The Misrepresentation Of Women In The Media

The Misrepresentation of Women in the Media Our society objectifies women and tends to value them only for their looks and the stereotypical things associated with women such as housework and motherhood. Women are driven by this pressure to do destructive things in an effort to live up to society’s expectations. The misrepresentation of women has changed massively over the years; from the characters portrayed in sitcoms of the 1950s-1970s to the representation of the modern day women today. According to the book Self-Objectification in Women; women and girls alike begin to view themselves from the pint of view of an external observer. This proves that when women internalize the standards that are forced upon them, they begin to become obsessed,
dissatisfied with what they already have, and are constantly striving for perfection. The way in which women are represented is important because it affects women and young girls regularly. Between the 1950s-1970s women began to be more seen in the media. But at the same time they showed the first signs of feminism. They were transgressive women who delighted in violating the boundaries of femininity. In the shows I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, and Bewitched; the husbands were the providers while the women took care of the home. At the same time these characters were strong and forceful. According to Susan Douglas “the way young women in the early 1960’s were pinioned between entrapment and freedom.” Lucy Ricardo constantly tried to be a famous star and lead in the shows her husband orchestrated.
Alice Kramden was the boss despite what her husband may have thought because when she said something she didn’t go back on it and she would stand up to her husband. Then theres Samantha Stephens from Bewitched her husband would constantly tell her not to do something but then she would do it anyway. Not out of disrespect but because she felt she was right. The husbands constantly tried to control their every move. “Normative control guarantees to those women who comply with its demands safe passage in the world and that women who do not comply are somehow punished.” (Sperry, 712) Even though they were portrayed as housewives they felt that they were equal to men. Despite what was being forced upon women at the time where they were expected to take care of the house and stay
silent. “Children’s fairy tales, which emphasize such things as women’s passivity and beauty, are indeed gendered scripts and serve to legitimatize and support the dominant gender systems.”(Grauerholz, 711) A study done by Lori Baker-Sperry and Liz Grauerholz focuses on The Pervasiveness and Persistence of the Feminine Beauty Ideal in Children’s Fairy Tales. This is an important part of how women are represented because it starts as children when fairy tales are read to us. We are taught that women need to be saved and have to keep a certain image in order to please the men around them. The study focuses on the feminine beauty ideal and how it has persisted over the last 150 years. This study of beauty and the significance it plays in children's fairytales provides insight into the relationship between gender, power, and culture. Women tend to adopt their behavior to different situations in order to please others. In terms of how women are represented it’s always done with the male viewer in mind. The things that women are expected to do and what women want to do don’t always match up. In the article Images of Women in the Visual Media, Betterton argues that we can’t separate the representation and objectification of women in visual images from social constructions of gender and sexuality. These ideas are reinforced because women are constantly arranged and posed as mannequins. A mannequin is plastic and something that can be disposed. This shows how women are seen as invaluable which is due to the misrepresentation of women in society. The pressure to be perfect puts a strain on a women’s self esteem. According to the study on Children’s fairy tales it was found that women who wear makeup in the workplace are seen as heterosexual, healthier, and more competent then those who do not. This is an unbelievable fact because women have to look perfect in order to be taken seriously. An example about how women are represented to children are Barbie dolls. Barbie is tall, skinny, big breasted, career oriented, loving wife, a good friend, and fun loving girl all wrapped into one. These traits are exactly what our society praises in every woman and that every woman aspires to be. The effects, however, of trying to become the “ideal woman” may be deadly. As a society and culture we have to change the ideology that women need to fit a certain mold in order to be recognized. Between the 19th and 21st centuries, women have tried to have no waist but large hips, to be full-figured but thin, to have no breasts but lower body curves, and today, to have sizable breasts and muscle but no body fat. They feel a constant need to have the perfect outward appearance in order to please the likes of other people without thinking of the possible outcomes. The need to please others is what drives women to destroy themselves for the sake of vanity. The way in which women are portrayed crosses over into their careers. It’s only within the last few years that women have become present in the work force. Besides the way in which women are misrepresented in the media. They are also underrepresented across various media platforms. In an article by Tierney Sneed in usnews she states “the media is failing women on nearly every platform and the numbers underscore that we need to be better.” She showed that we’re all part of the problem facing women today. Although the progress we’ve made over the years there is still a drastic gap between women and certain professions. For example in sports journalism 90% of the journalist are white men. Despite the fact that there is a growing female fan base. Men dominate in what are considered “hard” topics such as politics, crime, business, and technology while women are placed in subjects like education, lifestyle, culture, and health.
It is assumed that some positions aren’t filled by women because they have to convince their spouses and children to move from one place to the next. In my opinion this is a stereotype that we have to do away with because women are just as capable as men to make a change in order to grow in a company. “Among the hardest-working journalists are party and society reporters, mostly women, who are constantly running to one late-night event after another.” (Mundy, 2) This is where the typical stereotypes are seen which forces women to be placed into one category. They are seen as people that can only cover things that are fun and free not serious and moving. The negative portrayal of women in entertainment, television, and film send a message to women that they aren’t capable of having it
all. Throughout my research I noticed there are a variety of ways in which women are represented in the workplace. Arielle Kuperberg and Pamela Stone did a study called The Media Depiction of Women Who Opt Out. The term “opt out” was coined to reference women leaving careers in order to pursue motherhood full-time. At the time when this conversation are it seemed as though the media went into a frenzy. This is a problem because women shouldn’t be penalized for choosing full-time motherhood or a full-time career. Studies found that the messages shown in print media aimed toward young girls “emphasizing women’s subordination to men, the centrality of heterosexual relationships, and the reinforcement of gender-segregated occupational stereotypes.” (Kuperberg, 499) Though the consequences of this objectification of the self may be, at times, less overt in the world-at-large, it becomes increasingly apparent that it’s crucial to examine the manner in which these social norms catalyze the objectification and misrepresentation of the self. If gender expectation is rooted in ritual, perhaps mere awareness of this ritualization will assist us in ceasing our participation in these confines of gender expectation that often led to dire actions and circumstances. Perhaps only then will we be liberated from object-hood.