Representation Of Women In The Media Essay

In addressing the issue of women’s representation in the media, it quickly becomes apparent that even though there are positive steps being taken and a few skirmishes are won, the overall conclusion that can be drawn is not encouraging. The pressure of perfectionism placed on women, in the media is completely visible to all onlookers, especially when compared to the treatment of men in the media. Women are intensely scrutinized about every aspect of their physical appearance, relationships, family or home life, clothes, even down to their favorite foods, and while many famous woman are standing up against this, there is still an overwhelming battle to be fought. The inequality between men and women in media is sickening. For example, many female actors, when being interviewed while promoting their movies are asked questions about their clothing, motherhood, relationships, and the like, while men are most often asked about their work method and questions relevant to the movie. It appears that this is an expected and accepted ideology of journalistic questioning, and will not change until it is openly challenged. Some people are already challenging this. In an interview Mindy Kaling stated,
According to the article, “Are Things Getting Better or Worse When It Comes To Women’s Media Representation?” on average, people are exposed to over 10 hours of media per day. As a result of this, young girls and women are suffering from unrealistic body images and expectations. The same article states that 81 percent of 10 year olds have an irrational fear of becoming fat. Another problem of this sexualization is that often, those being exploited are women who already have distorted body images and are willing to be exploited. Those who are fighting against this exploitation of the media often have to fight the women who are being