The Media Image Of Women

If you turn on the television or flip through a fashion magazine, it is very likely you will presented with many displays of hypersexualization of girls and women in advertising images and in media. There are many components to sexualization. It occurs, according to the American Psychological Association, when “a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics.” This person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness with being sexy. “Sexualization” happens when a person is sexually objectified- that is, made into a thing for others’ sexual use, rather than being seen as a person with their own independent actions and abilities to make decisions. Oftentimes, sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon a person without their knowing it or consent. Sometimes, researchers use the word “hypersexualization” to describe roughly the same idea. In the article, “Media’s Growing Sexualization of Women”, hypersexualization is defined as, “The act of making something extremely sexual and erotic.”

Over the past few years, the issues faced by people who identify as transgender (gender dysphoric) have gained momentum in the media. From Caitlyn Jenner to which bathroom to use, transgender people have made a lot of progress in addressing

I really enjoyed watching the documentary, Miss Representation. It was very informative and eye opening. The film explores the impact that the media has on society and the misrepresentation of women. While the media can be a place to learn and stay up to date, there is also an ugly side to it. Our generation spends a huge amount of our time on our phones, computers, and watching tv so I feel like we are affected by the media the most. The media influences people at a young age impacting their views on themselves and the world around them. Girls especially get the message that their value is on how they look. The way media portrays women in movies and television over sexualizes women and dehumanizes them. This type of media can lead women to

Media enforces the social-cultural standards, which women are required to follow in order to look and behave in a manner that society considers acceptable. Newspapers, commercials, posters, magazines, fliers, reality shows, and cartoons only name a few of our everyday interaction with the media (Scholar, C.2011). However, these standards presented by media send a false perception of women, thus portraying women in a negative and disrespectful manner. Society views woman as mentally, morally, and physically inferior to men, and media is only highlighting this idea (Scholar, C.2011). In fact, media represents women in a stereotypical form of beauty, they display women as sexual objects, and create the illusion that women are ignorant.

“The “I was born in the wrong body” rhetoric favored by other Tran’s people doesn’t work any better and is just as offensive, reducing us to our collective breasts and vaginas. Imagine the reaction if a young white man suddenly declared that he was trapped in the wrong body and, after using chemicals to change his skin pigmentation and crocheting his hair into twists, expected to be embraced by the black community.” Burkett addresses an issue with the way women are being projected by Tran’s genders by giving an example of an equally offensive stereotype. Stereotypes have been defining women in such a negative light by people everywhere and nowadays, it’s becoming acceptable. “…the prelude to a new photo spread and interview in Vanity Fair that offered us a glimpse into Caitlyn Jenner’s idea of a woman: a cleavage-boosting corset, sultry poses, thick mascara and the prospect of regular “girls’ nights” of banter about hair and makeup. Ms. Jenner was greeted with even more thunderous applause.” Burkett gives countless examples of how women are degraded to their stereotypes that aren’t a fair or equal

Standing up for what one believes in can be a challenging task because no one knows what the outcome may be. It is all about striving for an impactful result hoping that the world be more accepting and less judgmental. In the passage “Small Change” written by Malcolm Gladwell, he makes a compelling argument that deals with the issue of making a difference in the world, both social media or in the form of hierarchy. Social activism has different variations for people to become aware of any news or trends present in the world. Hierarchy, which means "A body of persons or things ranked in grades, orders, or classes, one above another,” is the best form of movement that one may take in order to establish a change in the world because people tend

Caitlyn Jenner was given the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards (ESPY) Arthur Ashe Award for Courage. Twice an Olympic triathlon athlete, she blazed new trails. Long before her transformation, Jenner lived a life that her family and society expected of her: a loyal, loving son and father and an outstanding sportsman. Her newest role was as an advocate for the transgender community, which may become one of her greatest roles. Presently, Caitlyn Jenner’s purpose was to promote sexual diversity, accepting differences, and respect for all human beings. As I watched Jenner accept her award, I reflected back on my understanding of transgender orientation.

Transgender people face a much higher suicide risk in contrast to gender conforming men and women in this world. 41% of transgender people that were surveyed at Injustice at Every Turn, a national social justice organization dedicated to resolving discrimination and brutality against transgender people, said that they have attempted suicide in contrast to the 1.6% of the general population who have not. (“2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey Report”) Caitlyn Jenner expressed her emotions regarding the transgender community and the struggles facing the 700,000 people in just the United States alone, who recognize themselves as transgender. Caitlyn Jenner was born as Bruce Jenner in 1949, but has been transitioning since the 1980s.

