During the 1950s, mass media influenced society in a way that had never been done before. It seemed that if one took a look into the typical American household, we could look back and realize how strong of an influence the American citizens were under. There was mom in the kitchen, dad’s watching TV with his son; and his little girl is in her room playing with her Barbies. Now, did you ever stop to think about the effects of everyone’s actions in this scenario? Maybe it’s the patriarchal attitude promoted on television that could have led to at least a fraction of the 960,000 domestic violence incidents that occurred this year, or perhaps staring at Barbie’s unrealistic measurements is why 81% of our 10 year olds today are afraid of being “fat” . The 1950s stay-at-home mom, usually did not have a job and would never get a divorce simply because she could not afford to. The mentality of simply “dealing with it” could have been passed on through generations leading to the 4 deaths today due to domestic abuse.2 So maybe the 1950s had a lot more influence over us than we thought. The media of the 1950s slowly and silently led us to world we have today. From TV shows like I Love Lucy and Leave it to Beaver, strong male roles were portrayed, while women typically took on the role of “damsels in distress”. Product advertisements encouraged women to take pride in their kitchen by decorating it with their products. Media came in and influenced everyone in unbelievable ways and it picked the best time to do so. Suddenly women were more inferior than ever; media came through and shut women who aimed to change the image of the typical broad down. Mass media not only encouraged the age old “women are weak” stereotype but it degraded women in...
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...ration-or-sexualization-parents-guide-the-influence-of-dolls/ (accessed December 16, 2013). http://www.cbsnews.com/news/life-size-barbies-shocking-dimensions-photo-would-she-be-anorexic/ Hoskins, . Divine Caroline, "The Negative Effects of Barbie on Young Girls an the Long Term Results." Accessed December 16, 2013. http://www.divinecaroline.com/life-etc/momhood/negative-effects-barbie-young-girls-long-term-results.
Gary Edgerton, The Columbia History of American Television, (Columbia University Press, 2009)http://books.google.com/books?id=28cMReggGGEC&pg=PA113&lpg=PA113&dq=Edgerton, Gary R. “Here Comes Television: Remaking American Life – 1948-1954.&source=bl&ots=e8Apm8JWdL&sig=n7I-MO08nGwgQkdzwI-_riLp7LM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=bQaUUsjfH5W2sAS02YDADQ&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAw
"Research Report." http://blogs.evergreen.edu/rc1jackie/research-report/ (accessed December 16, 2013).
The social perception of women has drastically changed since the 1950’s. The social role of women during the 1950’s was restrictive and repressed in many ways. Society during that time placed high importance on expectations of behavior in the way women conducted themselves in home life as well as in public. At home the wife was tasked with the role of being an obedient wife, caring mother, and homemaker. Women publicly were expected to form groups and bond over tea with a slice of cake. All the while government was pushing this idealize roll for women in a society “dominated” by men. However, during this time a percentage of women were finding their way into the work force of men. “Women were searching their places in a society led by men;
Every woman grows up knowing that they one day want to be beautiful. In Marge Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” she gives an in depth look at what negative effects the concept of beauty can have on an individual. From infancy to a full grown adult woman, beauty has been a way of thinking and lifestyle. As a little girl you are given petite shaped, blonde, blue eyed dolls. While boys are given brawny soldiers and mechanical toys.
Paul S. Boyer. "Television." The Oxford Companion to United States History. 2001. Retrieved November 24, 2011 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O119-Television.html
Martin, Melanie. “Negative Effects of Barbie on Girls.” eHow. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
The TV and Film Industry’s Portrayal of Women has drastically affected many of their lives, much too often women compare themselves to the female images they see on television, film, and advertisings; at both the conscious and subconscious level, these media images of women lower self-esteem and affect behavior at every age and stage of life. We know they are unrealistic, yet they apply so much pressure on women to conform, and influence how we live, love, work and play. This gender role that society has generally considered appropriate for women is wrong. It makes so many of us women want to buy materials we don’t need, with the money we don’t have only to impress people we don’t know. So many teenage girls are unwarily developing eating disorders and dieting without realizing that they don’t need to live up to the ridiculous standards that society has set for us. It’s difficult to be who you want to be without having someone look at you a certain way when it’s all around us, the constant pressure put on us to be like all women on television, commercials, movies and advertisements, these industries’ powerful influence on society has given everyone around us the wrong idea of what “should” and “should not” be. A woman should be able to express herself and feel free to do what she wants with no judgment.
