Women in the Media
Although we may not realize it, but media is a very powerful source of influence. Influence that can affect people in many ways that may be positive and beneficial for corporations, but not so much for the general public. Media uses a variety of means such as advertisements, movies and music videos to convince its consumers and potential consumers in buying their products, or following their lifestyles. Majority of these means are dominated with portraying different views of women. Whether it is a detergent ad, a sports themed movie or a popular pop song, each and every source of media is focused on objectifying women.
While watching your favorite television show, you may not pay attention to the advertisement in between, nor do you pay attention to the fact that most of them have women in it, nor the way that they are portrayed as. Since it is seen as a common thing, our minds are accustomed to this idea. Most women in today’s media are viewed as sex objects, and most advertisements use this as a way to sell a product. Magazines, television, and the Internet display this quite well by constantly portraying pencil thin models with impossibly long legs, perfect complexions, enhanced breasts, and incredibly thick locks (DeYoung & Crane). These women are then illustrated in sexually provocative poses for the purpose of selling something as ordinary as shoes. This may seem to be a harmless way of promoting a product but these sexually provocative advertisements have had a grave effect on our society.
Media completely changes the way we see women and how we describe beauty. It has started to sell beauty; it creates an unattainable ideal woman, compelling other women to attempt to transform themselves into model look-alikes. A beautiful women does not have to be tall, skinny or should have long hair, but these images have created a category which define beauty, hence we have started to believe that as being
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