A large issue facing trans women today is the violence perpetrated against them. In 2003, fourteen murders of trans people were recorded in the U.S, most of them being trans women and people of color. (Bettcher, p. 280) By mid-October of 2015, twenty-one trans women, who were also mostly women of color, were murdered in the United States, and this number exceeds the amount of trans murders in 2014. (Wilkinson, “You Know What Time It Is”) It is important to remember that these are only recorded instances that do not count the murders that went unreported. The amount of these murders is increasing as more years pass. This violence is rooted in the idea of trans women are seen as deceivers due to the vulva-vagina-uterus anatomy being seen as the “normal” anatomy of a woman. This is explained in Talia Mae Bettcher’s “Evil Deceivers and Make-Believers”, as she outlines the “rhetoric of deception” throughout the article. In the article, she states “frequently connected to this appearance-reality contrast is the view that genitalia are the essential determinants of sex.” (Bettcher, p.281) Because of this, trans women are put in a double-bind to either “disclose ‘who one is’ and come out as a pretender or masquerader, or refuse to disclose (be a deceiver) and run the risk of forced disclosure, the effect of which is exposure as a liar.”(Bettcher, p. 283) The normalization of this anatomy being linked to femaleness puts added pressure on trans women to “prove” themselves, or else be

Stories involving transgender people have been in newspapers, magazines, and tabloids for over fifty five years. These stories have captivated and intrigued American culture from the start, but not always in the most positive light. It began in 1955 when Christine Jorgensen, born George, publicly announced her gender confirming surgery and began life as a legally recognized woman. There was a media frenzy with headlines such as “Bronx GI Becomes a Woman!” and “Bronx ‘Boy’ Is Now A Girl”. But instead of “withdraw[ing] from public attention [Christine] turned the notoriety to her advantage with a series of lucrative tours on the lecture and nightclub circuit” (McQuiston 1989). “By cultivating the demeanor of a lady and refusing to call herself

Miss Representation conveys that media is derogative to the most powerful women in the United States. People learn more from the media than any other source because it is the message and messenger. Americans devote about 10 hours and 39 minutes daily to consuming media (Howard). The media’s misrepresentation of women in movies, television shows, and advertisements negatively shapes politics, our national discourse, children’s inquisitive minds, and ultimately society. The danger behind these stereotyped images of women is that their effect is subconscious, meaning we slowly become accustomed to a sexist portrayal of women without even immediately realizing it. To cease our unrealistic, prejudiced expectations of women, a culture change is necessary.

The author points out that the media and policy makers try to convince the public to think transgendered should have their own rights, rather than treating it as a mental disorder. He claims transgendered suffer from serious psychological problems. Furthermore, McHugh states people with such disorders think their psycho-social conflicts will be resolved when changing their appearance. He says transgendered assume their personal point

Dolezal, a biologically Caucasian woman, however used all of these practices not to reach a certain beauty aesthetic, but rather to fit into the black-American social group (which she achieved until ousted as a fraud). Dolezal’s motivations were fueled by the fact that she felt like an outsider within her own socialized racial group, and attempted to fit into another which she felt more connected to. In many circumstances of an individual attempting to fit into a group, they may change their appearance to reach certain goals in being perceived by others, as in the case of transgendered individuals. Right now, transgendered individuals, although still not celebrated entirely in the mainstream, are receiving recognition and applaud as in the case of Caitlyn Jenner who spent the first half century or so of her life being socialized as a man. It can be seen that being a part of a social group has much to do in being accepted, and the questionable genuineness of Dolezal’s ‘blackness’ and Jenner’s femininity lie in the fact that neither have been socialized into the groups they wish to enter. For Jenner and Dolezal however, it was the very socialization they were experiencing which caused them cognitive dissonance, or in other words, to feel like deviants while acting as they were expected

Language is a system of communication which consists of a set of sounds and written symbols which are used by the people of a particular country or region for talking or writing. It is considered as an art because when used it able to help a person develop or create a certain picture in the mind. Language being an artifact of culture means that it is an interesting thing that is created by the people. It is an aspect of their way of life of the people. It also helps in development of the people as writers and intellects. As a culture it is a people’s way of life and therefore the impact it has to human beings cannot be under looked.

As a Communication major, I spend a lot of time studying the human communication process, which is the exchange of verbal and nonverbal messages between a receiver and sender. This communication process does not only apply to face-to-face interactions but also includes mass media, rhetorical, and technological communication. Through these various forms of communication, the sender not only expresses his/her message but also expresses power hierarchies about race, gender, and sexuality that are present in society. Mass media has a significant impact on socializing gender roles and perpetuating gender stereotypes, and to prove that, I am analyzing mass media messages, such as television shows, movies, and advertisements.