Media Portrayal Of Women Essay
The Effect of Media’s Portrayal of Women
Today, the media plays an important role in our society. It is a big component of our everyday lives because we are continuously exposed to it through different means such as the Internet and television. Although media has its positive aspects, one of the damages it generates is the objectifying, undermining, and idealization of women’s image. We see this present in many advertisements and commercials. In this paper the effects that the “idealized women” image is causing on women’ self-esteem and idea of sexuality will be analyzed. In addition, other effects of the media on women and women’s role in the media industry will also be examined. …show more content…
With it, it was brought and reinforced typical stereotypes that hurt women’s image. But it not only affects their image but also has an impact on their self-esteem that can in some cases lead to depression and eating disorders. Women’s self-esteem can also be impacted by the way they are being objectified and sexualized in many of the different music videos and commercials. This does not seem to be getting better, especially for the fact that women’s representation in media leadership position does not seem to be improving at a great level. This leads to women having less power to impact how they are being portrayed in the media. In addition, sexual content only seems to be increasing, “the American Academy of Pediatrics reports that of the approximately 14,000 references to sex a teen will see each year in the media, only 165 will contain any reference to delaying sex, using contraceptives, or avoiding sexually transmitted diseases.” Since this is an issue that is commonly overlooked, by educating women and young girls though social media, society can be changed and can have their eyes opened to what the reality of being a woman and looking like a woman really is. Hopefully in the future we can be part of a society that advertises women as being strong, independent, and intelligent which are the characteristics that represent a lot of the women in today’s
Today, the media plays an important role in our society. It is a big component of our everyday lives because we are continuously exposed to it through different means such as the Internet and television. Although media has its positive aspects, one of the damages it generates is the objectifying, undermining, and idealization of women’s image. We see this present in many advertisements and commercials. In this paper the effects that the “idealized women” image is causing on women’ self-esteem and idea of sexuality will be analyzed. In addition, other effects of the media on women and women’s role in the media industry will also be examined. …show more content…
With it, it was brought and reinforced typical stereotypes that hurt women’s image. But it not only affects their image but also has an impact on their self-esteem that can in some cases lead to depression and eating disorders. Women’s self-esteem can also be impacted by the way they are being objectified and sexualized in many of the different music videos and commercials. This does not seem to be getting better, especially for the fact that women’s representation in media leadership position does not seem to be improving at a great level. This leads to women having less power to impact how they are being portrayed in the media. In addition, sexual content only seems to be increasing, “the American Academy of Pediatrics reports that of the approximately 14,000 references to sex a teen will see each year in the media, only 165 will contain any reference to delaying sex, using contraceptives, or avoiding sexually transmitted diseases.” Since this is an issue that is commonly overlooked, by educating women and young girls though social media, society can be changed and can have their eyes opened to what the reality of being a woman and looking like a woman really is. Hopefully in the future we can be part of a society that advertises women as being strong, independent, and intelligent which are the characteristics that represent a lot of the women in today’s