Stereotypes Of Women In Social Media

Introduction
She recalls the words her mother usually graces her with. “You are a beautiful girl” she would say. Never was her mother being stereotyped or just talking of skin deep beauty; but instead the female she was, body and mind. According to Farrah (2014), the body is what makes a person unique, due to the physical traits he or she individually owns. However, social media has redefined the term beauty. This has created a standard for image that is characterized by extremely thin bodies with flawless skin, Hendricks& Burgoon (cited in Van Vonderen & Kinnally, 2012); where these women appear to be more attractive and successful with their lives. Social media’s perspective of beauty has led to major impacts on the lives of women such as

Females are expected to be fragile, weak and dependable of their male companions, who are depicted as female dominant. In addition, women are to portray a certain level of being flawless to be beautiful, based on the “airbrushed” images been presented through advertisements, music videos and popular television series. This level of stereotyping according to Berberick (2011), has created an atmosphere that degrades women, which encourages sexual assault, since males believe it is acceptable to control women based on what the advertisements are showing; that is, females who never seem uncomfortable in whatever position they are in. such as, advertisements promoting a certain product will display partially dressed females with flawless skin who automatically becomes the desired focus of

Since, this unrealistic image has created a definition of beauty that women compare themselves to; along with the factors of a low self-esteem, may suffer from body dissatisfaction. According to Grogan (2008) body dissatisfaction relates to the negative evaluation of body size, shape, muscularity or muscle tone and weight, and it usually involves a perceived discrepancy between a person’s evaluation of his or her body and his or her ideal body. Whereas women are taught through social media that the way they evaluate themselves is based upon what they think men believe is attractive. Females then compare themselves to the models shown throughout media such as on the television, in magazines, billboards and local advertisements, this leaves them feeling incompetent and not as the epitome of success and social desirability. As a result, women engage in cosmetic alterations in an attempt to measure up to the standard (Van Vonderen & Kinnally, 2012). For example, Jamaicans have created their own “bleaching” agent made of curry and toothpaste; in order of toning the skin for a lighter complexion. This demonstrates that the citizens still adopt to the racist legacy of the lighter the skin the more accepted you are. Females have generated to the sexist belief and follow instructions on how to behave, what to wear, how to dress and what her body should look like. In addition,