Stereotypes of Women in the Media and Workplace
Diana Martin
Professor Lisa Munoz
English 101 M/W 9:35-11
April 8, 2013
Stereotypes of Women in the Media and Workplace
A stereotype is defined as “an assumption that may be adopted by people about a given group of individuals or certain ways of doing things, but may or may not show the actual reality.” Stereotypes are defined upon genders, races, actions, etc. Different aspects of stereotypes shown on the media and in the workplace, give women the ideas of how they must look and act or what they must do according to their gender. Every day, women are affected and discouraged by these stereotypes positively and negatively. Today, thousands of women have the pressure to feel beautiful and look beautiful; beautiful, as in a gorgeous face, luscious hair, and a skinny, toned, and tall body. Beautiful women with these traits are portrayed everywhere—you see them on the internet, billboards, posters, magazine covers, television, etc. In Women And Negative Stereotypes: An End Before A Start, Divya Bhargava states that “it is shown in advertisement a woman’s goal in life is to attract and attain a man: women are shown in advertising as always young and attractive.” Being attracted by a man makes a woman feel good about herself, and can boost up their self-esteem. Personally, I relate to the thousands of women who feel the pressure to look like the beautiful, sexy women that are shown in the media. Seeing these women on the covers of magazines and on the internet gives me the need to be as attractive as them. In order to do so, I try to exercise
5-6 days a week 1 ½-2 hours a day and consume healthier foods. For motivation, I put Miranda Kerr, who has a gorgeous, toned body, as my phone wallpaper. Whether on the internet or face-to-face, woman are verbally abused if they do not exceed the traits of what society considers beautiful. A friend of mine who owns a Tumblr (blogging site) account has received many anonymous hate messages. These messages included plenty of
Professor Lisa Munoz
English 101 M/W 9:35-11
April 8, 2013
Stereotypes of Women in the Media and Workplace
A stereotype is defined as “an assumption that may be adopted by people about a given group of individuals or certain ways of doing things, but may or may not show the actual reality.” Stereotypes are defined upon genders, races, actions, etc. Different aspects of stereotypes shown on the media and in the workplace, give women the ideas of how they must look and act or what they must do according to their gender. Every day, women are affected and discouraged by these stereotypes positively and negatively. Today, thousands of women have the pressure to feel beautiful and look beautiful; beautiful, as in a gorgeous face, luscious hair, and a skinny, toned, and tall body. Beautiful women with these traits are portrayed everywhere—you see them on the internet, billboards, posters, magazine covers, television, etc. In Women And Negative Stereotypes: An End Before A Start, Divya Bhargava states that “it is shown in advertisement a woman’s goal in life is to attract and attain a man: women are shown in advertising as always young and attractive.” Being attracted by a man makes a woman feel good about herself, and can boost up their self-esteem. Personally, I relate to the thousands of women who feel the pressure to look like the beautiful, sexy women that are shown in the media. Seeing these women on the covers of magazines and on the internet gives me the need to be as attractive as them. In order to do so, I try to exercise
5-6 days a week 1 ½-2 hours a day and consume healthier foods. For motivation, I put Miranda Kerr, who has a gorgeous, toned body, as my phone wallpaper. Whether on the internet or face-to-face, woman are verbally abused if they do not exceed the traits of what society considers beautiful. A friend of mine who owns a Tumblr (blogging site) account has received many anonymous hate messages. These messages included plenty of
Cited: Kaplan, Abby. The Brown and White. Westtown School. February 15, 2012. Bhargava, Divya. Counter Currents. Binu Mathew. 27th March 2002. Kindlon, Dan. “The Descent of Men” Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Ed. Gary Colombo, Bonnie Lisle, and Robert Cullen. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. 620-623. Print. CliffsNotes.com. Sexism in the Workplace. 8 Apr 2013 http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/topicArticleId-26957,articleId-26899.html