What Are The Limits Of So Called Feminist Images Of Women?

In the twenty-first century, there has been a great amount of change for women, especially in the media. We see more images of strong women that reflect women’s liberation in the real world. But these images may not be as powerful as we think, which brings the question of my research, what are the limits of so called feminist portrayals in popular culture and the media? What consequences do these different readings have for women? First, it is important to define what is considered “feminist”. While there are many definitions of this term, two that have resonated with me, the first being that women can be powerful and feminine (if they wish to be) as well, this is also known as girlie feminism (Bell, 13). Women have always been been told through

Powerful images of women were non existent, until the late twentieth century. The media began to represent these powerful images of women that have communicated to women that they have come a long way from where they were only a few decades ago.They no longer are limited to only two options anymore, there is more for them. Women have now “made it— completely— in the professions, as having gained sexual equality with men, and having achieved a level of financial success and comfort enjoyed” (Douglas, 4). Men are typically the ones who have been given images of power through the media to convey that they have power, but now we have these empowering images for women. These equal images represent a “gender equilibrium” which is another definition of what it means to be a feminist or what feminism represents, that genders are represented equally (Bell, 3). Men have always been portrayed with having power and now so are women, but is that true? One can agree that women have come a long way from the mid twentieth century, not just in images in the media but in real life as