Devaluation of the Feminine

Black women’s bodies have always been seen as different. They are deemed as exotic and highly sexual because of the protruding nature and curvaceous shape of their hips, butts, and breast. An example of this exoticism and ridicule can be traced back to the early 1800s. Sarah Baartman, also known as the “Hottentot Venus” became an object of fascination, degradation, and humiliation. Her features were not foreign to Khoisan Women. However, the Europeans who kidnapped her and the people who went to view her body as an exhibit could not believe how big her butt, breast, and hips were. Sarah did not fit into the white standardized image of the body, so her body was seen was unnatural and even un-human. One online magazine writer asserts that, “what

Over centuries women have been objectified, meaning they have been treated as objects valued mostly for their physical attributes, rather

The rise of enlightened sexism: How pop culture took us from girl power to girls gone wild

Females of this generation are being raised in a world where women’s bodies are viewed as objects.

“The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of a women begins when the doctor says, ‘It's a girl!’” Women are forced to conform to a set place in society, and the pressure they feel to conform starts when they are born.

Another societal view of women that continues, would be the thought of women as less superior than men. For a long period of time (hundreds of years), mankind has thought of the Caucasian American male as the dominant person in our society and workplace. Also, people have believed women and women of minorities to be less dominant, less educated, as well as not good enough to be as successful in higher up job positions. This cannot still be true with women receiving more education than men, and women being able to perform all of the same tasks that men complete.

Throughout time women have been looked upon as lesser individuals. However this is not the case. Women have played a very important part in our lives since the beginning of time. In the United States just within the past one hundred years women have received the right to vote. Hate and acts of violence against women still happen in other country 's today. This famous quote by Abraham Lincoln proves that women should be treated as equals to men:

Black sexuality has been defined for the black community upon first contact as Collins illustrates, that because “Apes and Africans, both lived in Africa, a place of wild animals and wild people” (100), black people were seen as animals implying they have an animalistic sex drive and are subhuman. Black women are seen as exotic as their bodies have been over sexualized as Collins gives the example of Sarah Baartman, who was a show girl during the 1970s. Baartman was known for the size of her buttocks, she’d perform in minimal clothing while people would admire, gawk and prod at her. When she passed away her body parts were dissected and put on display. This demonstration of over sexualizing black femininity through the example of Sarah Baartman is one of many, as Collins introduces the “New Racism”, which is the new form over sexualizing black

These bodies are limited to being displayed only as their stereotypes allow, which continues the pattern of black bodies being the "other body.. the grotesque" when compared to the "beautiful white female body" (Nelson 525) this negative comparison is displayed to all varying types of media viewers. By using Baartman's body as entertainment, the mainly white individuals who saw her began to associate her body and looks with her nudity and sexuality which was assumed to be overtly bold, thus she was considered hypersexual. Due to white power, the creation of these stereotypes through Sarah Baartman's nudity and blackness being viewed as part of " the pornographic" (Nelson 526) created long lasting problems for women of color and the way they are depicted.

Women have always been seen as though they are below men. This has been traced all the way back to the days where women had no rights and had no voice or opinion, and some men still seem to think that way even after so many decades of women’s rights. For example, the presidential candidate Donald Trump called a Miss Universe “Miss Piggy and Miss Housekeeping” meaning we, women, are meant

Feminine ideals have been constantly changing, and they still are since female empowerment and gender equality issues have transpired. Back in the 1950’s when women were expected to be good housewives and raise the kids. In this day and age women are pushed to go into fields of study that used to be men only. Media and how they portray women have influenced this evolution in American society.

Women have always taken a back seat to men in American society. There has always seemed to be one set of standards that apply to men, and another set of standards that apply to women. This is evident in the home, workplace, and all throughout society.

By evaluating the situation and lives of women in society, the feminist perspective is defined as a source of social inequality, group conflict and social problems. For feminist, patriarchal society is the foundation of social problems. The patriarchal male dominated society where women are meant to justify the rule through devaluation; however, the definition of patriarchy has dominated the powerful group expanded to include the social devaluation of the power rating (Leon-Guerrero, Anna, 2015).

Our world is surrounded by media. Media plays an enormous role in affecting the way we perceive gender and gender roles. Media as well as communications are known to be the key elements of how people live their life in the modern age. The media can be a very inviting place, since it has so many things inside of it that appeals to people worldwide. At the same time, the media can be a cruel, judging and corrupt area that can be scary to involve yourself with. That being said, the mass media has had its history with harsh stereotyping, particularly when dealing with women. Many people within the media view women as a gender that is only allowed to be at home, whether it is cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, or being a slave to their male counterpart. Even with women who work inside of the media are usually overlooked, bashed by their appearance and do not get an equal opportunity as men do in order to succeed in life. This has been the case for hundreds of years, but there are still a myriad of problems that women face today, whether in the media or life in general.

Women have always been seen as a lower social class than males and are therefore identified as having limited privileges and rights compared to men.