Miss Representation
After viewing Miss Representation I was overwhelmed with emotions: outrage, frustration, and sadness at the unfair portrait of women painted by popular media and culture. I find this topic very interesting and realize that this topic is always going to be highly debated and talked about. Women are often represented in the media in roles traditionally assigned by society, portrayed as passive and lesser beings, mothers or sexual objects.
Both films highlight the impact of mass media on the notion of “Ideal Beauty” for women, through magazines, movies, television shows and video games. The media has greatly influenced the attitudes and opinions, which is seen as the norm by societies where gender equality is far from reality. Miss Representation goes into more of the female roles in politics and leadership. In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that our young women and men overwhelmingly receive is that a woman’s value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality, and not in her capacity as a leader.
The whole notion of "Ideal Beauty" has so many harmful effects. The film talks about how women have made great strides in leadership over the past few decades. It mentions how the United States is still 90th in the world for women in national legislatures, women hold only 3% of positions in mainstream media, and 65% of women and girls have disordered eating behaviors. The concept of anorexic beauty is problematic, as majority of the female population does not have such an “ideal” body type, thus resulting in many insecurity issues for women. Here are some quotes from the film that highlight my statement, “Media portrays negativity, the way of how women should look – conforming to the male ideal, else face scrutiny from society”, and “My sister cuts herself because she was teased by her friends as she does not have a perfect body." This obsession has put ridiculous amounts of unhealthy pressure on
Both films highlight the impact of mass media on the notion of “Ideal Beauty” for women, through magazines, movies, television shows and video games. The media has greatly influenced the attitudes and opinions, which is seen as the norm by societies where gender equality is far from reality. Miss Representation goes into more of the female roles in politics and leadership. In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that our young women and men overwhelmingly receive is that a woman’s value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality, and not in her capacity as a leader.
The whole notion of "Ideal Beauty" has so many harmful effects. The film talks about how women have made great strides in leadership over the past few decades. It mentions how the United States is still 90th in the world for women in national legislatures, women hold only 3% of positions in mainstream media, and 65% of women and girls have disordered eating behaviors. The concept of anorexic beauty is problematic, as majority of the female population does not have such an “ideal” body type, thus resulting in many insecurity issues for women. Here are some quotes from the film that highlight my statement, “Media portrays negativity, the way of how women should look – conforming to the male ideal, else face scrutiny from society”, and “My sister cuts herself because she was teased by her friends as she does not have a perfect body." This obsession has put ridiculous amounts of unhealthy pressure on