Stereotypes Of Women In Australia

Harmful stereotypes placed upon women continue to thrive in the media we consume every day. There are many issues surrounding the media’s portrayal of women in regards to their exploitation and the harmful stereotypes which are becoming an increasing concern. The emphasis on women’s looks is often the focus within the media and the impact is often overlooked. The growth of media platforms in recent years has had an enormous impact on how women are represented in Australia’s society. The media does not only influence society but it also holds the current views held within it. Common stereotypes of. Advertising and marketing have created a new type of woman that does not exist in the real world. You may have seen her before, but if not these
are some of her characteristics. This woman has flawless skin, a long, lean body with a waist so small it would make “Barbie” jealous. Her bust and bottom defies gravity. She has a head of silky, radiant hair and her insanely straight teeth are an impossible white. Recognise her? Is this a true representation of the “average” woman? I don’t believe it is. So, here’s the deal with these seemingly flawless women on the front cover of magazines. This unrealistic form of beauty is consistently exploited, thanks to the wonders of digital manipulation and enhancement for the purpose of appeal. Women are faced with an extreme pressure to fulfil these unattainable standards set by the media. Women feel they must conform to these images in order to be “beautiful”. The messages that the media sends to women about thinness, dieting, and beauty tells “ordinary” women that they are always in need of adjustment, and that the female body is an object to be perfected. Females represented in the media is causing a significant negative influence over how society views women and therefore how women view themselves.
The media’s portrayal of women impacts upon young girls today significantly. Young girls are increasingly becoming concerned with their body image in regards to their weight and the way they look as a result of the media’s exploitation of women. We as young girls are continuously being surrounded by many different forms or media and sadly we allow ourselves to construct our identities through the images we are faced with in order to fulfil the media’s expectations. The more we are exposed to these thin-ideals and unattainable beauty standards, the more we become unhappy in the way we view ourselves. Young adolescent girls like ourselves are the most strongly affect and susceptible demographic. Girls are often influenced into believing that if they were to buy this product or clothing, they will achieve a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. Believe it or not we are often being persuaded simply by scrolling through our Instagram feed. This idea of beauty has become has ultimately become a money-making business. This is a common example of women throughout social media such as fitness fanatic Tammy Hembrow or beauty guru, Shani Grimmond whom are consistently promoting products from “HiSmile” Teeth Whitening kits to protein powders. However, it has not been shown to give girls more “satisfaction” at all, in fact the complete opposite effect. Recent studies have shown an increase in depression among girls that is linked with body image and the impact on their self-esteem as a result of social media. According to a new report released by Dove, an overwhelming 89 per cent of Australian women are choosing to cancel plans, job interviews or other important arrangements simply because of how they look (Brown, 2016) . Another study commissioned by Dove; The Real Truth about Beauty found that only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful, 72% of girls feel a huge pressure to be beautiful, 80% of women agree that every woman is beautiful, yet they do not see their own true beauty, and finally more than half of women world-wide (54%) believe that when it comes to how they look, they are their own worst beauty critic (Brown, 2016). The mixed messages present within the media emphasises that being a woman is all about appearance and not about your true, natural beauty. Yet there is no-one to disagree with messages such as ‘thin is beautiful’. Depression, anorexia and bulimia are the most common effects of negative self-esteem mainly due to wanting to look a certain way lowering their confidence in themselves. We base our feelings of self-worth on the way we view ourselves in regards to our weight and appearance. I believe our appearance should not define us. The beauty within is worth so much more. There should not be a set requirement to be beautiful, however, the media has instilled in society’s mind that there is a certain look that there is. (play video) - what is your daughter searching for?)
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With programs, such as The Bachelor showing a dozen of beautiful women competing for the love and attention of one man or advertisements and marketing campaigns explicitly showing women in very little clothing to promote a fragrance, it’s not hard to see society is becoming influenced by the overwhelming message to objectify women.
Women are also often objectified in particular, within men’s magazines, where a woman’s physical attractiveness is used to sell products or promote a brand. You can’t help but ask yourself why companies purposely choose to promote women as sexual objects within their advertising? You may have heard the phrase “sex sells” and sadly, it really does as it means large revenues for businesses. Through this society are unintentionally contributing to the objectification, sexualisation and exploitation of women in the media as we are allowing these companies to promote such a product through this representation of women and taking advantage of women by only focusing on their physical attractiveness rather than the qualities inside. Beauty should be a source of confidence, not anxiety. Us girls have the power to help the next generation of girls develop a positive relationship with the way they look, helping them to raise their self-esteem and confidence as well as reach their full potential without the pressures of women in the media shown to suggest the standards of beauty. Unattainable beauty. Young females need to learn how to overlook these negative messages the media is sending us in order to be happy within ourselves and not strive to be the media’s portrayal of “perfect”. We should be more grateful of our natural beauty. Having a negative view of our appearance impacts the choices in the friends that we make, the jobs we apply for, it impacts everything. It couldn’t be more critical to your happiness. We as young women spend a significant amount of time analysing and trying to fix the things that aren’t quite right and we should spend
more time appreciating the things we do like. Through the work of The Dove Self-Esteem Project over 19 million adolescents have helped to significantly increase self-esteem and body confidence in young people and not to scrutinise, or belittle a woman’s beauty. Lastly, I will leave you with this thought. I’d like you to imagine a world where young girls and women would not have to spend and hour every morning putting on their makeup and doing their hair. I’d like you to imagine a world where women are valued for what they say, what they do and the qualities they offer rather than their appearance.