How is the gender identity of young women constructed and communicated through self-representation on Instagram?
Student ID: 200901452
Module Name and ID: Critical Issues in Media and Communication (COMM5135M)
How is the gender identity of young women constructed and communicated through self-representation on Instagram?
The question that our research project asked was ‘How is the gender identity of young women constructed and communicated through self-representation on Instagram?’ Through this question we also looked to answer the questions of how women perform and communicate their femininity through and what are the gender stereotypes created by magazines that are reproduced by women on social media.
This essay will look at is why this research is important and how this research was conducted, it will highlight some of the key results that were found during the research and what it could mean in terms of femininity in the modern day. It will also mention the shortcoming of the research conducted and the limitations of the research.
There is more than one ‘self’, there is the ‘on stage’, ‘off stage’ and ‘back stage’ self. Each of these selves defines how a person might act depending on the situation. According to Goffman, the ‘ on stage’ and the ‘back stage’ are selves that require a performance, where one can control how they want to represent themselves and to an extent
Social media is categorized under corporate media in which websites are used to advertise new trends through social networking sites that have many insecure teenagers. By looking at these images of other people, women often compare themselves to them. Girls love to look at pictures on Instagram, Tumblr and even Facebook of their friends and often compare themselves with them. Social media does not always impact one to change their self-image alone, however, the need to belong relates to the people whom women hang out with because those are the people who they feel accept them for who they are. Friends and social groups of these women look into social media for the ‘ideal woman’ they want to be and of course these women do not want to be the odd one out so they change themselves to be like their friends. To feel accepted, you compare your body image, looks, likes, hobbies, eating habits and so on to those that your friends feel are at the “moment trend.” Friends who constantly know what is in or
Can you imagine what females could accomplish if they spent as much time volunteering to local charities as they did worrying about their physical appearance? So many dreams, goals, and aspirations are thrown away because of something as simple as low self-esteem. The film Miss Representation focuses on that exact social issue. Various people come together in this documentary to tackle the matter of gender stereotyping through the media. We will cover gender stereotypes, the role media plays in shaping them, and what can be done.
The Netflix documentary Miss Representation by Jennifer Siebel Newsom explores how the media contributes to influence the young girls and boys in America. Every day in America we are showed this unrealistic look of what the so-called perfect image of women is supposed to be from the TV shows we watch, the movies we see, to the magazines we read, to the online social media outlets we visit. This documentary shows the negative effects it's having on teenage boys and girls in America, Miss Representation interweaves between the stories of teenage girls, telling their own experiences and how the media has portrayed the image of women to them. They share their stories from pressures they feel they have to live up too from how the media shows them
Over the past 10 years, mass media and the access to social networks has evolved substantially causing the effects of negative self-image and what is considered beautiful. Body image expectations for both African-American male and female share the battles of society’s expectations, yet African American women body images come with a stricter and more unhealthy stigma; growth of social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter brings these expectations of self-image into our homes and our children minds. “The Internet is easily the most pervasive form of mediated communication that we encounter in our lives. Even
Melissa Milkie’s article, Media images’ influence on Adolescent Girls’ self-concept, explores forms of media, more specifically magazines directed at teen girls, that effect young girls’ self -concept. Milkie demonstrates how our self-concepts are impacted by what we perceive others think of us and how we use the “third-person effect” in where we underestimate how much influence the media actually has on ourselves compared to others (54). Some of the major points of the article are the research methods and findings. Using a subsample of 60 high school girls from two different demographic populations (one rural, predominantly white high school and one ethnically diverse urban high school), Milkie studied the findings of the impact of girls’ magazines on teenage females. The results of this study showed that girl’s ethnic status, along with the differences in region, made a significant difference in whether the girls felt any connection with the images of beauty portrayed by the media.
Pinterest boards and YouTube videos that deliver makeup tutorials flood social media. Television shows that chronicle cupcake shops and DIY home improvement flourish. As these feminized forms of media thrive in the pop culture of our early twenty-first century, contemporary gender scholars take up the task of analyzing the social, economic, and cultural meaning they create.
