Young girl is sitting on couch, watching TV which shows a range of depictions of women. The ‘good’ and ‘bad’ angels hover over her shoulders. The images include women as ditzy, carrying little dogs, car-washing in minimal clothing, as the president, playing football. 3. The central discourses are stereotypes regarding women and the choices that women make. The entire video clip presents the range of ways women can be in our society. For example, they can be insecure about their appearance, with scenes showing them getting spray-tans, having cosmetic surgery and the bulimic girl in the toilets.
Almost in contrast, the women are shown as being defined by their sexuality and using their appearance to gain approval, such as in the dancing, bedroom and the car-washing scenes. This idea is also evident in the gym and bowling alley skits. There are also images of women being strong and independent, especially in the president scenario and the final scene.
The central discourse challenges many of the existing stereotypes which define women by their appearance, rather than by the quality of their contributions to society.
For example, in the opening scene, a young girl is depicted sitting on a couch watching television. As she changes channels, different representations of women are shown. The girl is holding a Barbie doll and handbag, representing the discourse of women as judged by their appearance and fashion-conscious. However, she is wearing a football jersey which represents a different discourse of women as sportswomen and perhaps being able to match the boys.
In another example, in the car-washing scene, the girl is wearing very minimal clothing, sliding all over the car in the suds, projecting her breasts in a bikini top, and appearing to be particularly clumsy. Her movements are quite suggestively sexual, and in fact many of her ‘poses’ replicate those in the bedroom scene, so the