Abstract
We live in a society were image plays a huge role in women’s lives. It is all around us. If you go to Wal-Mart and are checking out you will notice magazines with pretty girls on the front page. If you are browsing music videos on YouTube you will notice a trend of sexy women in the videos. The mall is full of posters filled with girls that are usually slimmer than the average women. Women Manikins are usually tall and slim dressed up in very slim, tight cloths. Little girls are bombarded with Barbie commercials while they are watching cartoons. This has become a huge distraction for women and has placed lots of pressure to be acceptable to our society’s eyes.
Barbie influence
I can remember when I was a little girl I loved to play with Barbie dolls. I remember my first Barbie. She had beautiful long blond hair.She was tall with the perfect color tone. She had the perfect curves, but very slim. I knew that this was the definition of being pretty. All the other little girls were also so infatuated with their Barbie’s. My Barbie came with a comb, two pairs of heels, and purse that matched her pink dress. I would imagine myself as her. At this moment in my life I look back and realize ever since I was little I pictured myself in a different image. As I have grown older I have realized thatit’s what society has taught us to do. “The little girl cuddles her doll and dresses her up as she dreams of being cuddled and dressed up herself: inversely, she thinks of herself as a marvelous doll”mentioned in the book “Living Dolls” (Valenti, 2012, Pg. 83).
America’s picture perfect girl
Quoted by Marilyn Monroe “No one ever told me I was pretty when I was a little girlsall little girls should be told they’re pretty, even if they aren’t”. With her addressing this, you could see that being pretty was very important for her or at least felling pretty. Marilyn Monroe was one of the greatest icons in the 1950’s. She swept America with her beauty. She was not only a model, but an actress and singer. She was well known as a major sex symbol. During that time woman were really into her sexy style and they wanted to look like her. Her glamor and her sexy image made her idolized by many girls and women. Men wanted her and women wanted to be her. She was all about the sexy look, wearing sexy dresses that would show skin and flatter her hips. The media portrayed her as a queen. You would see her everywhere like on television, commercials, movies and magazines. Marilyn Monroe would start a movement that no one has ever done. She started a huge trend that young girls would follow. She was the perfect women in every way according to our society.
Media influence on women
As technology grows the advertising grows. We are surrounded by advertisement such as the newspaper, radio, television, magazines, and the internet. We use all these objects every day and during the day. Like mentioned by Ray “We live in a society that depends on information and communication to keep moving in the right direction and do our daily activities like work, entertainment, health care, education, personal relationships, traveling and anything else that we have to do” (Ray, 2008). It is true, the first thing you do in the morning to get ready is to turn on the television, or you may turn on your radio. When you are in school you have to use the computer for homework. When you go back home you get comfortable and turn on the television. These may not be exactly what you do, but it’s a usual thing most people in our society do.
Advertisement most of the times include tall and skinny models. The shows that we watch they all have what you would call attractive women. The videos we watch they contain pretty and sexy girls. The magazines all they have is skinny girls, fashion clothes, and tips on how to exercise and lose weight and look good. The truth is that it is not as easy as the picture it. According to hubpages.com “the media creates the ideal image of a beautiful women and tells you what are the characteristics of a successful person, you can see it in movies and TV” (Rey, 2008).
Music Industry
Rap Genre
A very well-known rapper named Eminem has become famous even with the most sexist lyrics that you could ever imagine. He talks about killing, beating, and torching women and it’s surprising to know that he is one of the bestselling artists. He references all girls as “hoes” or “Bitches”. In his song Yellow Brick Road he raps “I singled out a whole race and for that apologize I was wrong cause no matter what color a girl is she's still a hoe”. One of his main groups of fans is teenagers. This is making it acceptable to call girls names that are not acceptable. In a study designed to test whether listening to Eminem’s music would increase the sexism toward woman. “The researchers found that listening to Eminem did in fact increase participant’s negative attitudes towards women. In addition, the study found a relationship between listening to the rap music, whether or not it was a misogynistic, and more negative attitudes towards women particularly among male participants” (Blogger, 2008).
Pop Genre
Pop female artist are looked up upon many teenage girls who idolize them. They want to copy everything they do. If you take a look at the female pop artist like Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Britney Spears you will notice they all have fit bodies and show confidence even when they wear almost nothing. In most cases you will see them showing lots of skin. It makes you think that in order to become a famous female singer you must have the looks and the style, unless you are Adele whose talent shadowed all the things the average female pop star looks like. Christina Aguilera is one of the famous pop stars that were viewed as sexy and attractive. Early in this year she was part of the show “The Voice” where she came out with a new image. She gained some weight, which made the media go crazy. Before recording her upcoming album, she told her label: “You are working with a fat girl. Know it now and get over it. They need a reminder sometimes that I didn’t belong to them. It’s my body” (Tate, 2012). She knew she was going to be judged and ridiculed for her new body figure.She was judged when she was skinny and she was going to be judged at a extreme level now more than ever specially when she was in an industry full of women below the average American weight.
