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Essay about representation of female and media
Essay about representation of female and media
The impact of gender stereotypes in individual
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Today, most would think that all humans have equal rights. Unfortunately, though, women are still not treated as equal as men. Women do not get paid as much as men do, they are expected to stay home and take care of the children, and they do not have as many job opportunities as men do. All of this is in spite of the fact that women have been fighting for their rights in this country since the 1800s. Two of the most widely known speeches are “Ain’t I a Woman” and “Speech at Seneca Falls Convention.”
Dalton Bragg Mrs. Sager English 12 12 February 2018 The Struggle to Understand As times have changed so have people. Men are no longer the only ones that can do tough and excruciating work.
The evolution of women’s rights has significantly changed for the better. Throughout history, the role of women has been perceived as stay-at-home moms, cooking, cleaning, and pleasing their husbands. They were seen more as only child barriers and far less superior than men. Even when women did work they were treated as unequal’s. However, when women started protesting, raising awareness for their cause, and voicing their concerns, they got noticed and gained respect.
Men have given the media this unrealistic image that women cannot fend for themselves, cannot do hard jobs, or cannot get as far in life as a man. Even in jobs, though a woman and a man may be in the same position, women “earn just 74 cents for every $1 a man earns” (CNNMoney). This is truly unfair, yet men today still say that women are “equal,” though it is obviously false. Women today, though they have more rights than in the 1800’s, are still not in the place we need to be in ranking with men. Women are still abused, sexually harassed and mistreated more than men because of their sex.
Gender Roles in the 1950’s The exact definition of sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on sex - especially discrimination towards women. In modern day America, we struggle with this issue every day whether it comes to the workplace, social settings, or even family life. In the 1950’s, this issue plagued our country dramatically and left an intense aftermath. Although progress made, gender roles in post WWII has made a lasting impact on American society.
The internalized misogyny that clouds this country is overwhelming in the sense that woman will never be seen as equals. Girls are taught from a young age that they will never be as good as the boys are. Girls are not as tough, girls are not as strong, and girls are not nearly as smart as the boys are. Even the seemingly “harmless” phrases such as “You throw like a girl” or “You run like a girl” teach us that breaking through the misogynistic barrier that separates males and females is impossible. There are countless battles that women face everyday (catcalling, wage gaps, demanding mutual respect to name a few).
Women who work full-time make only seventy-seven cents for every dollar a man who works full-time makes. This difference is known as the, ‘gender wage-gap.’ Due to this gap, full-time women employees are presented with less money and job opportunities. The stereotype behind all of this is that, ‘women aren’t worth as much as men.’ This stereotype is entirely outdated and insulting.
Imagine a world where women are objectified, treated as property, and have their opinions ignored. Visualization is hard, is it not? Prior to the Women’s Rights Movement, women were denied basic rights, such as the right to vote. As of 2014, 50% of all marriages end in divorce, but before the movement, women were not allowed to divorce their husbands. Even those who had committed crimes against them, such as rape (even though marital rape was not criminalized until 1993) or domestic abuse.
This is due to the traditional gender role that has been applied in a society for centuries, and it is fairly recent that the modern view of equality was adopted. Nonetheless, the efforts
Throughout American society, Women have been downgraded in the face of men. In america’s past, women were seen purely as housewives, and had no place in a higher position. Today women have many more rights, putting them on much more equal terms as men. With this, women have shown their capabilities and their worth to society, leading its progression, and proving that the arguments of the anti-suffrage movement were initially the opposite of what women could really do. The arguments that women’s place is only at home and that men have the sole job of running government and society has been proven wrong by women in contemporary society.
Gender stereotypes can be dangerous for individuals. It forces people to adhere to norms that may or may not reflect who they actually are. In the film, “The Mask You Live In”, it said that if men and women were to be given a psychological test about 90% of the answers would overlap between the two sexes. Sex makes people different because of biology but gender is cultural. This does not mean we need to force each other into gender-typed roles all because they have a certain kind of part.
From birth, men and women were born equal to one another. Both genders have the ability to share the same opportunities, and achieve whatever desires they choose in life. In our current society as well as the past, this does not entirely follow through. “Gender is a social construct that specifies the socially and culturally appropriate roles that men and women are to play” (Kearl 2011). Going along that “it is one of the most universal measures upon which status is based (Kearl 2011).
Gender stereotyping might even happen without people realizing it. People of today use gender stereotyping to easily categorize people by gender. This is completely impractical because every individual has different preferences. In other words, just one stereotype for each gender does not represent the entirety of each individual person of the gender. Look around and you will see some type of gender standard anywhere.
People are not born with their own opinions, rather their opinions are created and shaped through what they see and hear from sources that they consider trustworthy. This why most popular media mostly showcase ideas and opinions that the average person finds the most acceptable. When it comes to stereotypes, they originate from those in power who creates an overgeneralization that ends up repeated countless times that it eventually begins to be considered a fact. Authors such as David Brooks assert that women are better students than men and that men are more aggressive, an assertion I disagree with. Stereotypes dealing with gender like the one promoted by David Brooks and studied by other authors are created through the influence popular media has on society in order to manipulate people to think a certain way and create conflict.
Gender stereotypes have been conveyed for many years. Men and women have fought their way through the positions they are given from society. In the past, some women did not go to school and stayed home to take care of their family, but it is a different life today. Many women go through multiple years of rigorous schooling to receive a hard earned education. Or, some men stay home to take care of their family and have their wife go work.
