The Gender Gap No More: Mass Media's Assault on the Human Ideals
Drake Gutierrez
Professor Muniz
English 1A
11/8/12
The Gender Gap No More: Mass Media’s Assault on the Human Ideals With the great influence the media holds over the commoner it is not surprising to find that a staggering percentage of the information and knowledge that is obtained is taught through the media. According to Ann Marie Kerwin, “the average American watched 280 minutes of TV each day in 2009, more than four-and-a-half-hours worth and a three-minute increase compared to the year before. A similar rise can be seen around the world, where the average human being watched three hours and 12 minutes worth of TV a day” (Advertising Age). Over the span of one week, the average American has consumed 30 hours of media. There is no question of how the media plays such an influential role on the American ethos. Men are constantly bombarded with stereotypes defined by the media that question a man’s degree of masculinity and young women are galvanized to explore the perks of promiscuity. Both men and women have now become self conscious about their physical appearance due to the media’s assault on the body image. And now the media has begun targeting children in order to ensure their entrenchment of purchasing products that will carry on to adulthood. The media has reinvented itself into a corporate mudraker, corrupting the ideals of humanity in the ambition of turning a dollar.
Young women have been in the crosshairs of the media’s scope since its bearing and have had its influence mold their perspectives like play dough. It was not until recently that the media has made an even greater effort to mold the minds of women, although this time around it is making its approach at much younger ages. In her review of M. Gigi Durham’s book The Lolita Effect, Taylor Wollek quotes Durham saying:
“Research has shown that in the United States, sexual activity is known to start around 11 or12 years old. One in five adolescents under the age of 15 have had sex and
Professor Muniz
English 1A
11/8/12
The Gender Gap No More: Mass Media’s Assault on the Human Ideals With the great influence the media holds over the commoner it is not surprising to find that a staggering percentage of the information and knowledge that is obtained is taught through the media. According to Ann Marie Kerwin, “the average American watched 280 minutes of TV each day in 2009, more than four-and-a-half-hours worth and a three-minute increase compared to the year before. A similar rise can be seen around the world, where the average human being watched three hours and 12 minutes worth of TV a day” (Advertising Age). Over the span of one week, the average American has consumed 30 hours of media. There is no question of how the media plays such an influential role on the American ethos. Men are constantly bombarded with stereotypes defined by the media that question a man’s degree of masculinity and young women are galvanized to explore the perks of promiscuity. Both men and women have now become self conscious about their physical appearance due to the media’s assault on the body image. And now the media has begun targeting children in order to ensure their entrenchment of purchasing products that will carry on to adulthood. The media has reinvented itself into a corporate mudraker, corrupting the ideals of humanity in the ambition of turning a dollar.
Young women have been in the crosshairs of the media’s scope since its bearing and have had its influence mold their perspectives like play dough. It was not until recently that the media has made an even greater effort to mold the minds of women, although this time around it is making its approach at much younger ages. In her review of M. Gigi Durham’s book The Lolita Effect, Taylor Wollek quotes Durham saying:
“Research has shown that in the United States, sexual activity is known to start around 11 or12 years old. One in five adolescents under the age of 15 have had sex and
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