Miss Representation Essay

On average teens spend about 10 hours and 45 minutes on media per day. This is the first fact the film Miss Representation provided to its viewers. Media has the ability to control our culture, influence our behaviors, and define who we are. Miss Representation focuses on how the media influences women. Sadly, 53% of middle school girls are dissatisfied by their own bodies. Although, by the time they’re 17 that same number increases to 78%, while 65% of women struggle with an eating disorder. Unfortunately, these numbers are impacted by objectification found in the media. According to the media, the ideal women resembles what we all know as Barbie. Many young girls are flooded with images of models and actresses manipulated with photo shop

According to the media, women are supposed to always be looking for love, yearning to get married, and eager to start a family. However, if a woman prioritizes her career she’s seen as being selfish, cold, and sacrificing her familial duties. The media tells us that we can never have it all. In movies and television series women are also rarely the protagonist. People seem to be less interested in female protagonist media. However, this can result from gender socialization. Gender socialization is the way in which children learn about different social expectations, attitudes, and behaviors that are associated with being a boy or a girl. In the media, women are typically the caretakers/the wife. If women are given a lead role they are often placed in a “saint-like” role, or they’re malicious and sexualized. Specifically, in reality TV shows, women are portrayed to be manipulative, dramatic, and catty. Seeing women in these portrayed stereotypes can be dangerous for the development of a young child as the process of gender socialization begins in early adolescence. Young boys begin to believe that they need to be hypermasculine and that it’s okay to objectify women, while young girls begin to believe that in order to be desired, they must look and act a certain way. In order to change the objectified stereotypes of women, Hollywood needs to make a change and display more women in

Both films agree that the mass media can be to blame for extreme gender stereotypes. The film’s act as a complete circle on how one idea can affect our perceptions on another. The way I analyze it, it starts with how we define masculinity. At the end of the film in Miss Representation, they agree that by redefining masculinity we can stop destructive behavior that shapes the stereotypes of women. Teaching boys to respect women, how to properly express emotions, and ways to deal with feelings, we can create a healthier society. Furthermore, both films also agree that diminishing stereotypes begins with a change in Hollywood. The media needs to recognize that their greed for money, creates a harmful impact on our culture and plays a part in defining who we are. The only differences I found between the films was the perspective between men and women. In the end, both films complimented each other in how we can positively change traditional gender roles. Overall, I really enjoyed watching both films and learned how impactful the media is on gender stereotypes and gender