By the 1950’s, women had gained some rights, but had a long way to go before they had the same rights as they do today. Working women were rarely seen in 1950’s film and television. Professional jobs were still largely closed off to women. The average woman only made 60 percent of what men did. In some states, women could not make contracts. They also could not sell or buy property for themselves. For married couples, rape did not exist and there were not ma...
Hoskins, S. (n.d.). The negative effects of barbie on young girls and the long term results. Retrieved from http://www.divinecaroline.com/life-etc/momhood/negative-effects-barbie-young-girls-long-term-results
First, the impact of the television in the 1950’s strongly affected the social aspects of American lives. To begin
The mass media over the years has had such a profound role in creating an image on how women should be viewed. From their appearance to what their duties are in everyday life, the media has made sure to depict unrealistic images of women. These images have caused not only the male public but women themselves to believe that they must attain a certain kind of body or occupation to fit into society. Women often feel obligated and pressured to comply to this praised image of perfection.
The influence of the media on women is not unknown, but it was especially prevalent in the 1960s. According to David Croteau and William Hoynes, both professors of sociology, “Media images of women and men reflect and reproduce a whole set of stereotypical but changing gender roles” (quoted in Mahrdt 1) and, as society changes and opinions are altered, television shows adapt. However, the television show Mad Men is unique because it does not show life today, but the life of the 1960s. It shows what life was like for the women who lived during a time when the “feminine mystique” controlled society.
Due to the idealization of domesticity in media, there was a significantly stagnant period of time for women’s rights between 1945 and 1959. Women took over the roles for men in the workplace who were fighting abroad during the early 1940s, and a strong, feminist movement rose in the 1960s. However, in between these time periods, there was a time in which women returned to the home, focusing their attention on taking care of the children and waiting on their husband’s every need. This was perpetuated due to the increasing popularity of media’s involvement in the lives of housewives, such as the increasing sales of televisions and the increase in the number of sexist toys. During America’s involvement in World War Two, which spanned from 1941 until 1945, many men went off to fight overseas.
In today's world, what we see in the media dictates our world. Media, by definition, is a form of mass communication, such as television, newspapers, magazines and the internet. Since the beginning of this media phenomenon, men and women have been treated very differently, whether it be through advertisements or news stories. As women have gained more rights and social freedoms, the media has not changed their views on women. They are often viewed as objects, whether for a man's pleasure, or for as a group to sell only cleaning products to.The portrayal of women in the media has a highly negative impact on the easily shaped young women of today. Women of power are often criticized, others hypersexualized. The media also directs advertisements for household things at women.
In the society we live in, we are all looking for acceptance, whether we like to admit it or not. We turn to the media to see what other people are doing. The media plays a large role on the way we, a society as a whole, are influenced and think about responsibilities and roles of genders. As young children, we are still not sure of who we are and how we should act about certain topics. In order to ‘find ourselves,’ as young children, we look at things that are available to us. The television is found in every home and thus makes it one of the easiest ways for children to be influenced. This is not to say that the adult female population is not influenced as well. Adult females are seeking more information on how they should be as a person in order to be accepted in society as an acceptable woman.
Stone, Tanya Lee. The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us. New York: Penguin Group, 2010. Print.
Portrayal of Women in the Media Gender is the psychological characteristics and social categories that are created by human culture. Gender is the concept that humans express their gender when they interact with one another. Messages about how a male or female is supposed to act come from many different places. Schools, parents, and friends can influence a person.