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Gender relations and the media
Gender relations and the media
Gender relations and the media
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Hanes presents the idea that “Disney Princess Effect” influences young girls to grow up sooner that they should because of the things that they see on television and the toys that they play with. The media plays a huge role in the sexualization of little girls. Making this topic very important because so many little girls watch Disney, putting them at risk later in life. The characters and images may seem harmless, but in the long run they are very dangerous. Potentially causing self-objectification, poor body image and eating disorder later in life (483).
This article touches on several cultural trends. Such as girls dropping out of sports, parents losing control of their daughters at an early age, influences of barbie dolls and young girls
trying to look “sexy”. Barbie dolls having big boobs and sexy bodies have young girls wanting to look like that to. Consumers contributing to this trend by selling padded bras and thongs for young girls, at the early ages of 7-9. Hanes places blame on the parents and television for these behaviors. Parents primarily because they have full control over what their child watches on television. It is also the parents’ responsibility to talk to their little girls and reiterate that their body image is not something that should be pleasing to the society, letting them know that they do not need to look “sexy”. Secondly, television and marketing companies are to blame because they put these provocative role models on television for these little girls to see. Knowing that these young girls are going to look up to these individuals/characters and want to look sexy like the movie stars.
Finucane’s daughter had seemingly been robbed of her creative imagination after trying to live up to the expectations of a Disney princess. Her daughter “seemed less imaginative, less spunky, and less interested in the world” (Hanes 1) after being introduced to the Disney princess line, willing herself to be just like the princesses. Young children know no better and are very susceptible to the world around them, and are very likely to imitate what they are shown or what intrigues them. Hanes was outraged at how Disney had stripped the child of believing in other imaginative creatures and activities, and was stuck on behaving as a princess. Hanes provides research in the article that supports that Finucane’s daughter is not the only one to catch the Disney princess symptoms. There is a whole book about this “diseases” as well as much research conducted on educators that seemingly all agrees that “[teachers] are unable to control the growing onslaught of social messages shaping their…students” (Hanes 1). Through her research Hanes discovered that the Disney Princess empire is a $4 billion dollar industry that leads to “self-objectification, cyber bullying, and unhealthy body image…” (1) causing problems for young girls. These “ideals” will stay with them throughout the remainder of their life, based on decisions that were made for them, to introduce such “ideals” into their minds. Hanes’ readers are most likely to be parents or adults who will likely become parents in the near future, and this article is a great introduction to the long road of making decisions that will impact the way their children think
As the article advances and the discussion gets broadens, Hanes shifts to the thought that Disney is not the only one who is generating the issue. The author states that it is also the way females are portrayed in general on TV. It is logical to think that toddlers act out what they observe around them, and that those habits learned will develop as they do, or at least that is what Hanes believes. The author attempts to reason by describing that little girls who grow up watching such movies and TV shows are most likely drop out of a sport because of the believe their bodies do not look good playing the sport ( Hanes 3). “ Girls see cheerleaders ( with increasingly sexualized routines ) in TV far more than they see female basketball players or other athletes” ( Hanes 4). The author uses logos when discussing this to convince the reader that TV really does send a misleading message. Hanes argues that it all starts with a seed that is planted in a toddler 's eyes when she was younger. Hanes continues to say that the only way to stop this , is to completely block out Disney movies and TV shows that contain such content like this ( Hanes 3
A longitudinal study was conducted on this trend called “Changes in Sport and Physical Activity Participated for Adolescent Females” by Rochelle M Eime et., it concluded, “There was a clear trend over time of decreases in competitive sport, and more specifically club sports participation” (2). Also, that “Female adolescents are consistently reported as being less physically active than their male peers” (5). These statements prove that girls are losing interest in sports as they age, but why are they losing interest? They lose interest in competitive sports for many reasons and they vary between each girl. Hanes claims the reason is a result of sexualized sports media by explaining, “Star female athletes regularly pose naked or semi-naked for men’s magazines; girls see cheerleaders (with increasingly sexualized routines) on TV far more than female basketball players or other athletes” (511). This is why young girls struggle with enjoying sports as they age, they are continuously told their bodies aren’t good or sexy enough. Girls at this point are already struggling with their body image, so when a role model for their sport of choice is looking sexy and perfect in a magazine it makes them question whether or not they should look like that too. This is a result of young girls constantly comparing themselves to those they look up
Media is infamous for having a tremendous effect on teenage girls. The mass media have long been criticized for presenting unrealistic appearance ideals that contribute to the development of negative body image for many women and girls (Harrison & Hefner, 2006). Whether it’s the influence on their choice of friends, school, or their self image, media has played an important role in affecting those decisions. A growing number of experimental studies have demonstrated a causal link between acute exposure to "thin-ideal" images (i.e., images of impossibly thin and attractive female beauty) and increased body dissatisfaction (Hargreaves & Tiggemann, 2003). It has recently been brought up that media influences girls in preadolescence, which is highly likely since most young girls idolize Barbie (Rintala & Mustajoki, 1992). “Were Barbie a flesh-and-blood woman, her waist would be 39% smaller than that of anorexic patients, and her body weight would be so low that she would not be able to menstruate” (Rintala & Mustajoki, 1992). Most young girls wish that they could look like Barbie when they grew up, but if they knew the reality of having her measurements their perceptions would probably change. Children frequently fantasize about who they will be, what they will do, and how they will look when they grow into adulthood.
