Essay on Women as Victims in the Media

In addition, all discussions boards agree that the media makes victims looks vulnerable, weak, defenseless, and in need of compassion and sympathy (Greer, p.22)

Women are sexually exploited in the media. In today’s society if people watch television programs such as Chingy featuring Snoop & Ludacris – Holidae; Charlie's Angels; the Z100 commercial with Britney Spears; or Baywatch they will see that the feminine image is presented differently than the masculine. In these programs men are typically placed in sexual situations fully clothed, while women are presented in provocative clothing or less. The camera will frequently zoom in on body parts to focus on the woman’s buttocks, midriff, and legs. Society is still dominated by men who control what people see. As a result women are increasingly portrayed as sex symbols as a way for a media company to turn

Men and women have played gender specific roles, from the earliest sign of civilization to modern society. In the cult classic “Night of the Living Dead”, stereotypical gender role were on display. George A. Romero’s film hinted at subtle references to the responsibilities of men and women and depicted the stereotypes America held during the 1960s. Men played the protectors and enforcers, while the women represented the submissive homemakers and caretakers. Romero’s film portrays the sexes, men and women, in their respective stereotypical behaviors. Stereotypes that sets the undertone for the duration of the film.

“Women cannot be murderers.” Even though this was not explicitly stated in the newspapers, The Boston Herald in its article “Lizzie Borden” conveys the perception that the feminine ways associated with women would make it impractical for women to commit murder. Lizzie Borden, a young lady accused of brutally killing her stepmother and father with multiple blows to their heads with a hatchet was described as a religious, sincere, and modest human being in The Boston Herald’s article covering Lizzie’s life before and after the murders. During Lizzie’s youth, she suffered from isolation because of her reserved personality and belief that nobody appreciated her presence, but in womanhood turned her life around and attain friendships who vouched for her good character during the time of the investigation. The Boston Herald’s article “Lizzie Borden: Her School and Later Life - A Noble Woman, Though Retiring”, successfully persuades the reader of Lizzie Borden’s innocence with the focus on her femininity through diction and logic.

The media today, is highly selective in their constructions of offences, offenders and victims. Media representations of crime are moulded and women are portrayed in a way that is entertainment driven and is appealing to the audience. Despite the fact that women seldom stalk, murder outsiders or commit sequential murders- in fact they are rarely vehement, “accounting for only ten percent of convicted violent offenders- those who do so are highly newsworthy because of their novelty” (Jewkes 2011, p. 123) Present day media admits that because fierce women are comparatively uncommon, they are all the more appealing and diabolical to the audience as a result. The essay shall discuss the reason and presentation in the media of female offenders, female victims and women specific crimes.

In victimology, there are still many unanswered questions and difficulties to find patterns that would easily classify victims, because nobody is exempt from becoming a victim. Nevertheless, some clichéd views about victims are embedded in our society. For example, Christie (1986) describes the idea of the ideal victim, which is, in fact a person who is easily given the status of being a victim. Ideal victims are perceived as blameless, law-abiding, usually female, vulnerable and worthy of help, sympathy and attention. Walklate (2005) used the fairytale of little red riding hood to illustrate the ‘ideal victim’; young, innocent, female out doing good deeds only to be attacked by

“People learn more from media than any other single source of information” (Missrepresentation). This quote exemplifies how society learns and creates their standards about people, places, and things. All sources and mediums of media impact billions of lives every day. The media holds this power over society and it’s time to change that; especially when it comes to the media’s view of women. Women are constantly being misrepresented. This misrepresentation of women in the media is negatively impacting America by corrupting both the youth and adults. This is occurring because of the hyper-sexualization of women, wrongly portraying women in leadership positions, and creating stereotypes of women in movies and television.

Throughout the 18th century, men were believed to be aggressive and women were seen as naturally passive and sexually feral. These gender differences helped mold the evolving distinctions between masculinity and femininity. Beginning in the 18th century, men were beginning to demonstrate their desire to exhibit self-control by limiting their alcohol consumption, and avoiding engaging in fights. In contrast, women were beginning to be perceived as morally and spiritually strong, that assisted to refine and compliment men. These shifting ideas of men and women altered societies perception of men and women’s capacity for violence. Historically, women were perceived to be sexually unattainable and dangerous. In the early 17th century there were many newspapers and publications that provoked this ideology of dangerous women, such as the killer wife. However, the 18th century exhibited a deviation from this commonly held belief and men were

We have all heard of strange and gory stories that are supposedly true, experienced by a friend of a friend. Whether true or not these so called "urban legends" tend to circulate throughout society thriving on each individual's fears and curiosity. What most people don't realize is, within these tales lies the attitudes and values of a community. These tales do not survive throughout the years solely on the basis of their entertainment level, but due to the fact that they reflect society's fears and anxieties. In dissecting these tales one can indefinitely find the social fallacy against females that has existed for decades, as well as the fears women have against men. However, more importantly, the values that society hold are

While most of the violent crimes that happens most are them are belongs to men, women have not been the wilting flowers promoted so heartily by Victorian adorers and (right or wrong) often evident in today's society. Before we get into detail about the fascinating phenomenon of the Black Widow, it is worth a brief overview of women's escalating role in the world of violent crime, particularly in the United States.

   The media portrays feminists in unflattering ways. Largely because of the media portrayal, the word 'feminist' usually evokes images of crass, butch, men-hating, very masculine women. Many women believe in the feminist doctrine, but they would never consider themselves as a feminist because they cannot relate to the images of crass, butch, men-hating, masculine women.  In fact, it has only been within the past year that I've been able to accept the fact that I am a feminist and that my preconceived images of feminists are merely media stereotypes.

“Rape Culture is an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture” (1a) Today you can't turn the television on without hearing references to rape culture. Jokes about sexual abuse plague every sitcom and news channels question rape victim’s every move. Even entire shows are dedicated to the topic such as Law and Order SVU. The media trivializes rape leading to a rape culture in America.

One thousand years go by and an abundant amount of people still view women in a stereotypical type of way. On the opposing view, if women did not overstretch the slightest of things, this wouldn’t be such an enormous issue. Women may be overreacting to what the media has to say about them. It is not affecting everybody but a vast majority of successful women from continuing to moving forward said Marianne Schnall. Important to realize, women are capable of doing jobs men can do. Such jobs as being an engineer, physician, mechanic, lawyer and even top notch business women! Up to the present time there is an ongoing public debate on women suffering from double standards. If it makes a female feel threatened or belittled than it may be

Since the inventions of television and film, media influences have become extremely important in modern society with people constantly being inundated by images and messages that come from film, television, magazines, internet and advertising. Researchers and theorists such as Carol J. Clover and Jean Kilborne believe that the fact that people are going to be affected by the media is absolutely unavoidable. Films can act as guides to how people, particularly women, should act and look. Women in horror are typically shown as the ‘damsel in distress’ and are usually attacked by the killer after committing a sinful act like having sex or misusing drugs or alcohol. The females are

Murder marked the boundaries of femininity in nineteenth-century culture (Hart 2). Women who were considered incapable of redemption were not