Stereotypes Of Women

The American culture overflows with messages generated by mass media. Mass media, which was once established to promote social interaction is now causing society to conform to the trends it establishes. Mass media generates harmful effects due to how women are represented. Representations of women in the media causes women to develop eating disorders and low self-esteem.
It’s been 20 years, but things haven’t changed as much as we might expect. “A new report by the Women’s Media Center found that male reporters still accounted for 63 percent of by lines in the nation’s top 10 papers” (Mundy). Through the use of factual evidence, Mundy summarizes the gender inequality women still experience 20 years later. Based off the article “Stop Infantilizing
Everyone is guilty of comparing themselves to someone else; it’s human nature. In some instances, women comparing themselves to models experience feelings of unworthiness and self-doubt. A specific example of a negative effect of comparison is how blonde women are glorified in society to be the most beautiful women in the world. However, not all women are born with blonde hair, so ethic women feel left out. Excluded, ethnic women alter their appearances by exposing their hair to the toxin, bleach, to resemble the blond woman portrayed in the advertisements. Often, women know that the images in magazines are digitally enhanced, yet, they still compare themselves. Society has forgotten what a normal person looks like; it has been enforced that ‘normal’ is depicted by the media. Low self-esteem can also result from silencing the presence of women. “We can play sports, excel at school, go to college, aspire to-and get- jobs previously reserved for men, be working mothers and so forth. But in exchange; we must obsess about our faces, weight, breast size, clothing brands, about pleasing men and being envied by other women” (Douglas, 16). Instead of focusing on their achievements, society has lead women to believe that their appearance and their use for entertainment is what’s important. Women are raised in a society that strips them of their self-worth, flaw by flaw. This quote summarizes society’s influence on women. What the quote means, is that women can become achievers but are still viewed for their appearance and not by their success. This can make a woman feel useless or cause them to think that everything they do is not good enough. Since the early 1900s, women have been perceived as weak and useless in both business and politics, as well as