Mary Pipher goes on to say that the problem faced by girls is a ‘problem without a name’ and that the girls of today deserve a different kind of society in which all their gifts can be developed and appreciated. (Pipher,M). It’s clear that cultures and individual personalities intersect through the period of adolescence. Adolescence is a time in a young girl’s life that shapes them into the woman they become. I think it begins earlier than teen years because even the clothing that is being sold for younger girls says sexuality. Bras for girls just beginning in every store are now padded with matching bikini underwear, Barbie dolls are glamour up in such away that these girls believ...
Your sparkling eyes gazed at the television, reading the word “Cinderella” by Disney. You had all your Cinderella toys lined up, ready to grab whenever necessary. Your Cinderella pajamas on, and your tea set is all prepared.Your mom adored your love for princesses. Didn’t we all love to sing along to the Disney movies about princesses and true love? Peggy Orenstein sure didn’t. Peggy Orenstein, the author of Cinderella Ate My Daughter has a sharp opinion about how a “pretty and pink” culture is influencing girls in a negative way. The author proves this argument by discussing gender colorization, dolls, and princesses.
A Study Conducted by the American Psychological Association Task Force concluded that sexualization occurs when a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics; a person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness (narrowly defined) with being sexy; a person is sexually objectified- that is, made into a thing for others’ sexual use, rather than seen as a person with the capacity for independent action and decision making; and/or sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon a person. The APA Task Force reported many example of the sexualization of girls, such as toy manufactures duce dolls wearing black leather miniskirts, feather boas, and thigh-high boots and market them to 8- to 12-year-old girls. Clothing stores sell thongs sized for 7– to 10-year-old girls, some printed with slogans such as “eye candy” or “wink wink”; other thongs sized for women and late adolescent girls are imprinted with characters from Dr. Seuss and the Muppets. In the world of child beauty pageants, 5-year-old girls wear fake teeth, hair extensions, and makeup and are encouraged to “flirt” onstage by batting their long, false eyelashes. Journalists, child advocacy organizations, parents, and psychologists have become alarmed according to the APA Task Force, arguing that the sexualization of girls is a broad and increasing problem and is harmful to girls, and I for one agree with their proposition.
Society cements certain roles for children based on gender, and these roles, recognized during infancy with the assistance of consumerism, rarely allow for openness of definition. A study conducted by Witt (1997) observed that parents often expect certain behaviors based on gender as soon as twenty-four hours after the birth of a child. The gender socialization of infants appears most noticeably by the age of eighteen months, when children display sex-stereotyped toy preferences (Caldera, Huston, & O’Brian 1989). This socialization proves extremely influential on later notions and conceptions of gender. Children understand gender in very simple ways, one way being the notion of gender permanence—if one is born a girl or a boy, they will stay that way for life (Kohlberg 1966). “According to theories of gender constancy, until they’re about 6 or 7, children don’t realize that the sex they were born with is immutable” (Orenstein 2006). The Walt Disney Corporation creates childhood for children worldwide. “Because Disney are such a large media corporation and their products are so ubiquitous and wide spread globally, Disney’s stories, the stories that Disney tell, will be the stories that will form and help form a child’s imaginary world, all over the world, and that’s an incredible amount of power, enormous amount of power” (Sun). Because of the portrayal of women in Disney films, specifically the Disney Princess films, associations of homemaker, innocence, and dependence are emphasized as feminine qualities for young children. Thus, children begin to consider such qualities normal and proceed to form conceptions of gender identity based off of the movies that portray the very specific and limiting views of women (...
