Sexism In Media

Sexism is not a new issue in our society, but it was that continues to have a negative impact on the lives of many. In the time of technology being so accessible, men and women are exposed to the media on a constant basis. The impact of this constant exposure to sexism can have a significant impact on those that are witnessing it. Sexism can be seen in countless sources of the media, such as advertisement, magazines, entertainment, news and more. When the media is continuously exposing people to sexism this way, it starts to normalize these behaviors. When sexism is made to look as though it is appropriate, it has a large impact on both men and women. Sexism in the media allows women to be objectified and allows men to believe it is alright
to be aggressive and possessive of women. Both genders are negatively impacted by this experience.
When it comes to ideas of sexism in the media, it is important to understand how this major issue still can have such a large impact on the lives of women.
Women struggling for their rights is not a new issue, and although females have made great strides in their battle, they can still be seen fighting today. Sexism in the media is a major problem that still has a significant impact on behavior and the way women are treated. Witnessing sexism is constant as “Women frequently face sexual objectification in daily interpersonal interactions and through the active and passive consumption of multimedia” (Rooney). Women in the media are still constantly portrayed as a sex objects, trophies and even decoration. Repeatedly people are exposed to media images of “women as the prejudice of "men's products" in this case the beer is seen as a product consumed only by men, as also happens with cars and cars' products” (N.A.). These images are not only teaching men to believe and treat women as their personal belongings, but also teaching women that this is how they should be treated. The media is dehumanizing women by objectifying them, which leads to discrimination, harassment and
abuse.
It is hurtful and dangerous to society for the media to continue its use of sexism as a source for advertisement and sales. It is so detrimental because “this creates the idea that women are another product of the market, which can be bought, because you can get them for buying a car or a beer. Even more, it would not be necessary to buy them because women love men who have a beautiful and luxurious car and they are even able to run after a man who uses a determined deodorant or perfume” (N.A.). To make matters worse, sexism in the media is not limited to advertisement and Hollywood. It can also be seen in the news and journalism. Once aware of sexism in the news, one will start to see how “The requirements of youth and beauty in women even influence news shows, where female newscasters are expected to be younger, more physically attractive, and less outspoken than males” (Wood). This forced ideal of how a women is meant to look and act is creating false expectations for women to follow. The media shows what a typical women looks like that many strive to achieve these false expectations.
Although sexism and objectifation towards women is a big issue, often this problem can overshadow the opposite sex. Sexism in the media does not only affect women and can actually have just as significant of a negative impact on men, as well. There is this false idea of what it means to be masculine constantly being pushed on men. They are taught from the media that in order to be a man, he must aim to be like the “hyper-masculine” image that is commonly seen in the media. A study done by the University of Manitoba analyzed over 500 advertisement ads in popular men’s magazines to determine if advertisement can have an effect on behavior. The researchers concluded that 56 percent of images depicted the hyper-masculine ideals, which encouraged readers to adopt violent or sexually aggressive tendencies (Whitelocks). The reason this is so important to understand is because 'Young men are still learning appropriate gender behaviors, and their beliefs and attitudes can be subtly shaped by [media] images' (Whitelocks). Young men are constantly viewing images, movies and even hearing in music about how they should act, think and behavior, just as young women are.
While men are being exposed to the same about of sexist material that can affect their behavior towards others, it is often men that are blamed for their exploitation of women and not the fact that this exposure could have created the mistreatment.
The media teaches young men to repress emotion, while also promotes aggression and violence. If young men are being taught this is how they should behave by the media, then why is it so surprising to see men engaging in the behaviors towards women? This is very concerning because “When men grow up in sexist and macho environments, the way they perceive women and sex can be incredibly harmful” (Sanchez). With young men constantly viewing images of the ideal male being aggressive, macho and even violent, it normalizes these concepts. It is unfair to continue to solely blame men for their behavior and attitudes towards women when they have been exposed to media that has taught them to act in such a way. The problem needs to be addressed at its source in order for sexism to diminish in our society.
In conclusion, sexism in the media causes a negative impact on both men and women. The normalization of sexism by constant exposure of how men and women “should” behavior leads to objectification, discrimination, and even violence towards the genders. If sexism is still shown to be expectable, issues like gender equality and harassment will continue to be an issue among
society.