Arguments In Miss Representation

The U.S. Congress is only 17% female. As a result, the decisions made by congressmen will tend to favor men. “We are shortchanging voices that are urgently needed in public forms from ever getting to the table.” (Booker) I do not think that it is merely the media to blame for girls not wanting to become involved in politics. I feel as though girls should be leaders in politics only if they want to. Although we need way more female representatives, this does not mean that girls should be forced to do something that they are not interested in.

Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s documentary, Miss Representation, shows that the media’s impact on the American discourse of women’s bodies, women in power, and the same standards of what women should be. Newsom effectively convinces the audience of Miss Representation that how mainstream media contributes to the misrepresentation of women in influential positions by having limited portrayals of women through the use of interviews from influential people, several statistics, and appealing to emotional sense.

Dr. Laura Barberena was able to address some of the points which dieter and hinder women’s role in politics. She noted that one of the main reasons why few women put themselves forward for election is said to be a lack of female role models in politics. This is a great point. If someone does not see someone else like themselves succeeding in a certain field, they are less likely to jump into the field (i.e. women in STEM fields).

17% cut themselves, and the number of cosmetic surgeries quadrupled on women ages 17 from 1997 and 2007 and have increased six fold since. Woman are 56% of the population, yet only 17% of Congress, 3% of Fortune 500 CEO’s, hold only 3% of clout positions in media ( and in a staggering unreal statistic, only 1 woman is on the board of Fox News out of 15 ) and are 7% of directors and 13% of the film writers. These are all jaw dropping statistics quoted in Miss Representation and the predominant message we hear over and over, is that women have broken through the glass ceiling that feminism isn’t necessary and above all, that empowerment for women is by having control of a sexualized, “good”

In reality, however, women are equally and in some ways more qualified to hold leadership positions than men. Although there is no single explanation for why women are underrepresented in politics, the gender gap in the political arena stems from the lack of female participation in elections as women are often discouraged or feel threatened by society to run for political office. Young women who aspire a career in politics encounter both structural and emotional barriers, which prevent them from running for political office. Women battle issues of self-confidence, face stereotypes, and derive false perceptions of political campaigns, all of which broaden the gender gap in the political

Gender stereotypes–oversimplified ideas of female or male qualities and mannerisms–exist in all areas of life. In the political sphere, stereotypes, such as women not being outspoken or authoritative, negatively influence women and pose barriers to those who are running for political leadership positions. Because women are stereotypically viewed as “warm, gentle, kind, and passive,” in comparison to the typical man that is viewed as “tough, aggressive and assertive,” women feel that their qualities are not suited for political candidacy (Huddy, Nayda). Women are indirectly told through stereotyping that the political arena is unsuitable for their gender; therefore, they pursue careers they feel are suitable for their “feminine” character traits. The higher level of male participation, in comparison to female participation, in political elections is not because the electoral environment “favours” stereotypical male qualities, but rather, the campaigning, and public speaking aspects of the election process are perceived as unsuitable for women. Furthermore, a study conducted in 2014 discovered that voters tend to assign “positive leadership traits to male politicians,” whereas female politicians are repeatedly depicted as having “other characteristics that are not equated with political leadership” such as their physical image (Thomas, Kei). Much like in everyday life, stereotypes drive women to believe they are not capable of running for office or unlikely to win elections despite their exceeding qualifications. Even though stereotypes will always exist, it is important for young women to reflect on their leadership qualities and not allow deeply-rooted stereotypes in the political arena to impede their pursuit of a career in

It is a known fact that politics are very competitive. According to Fox and Lawless women are much more likely than men to think that the political landscape is extremely competitive and biased against women. In a study the authors conducted women are twenty-five percent more likely to think that the landscape

in the way women are portrayed in modern culture and society. The documentary forces us to

Numerous systemic barriers are preventing women from entering the political workforce including (but no limited to): family, the brutality of politics, male domination, stereotypes and traditionalism. Family plays probably the most important role in women’s decision-making on whether to enter politics.

The most adequate of women are being scared away from the political race because of the sexist attacks against women in government. The most suitable women look at past candidates and witness the attacks on them and choose to avoid the political

Society sees men with the traits that display more stronger and dominant attitudes that is left women to be in the shadow. Women having a lower income compared to men are not because they work fewer hours, and it is not because they have a lower education level as well (Grant). This shows patriarchy where it revolves around a power system that is organized around the dominance of men. “Even with all of these factors are considered, the result remains the same: a wage gap” (Grant). During the election, it was shown that the majority of the elected members were men (Taber). The results were that 88 out of 338 MPs have been elected into the federal office (Taber), which shows that society does not give many women the opportunity to be

When Sylvia Bashevkin wrote “ the higher, the fewer” it was to indicate a pattern in women's political participation. The number of women in politics drops as one moves upward to the upper tiers of government, federal or provincial. The gap between the number of women involved in politics to the number of women in the country is still too wide. Over half the population is female and yet less than 25% were Members of Parliament in 2011. As of 2016 only 31% of senators were female. This gap highlights the need to continue to pursue the feminist movement.

The discussions about voting and women’s participation in politics soon led to the examining about society’s views on men and women and their differences (Rampton).

Women must take on somewhat of an androgynous sex-role identity. They must not go about their career fitting the typical gender stereotypes. They must be capable of responding with either a masculine or feminine behavior depending on the situation they are placed in. If women are capable of doing this they have a chance at appearing to be a competent campaigner (Robson, 2000).

Women are underrepresented in political offices at the national and local levels. Currently, only 17 women serve in the United States Senate out of 100 seats and only 16 percent of the United States House of Representatives are female. Why is this a problem? Legislatures, the House of