Social media is a place where lots of people put themselves forward and project how they want to be seen by people around them. Especially with features such as "liking", "disliking", and commenting, when someone posts a photo to social media they are well aware that they are putting the photo up to be "approved" by society. When I examine my social media presence in relation to the ways in which I "do" gender, there are many very common themes and patterns in which I see myself following. This photo of me picking up my dog at the beach superficially seems like any generic picture that one may see on Instagram, and it is. However, there are underlying reasons as to why I had chosen this photo to represent myself to the people around me on social media. Many of these underlying reasons
We see the objectification of women everywhere, especially because of the internet. Therefore, it has become a social norm. The internet has immensely influenced the way in which things are shared. The internet is accessible across the world and teenagers spend tremendous amounts of time online. So many people online photoshop their face and body to appear more “beautiful” and get more likes. Our generation has become obsessed with being accepted online by strangers. It’s unfortunate that society does not use social media to make a difference in the world and promote
Whether it’s watching a fashion show, reading magazines, or looking at pictures of model we are consumed by media everywhere around us. The video, Miss Representation analyze the overview of our society that uses tools such as the media to display gender expression that reveals the hidden message that politically or socially affects individuals in our generation. The video brought up the awareness of how media had dominated our lifestyle and the fear of how it changes us.
This is done by expressing beliefs by way of expressing some others. Pinterest, for example, Pinterest is seen as a representation of gender, however, nowhere does it make any claims to represent gender specifics. Despite the Pinterest logo itself appearing feminine due to its red background with a white letter P, and the font of the letter P is a type of script font, (Atwood, Masculine or Feminine Technology) in its neutral motto, it states that it is “The visual bookmarking tool that helps you discover and save creative ideas.” (Pinterest) It offers several informative categories such as popular styles, DIY, gardening and even a cars and motorcycle category. While it does have several male interest categories, more women continue to use the
Popular culture has an undeniable influence on how society perceives itself. When examining mass culture, one must keep in mind the equilibrium between how much we, as a society, affect the way popular culture is constructed and to what extent popular culture influences the way we view ourselves and shapes our ideologies. An aspect of popular culture that may serve to greatly exemplify this theory of society as both the affecter and the affected is the genre of magazines targeted at young women. Though these publications are targeted as the representation of our society’s adolescent females, they actually have a great influence over the ways in which teens view and construct
Inclusion to this does gender have an impact on young women’s experiences and identity. I feel that it does as there is a huge impact on how young women see themselves when they compare them to the media. However if we work and build programmes around how to make young women confident in themselves and to be able to believe they are themselves and that they do not have to look like the celebrities. By doing this essay it also has challenged me as a youth worker, as I never really understood how young women’s work came about and how it was founded, and especially how the lens model was made, and how youth worker do gender conscious work and how it has an impact on young women’s lives. Also by doing this essay also I have talked about sexual orientation with young women I would like to explore this more. As I have not really got
As I mentioned, in the setting of a prep school there is pressure to act a certain way to be perceived as worthwhile to peers. If we consider the “group” as one’s classmate and “role” as a female student at a prep school, we can see that individuals fall into these behaviors due to the pressure of this environment. We see through the interviews included earlier that some are very aware of the fact that they are trying to influence others’ opinions of them through their Instagram activity. Other women I spoke to seemed to follow the ‘rules’ they learned in high school, the tradition of their group or role in Goffman’s words. This sentiment is clear when, in her interview, Caitlin mentions that, although she would like to think she doesn’t care about the ‘traditions’ of her group, she still subconsciously ascribes value to all of the ones she described. However there was one woman who, although she presented herself in a manner almost identical to the others in this group, revealed a staunch belief in her own individuality on Instagram. Through her comments to me she undermined this statement by emphasizing that she would never post a photo that makes it look like she is “REALLY trying,” implying it was necessary for her photos to seem casual and like she was having fun, and discussing the standard set in high school, revealing characteristics that were present in her own page. In this way, she falls into the category described by Goffman of the person who is relatively unaware they are performing in a
Gender identity can be defined as a person’s personal experience of their gender. In societies, gender categories are set differently and serve as the root of the individuals in a certain society. most societies have different gender attribution assigned to males and females (Engstrom 2012). The media has often shown the expected from each gender. For example, they show women are more sensitive than men. Showing them crying, screaming and gasping each other’s, while men are shown to be tough, calm and wiser. This is how the media is preforming gender identities to us.
In today’s society the media has a huge impact on how both men and women view themselves. It tells people what they should wear, what they should like, what type of body is acceptable and so much more. It has an affect on everyone no matter where you live or how old you are; the media always finds a way to effect you. In this paper I will be talking about how the #likeagirl campaign by Always shows how the media shapes the way young women, those who have already gone through puberty, and younger girls think about the phrase “like a girl” and what the stereotypes tell them to think. I will look at how when we are young we still believe that we can be whoever we want, but as we grow older that vision slowly fades. I will also look at how the