Hollywood
Have you noticed that many old male actors are still kicking butt, and starring in big hit movies like, Al Pacino, Robert De Nero, Silvestre Stallone, Richard Gere and many more.What happens to all female actors? Well they are replaced with the new anticipated actors. It is really hard for a female actor to remain at the top when they start aging because let’s be honest, producers want a sexy female in there movie. There are a lot of young women that are becoming very successful and they have the talent and the beauty to replace older women.
It is very interesting to see how Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian became famous. Paris Hilton is a well-known T.V. reality star that came out of now where. She is a great example of a Barbie image. Teenage girls love her, but why? She is well known for her sex-tape that leaked and also for all the male celebrities she has been with. Kim Kardashian also blew up her career after making a sexy tape a famous R&B artist Ray J. She loves to show off her body, and sends that seductive message that is cool to showoff your physical attributes.
Clothing Stores
Teenager’s girls are attractive to clothes. When they go to the mal they like the outfits on the manikin. The manikins are dressed with the latest trends with the purpose to get the attention of costumers. In many popular stores like Hollister, Abercrombie, and express the clothes come in smaller sizes. Even the large clothes can seem like a small compared to family friendly stores like JCPenny. This can make girls insecure when they see their friends wearing these clothes and they know they can’t fit in them. This affects the way girls see themselves and the way they grow up with low self-esteem. “Your store shows photos of BONE-THIN girls everywhere. So this makes the average American girl feel she is not beautiful because she does not look like them” the mother argued against the Hollister store (Bloodsworth, 2008).
Women’s appearance in society
We live in a society where appearance is important. A lot of the times people get judged by the way they look. These modern days put a lot of pressure to women more than men, also to young girls more than boys. If you are not fashionable or trendy you can’t be accepted with the cool kids. The way you look can say a lot about your personality. Women are judged more harshly based upon personal appearance. According to Tina, “Men are also judged based upon their looks with more attractive men and women generally earning more than less attractive employees with the same responsibilities” (Tina, 2012). But Men are not judged to the extent of women.
Women in Politics
Though out the years politics have been mostly run by men, and women were no part of the men’s business. Women had to work hard and stud up for their rights and to be allowed to be part of society with men. “The first woman of the United States House of Representatives was Jeanette Rankin of Montana in 1917” (Pandita. 2011). Women have improved their potentials and show that they are capable to do things men do. Many other well-known women like Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice and Sarah Palin have been part of our political society. In the past women were not allowed to vote.Women’s role in politics has increased that they have the same right as men in electoral activities.
Women in politics are also judged all the time by their appearance. Recently Michelle Obama was being judged for wearing the same dress she wore the past month. She changed up a bit by adding a silver bow pin and a black belt. They have to be very careful with what they wear because they are always followed by cameras and people following their trend.Michelle Obama has a very good taste in fashion style that will remain like Jacqueline Kennedy well known for their fashion. But it’s sad that it seems like they are judged more on what they wear than anything else.
Conclusion
We need to recognize the message we are sending to the girls of our generation. It is not acceptable for Rappers to put down women, and put the image out that girls are nothing but sex objects. Women in politics, Hollywood and any other group need to recognize that we will be judged but it’s about getting passed it and not giving in to all the remarks that are made. Women shouldn’t just be judged by their outside. Women are much more than just a pretty faces hiding behind a desk.
References:
Rayuso,(2008).Mass Media Influence on Society.Hubpages. Retrieved from
Tina. (2012). Do Women get judged by their appearance in the workplace?. Glitters
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Das, S. (2012). Position of Women in Today’s Society.Ezine articles. Retrieved from
Walter, N.(2008) Living Dolls. United Kingdom, UK: Virgo Press.
Pandita, R.(2011) Role of Women in Society. Buzzle. Retrieved from
Blogger.(2008) Does Listening to Eminem Makes People Sexist? Phycology Today. Retrieved From
Bloodsworth, G. (2008) Abercrombie, Hollister, Moss Point Complaints & Reviews Discrimination against healthy sized Girls. Complaints Board.Retrieved from. c85976.html?page=2
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