Media Portrayal Of Women

We all know the stereotypes , the damsel in distress, the supermom, the just a pretty face, the nasty corporate climber. Whatever the role, the media, tv, and magazines are full of images of young women who are most traditionally white and desperately thin. Many would agree steps have been made towards how the media portrays women, and that the last years have also seen a spike in the presence and influence of women in media behind the scenes. Nevertheless, unreal females continue to sell in the media we consume every day.

The portrayal of women in the media is harmful to our society.

A shocking statistic I recently ran across was that on a typical day, “eight to eighteen year-olds are engaged with some form of media about 7.5

Even media aimed at elementary school age children, such as animated cartoons and children’s videos, emphasize the importance of being attractive.” Obviously, anyone, young or old, who spends this much time with their face to a screen would be affected by being bombarded with stunningly attractive, photo-shopped, half naked women. This will affect how they see themselves in the world and even more, how they see themselves personally. The woman getting thousands of likes on instagram are “between the ages of sixteen to twenty-three, five foot ten inches tall, with an average weight of 115 to 125 pounds.” When young girls and women, look at themselves in the mirror and aren’t seeing this nearly unachievable ideal, they either give up and hate themselves or strive endlessly to meet what they think is the media standard. “The promotion of the thin, sexy ideal in our culture has created a situation where the majority of girls and women don’t like their bodies,” says Sarah Murnen, professor of psychology at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Todd Morrison and Emer Sheahan recognized in their studies that “sociocultural

Now the problem is as they get older, women are considered no longer sexy and therefore not as promotable as media spokesmodels or even news casters. Is this where it starts then, the idea that older women will endure anything to remain young? “The pressure on our generation to look young is robbing us of the opportunity to experience one of the many benefits of middle age: contentment with who we are. We must not allow ourselves to be talked into believing the fairy story that ageing – and time itself – can be stopped.” (To Age is to Fail:The Media’s Message to Older Women). A new prime time Television show portrays 40ish women being convinced by professionals to have cosmetic surgery to “correct” the aging process. Telling women that “saggy eye-lids are the only reason they are single. An observation that I have recently made is that most hostesses in nicer restaurants are usually younger women. Society seems to say that younger women are more outwardly appealing so they draw the crowds to whatever it is your are selling. As soon as they go through puberty, women are told that the biological clock has started ticking. Seems that women in general have been plastered with a best-by date by society which is influenced by the media.