In the article Construction of the Female Self: Feminist Readings Of the Disney Heroine, Jill Birmie Henke, Diane Zimmerman Umble, and Nancy J. Smith are looking at the female self and how it was developed based on two theories: Standpoint by Parker Follet and the psychological development of girls by Gilligam. That by examines gender identity especially girls and how media exposure affects them through analyzing five of Disney movies: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Pocahontas. They segmented the article into three titles: The Oxymoron of Power and the Perfect Girl where they introduced the two theories in which they built their critic on, Construction of the Female Self where they talk about the evolution in the female character from Cinderella to Pocahontas, and Construction of Self in Relation to Others where they talk about the evolution of the self in relation to others from power-over to power-with until power-to. Finally they concluded that even if the female character in Disney’s movies was changing to become more
...nnovative, grounds for the education of the young and upcoming generation. It is also understood “the negative representations of female gender in popular culture have been seen as a harmful influence on young children” (Lee 11). It is understood that children have the capacity to understand the situations and morals embedded within the Disney movies and this power of education should not be wasted through damaging the young viewers. But, the power of new methods of education must be implemented with great care. The means of capturing the attention of young viewers is already present, with the ability to bring about the “Disney princess line”. The Disney film industry should be providing the young minds of the future generation with entertainment that does not consist of traditional gender socialization roles and the proper storyline for educational and development.
Although this problem touches upon all age groups, some would argue that todays mass media is most damaging for young children. Ross believes that the impact the media has on young children is damaging to their growth and self-image. In Ross’s article she specifically talks about how Disney is placing negative messages in the minds of young girls. In regard to Disney, Ross says that, “In particular, most girls’ stories of this era promoted humility, devotion, punctuality, and tidiness, implying that adventure is something a nice girl would be wise to avoid” (Ross 474). As a result millions of young girls are taught from a young age the ridiculous notion that adventure is no place for a female. Companies cannot get away with broadcasting these kinds of messages, especially in this day and age. Girls of our generation should be taught that they are willing and able to guide their own paths, not coward behind stereotypes of the
Why does Disney target children in particular? The answer is that children easily adapt to the characters and recollect the information they gained from Disney movies, but the most influential type of media created by Walt Disney is the Disney princess line. The original to modern day princesses and their prominent roles in the movies created the Disney princess line. The Disney princess line is so influential to girls that it also has products such as toys, clothes, and collectable items. The main reason it targets mainly girls is because the characters either portray an inspiring role or a discouraging role in the movies. The research is designed to examine the original princesses (Snow White and Cinderella) and the modern princesses (Aerial, Mulan, and Tiana) more closely. Although there are more than five princesses, these selected ones are going to impact girls more because of the time period they were introduced. The outcome of the research will help the parents choose which Disney movie is going to set the best example for their daughters. The five important Disney princesses are going to be analyzed based on their behavior, characteristics, and even their roles in the movies, and it will help explain how the princesses have both a positive and negative impact on girls.
In today’s beauty-obsessed society, an unhealthy body image in teens is on the rise. Media of all sorts plays a large part in labeling exactly what it means to be beautiful. This brainwashing of unrealistic expectations of what beauty is starts at a young age with fairy-tale movies like Disney. “The Walt Disney Company is one of the biggest media corporations in the world. It has been dominating the world of children movies for decades” (Lamb & Brown 2007). Disney films have been infamously overloaded with gender stereotypes. These films are the very basis of what young children aspire to be. Little girls all around the world emulate the princesses Disney has created over the decades. But you see little girls are not the only ones emulating these fictional characters, but little boys are forced fed lies about what it is to be a hero. However, the Disney classic Beauty and the Beast seems to stray from this trajectory by depicting an intelligent female protagonist, a handsome “bad guy”, and a brute as “Prince Charming.”
Little girls long for approval and to feel beautiful, although they never expect their beloved Disney Princess to make these little girls feel self-conscious, and have low self-esteem which include behavior problems as adults. During the time that little girls have a misunderstanding about what it means to fall in love and so that they have problems with their relationships later on in life as they grow up. Girls and women alike still have difficulty understanding what it means to be attractive since the Disney Princesses shows younger women who dress in elegant gowns, who have slim fit bodies and perfectly gorgeous hair. They will spend large amounts of money to have expensive clothing like the Disney princesses and have work done on their bodies such as plastic surgery in order to achieve what it means to be beautiful. Plastic surgery is becoming more and more popular, especially among younger women. It is even becoming common for teenage girls to ask for breast implants for their high school graduation gift to become more li...
Hayes, SharonTantIeff-Dunn, Stacey. "Am I Too Fat To Be A Princess? Examining The Effects Of Popular Children's Media On Young Girls' Body Image." British Journal Of Developmental Psychology 28.2 (2010): 413-426. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.