driven into the heads of the viewers falsely depict the actual gender roles in society. They create a flawed perspective of reality and continue to harm the minds of women.
Although the “Perfect” models that are used in theses advertisements help give a specific look towards a company, what the advertisers aren’t aware of is the negative effects that are created due to the standards the models’ bring. Through the models’ nearly perfect skin and toned bodies, the audience is tricked into believing that their bodies are the norm (Robertson, 2010, P. 4). Stated in the class lecture, 57% of the girls feel that media pressures them into having a perfect body. The perfect body set