Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Media: Working Against Feminist Ideals
During class, Dr. Layne spent a great deal of time explaining the feminist ideals of French philosopher, Simone de Beauvoir. One aspect that I believe wasn’t entirely stressed/exploited was the media’s role in propagating demeaning stereotypical characteristics on women. You obviously don’t have to go far to see what I’m talking about; simply turn on your television and you will find ample superficial portrayals of women through commercials, films, and/or reality T.V. shows. Here are a few examples: the perfect housewife in an advertisement for a household cleaning product. And, of course, the perfect woman with the perfect body, hair, and face found in just about every commercial. Will the media ever portray the way woman really are or is the phrase “sex sells” the only explanation for this? The exploitation of women in the media has become so common that most people don’t even notice or care anymore. In a society where the media promotes women as eye candy, valued for little more than their desirability and eagerness, how can feminist possibly win? In my opinion, until the media develops a new-found respect for women, the struggles Beauvoir once fought against will continue forever.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree that the media does stereotype the role of women in our society. If I were a feminist like Simon De Beauvoir, I would speak out against the media for doing so.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the media plays a huge role in gender stereotypes; however, I think we should take more responsibility. The media has being doing so for over fifty years. There are also many misconceptions about the programs that are trying to make changes. For example, the Dove Challenge for women is an excellent idea in theory, but many people do not realize that the Dove Company is directly connected to the company that produces Axe body wash for men. Axe's latest advertising program is "the Axe effect" features women drooling and crawling over men. I, along with many others, should contribute to learning about the whole picture and become aware of what companies truly are advertising.
ReplyDelete