Misrepresentation Essay

When pronouncing Miss Representation aloud it sounds out as misrepresentation. This title is a clever play on words that has so many meanings. It shows how women are misrepresented in the media and how one body type or “Miss” is being used to represent and reinforce the stereotypes portrayed by the media of women. One way women are misrepresented is age. The women portrayed in movies and TV shows are predominantly in their twenties or thirties. This removes entire generations from the media. The news also misrepresents women as sex objects with short skirts and fluff pieces. Women are rarely given serious news pieces, styled with tousled hair and low-cut blouses. This allows women to not be taken seriously and hired for looks instead of based on merit. The roles women typically play in movies and shows are lower and subordinate.

Pervasive indicates that gender messages are everywhere and as we saw from the documentary these messages are everywhere in the media. From the commercials that sexually objectify women , to the two dimensional movie character women are portrayed as shallow, weak, and in need of a man. Powerful is another good word to describe the messages the media gives to young women. These messages are powerful and can affect young women self esteem. A good example is the way female leaders are treated by the media. Female leaders are constantly disrespected and sexualized in the media. The vulgar jokes made about Sara Palin to the petty comments on Hilary Clintons looks. These messages are powerful to young women because it shows how the American public doesn 't take female leadership seriously or women in general. The harmful effects of the medias message on gender are everywhere from the number of eating disorders to the lack of females in STEM jobs. These messages are all harmful and if we as a society do not step up soon and entire demographic of voices will be drowned out and