The two essays, ‘Media and the Women Image: A Feminist Discourse,’ Sarkar Sumita and 'Has Celebrity Feminism Failed?' Zeisler Andi, focus on celebrity feminism. The first essay focus’ on two main points; The self serving nature of Celebrity Feminism; and, the failure of feminist values in a patriarchally dominated industry. The second essay also focus’ on two points; the use of the female body in media; and the resulting Commodification and Exploitation. Neither essay has the same writing style, and each essays technique and composition appeals to their respective audiences. Their purpose is reflected in the points made, and the way in which they're constructed and portrayed. The Guardian Essay, ‘Has Celebrity Feminism Failed,’ speaks of how celebrities relate to Feminism. Zeisler, speaks about the fashionability of identifying as a feminist. She mentions how the relation of celebrities as feminists, lack a defining basis of social and political forces. Zeisler, theorises the idea of feminism can't take effect as the franchise promotes inequality. The essay talks about how Celebrity Feminism has primarily been about the promotion of female superiority within the Media industry, and about exposing the power dynamics, power structure, and gaps that are gender-based, which ultimately fails, due to the nature of the industry …show more content…
The paper delves into the Sociological process’ of Women(s) Image. Sarkar includes the idea of beauty and its commercial commodification and exploitation within the Media. Whilst the message is similar within the two essays, the body of the essay’s differ. Both the essays pay mention to the inequality within the Media industry, but, whilst the Academic Journal Essay speaks about the direct exploitation of females, the Guardian essay talks about how Feminism's used as a 'self-serving' 'gaining point' within their
The documentary, “Miss Representation,” is a film about how women are perceived in the media. It is written, directed, and produced by Jennifer Siebel Newsom. She is an actress and a film maker who advocates for women. In the beginning of the documentary, Newsom discusses her struggles as a young woman surrounded by the pressures of looking a certain way. This film is targeting mainly women of all age that has experienced her struggles. Jennifer Siebel Newsom effectively convinces the audience of “Miss Representation” that the media has molded women in a negative way through statistics, celebrities’ and younger generation’s testimonies, and clips from the media.
In "Where the girls are: Growing Up Female With the Mass Media," Susan Douglas analyses the effects of mass media on women of the nineteen fifties, and more importantly on the teenage girls of the baby boom era. Douglas explains why women have been torn in conflicting directions and are still struggling today to identify themselves and their roles. Douglas recounts and dissects the ambiguous messages imprinted on the feminine psyche via the media. Douglas maintains that feminism is a direct result of the realization that mass media is a deliberate and calculated aggression against women. While the media seemingly begins to acknowledge the power of women, it purposely sets out to redefine women and the qualities by which they should define themselves. The contradictory messages received by women leave women not only in a love/hate relationship with the media, but also in a love/hate relationship with themselves.
In society today, media such as movies and music share huge roles in the dynamics of culture especially concerning communication. In Dream Worlds 3: Desire, Sex, and Power in Music Video we see how famous singers and producers in the making of their music videos have the power of illustrating our language and beliefs. From the music we listen to and things we watch, we are constantly gaining new knowledge by the message that is being presented to us. The main focus of this specific documentary was how women in the music or media industry all together are treated. From this documentary and lectures in class we see that media objectifies, stereotypes, and degrades women and their bodies as advertisements and money makers. Themes in the film discussed
In the early 1980’s, women were not supposed to be open-minded or even allowed to have such sexual thoughts that Madonna inspired. Women were expected to be traditional and keep their femininity behind closed doors. When Madonna first came into the entertainment business, it was a complete shock for everyone. No one could believe a woman was capable of being a sex symbol in public. It was not Madonna’s fault that she was simply a desirable creature to everyone (Allen 5). In today’s youth, people are used to watching television and music videos since a young age. We learn from the media and it helps us to comprehend the representations that it is giving of society. Madonna became the main subject of the media and society. Since, celebrities are always focused on by the media; they have the power to impact society by showing their perspective of thoughts and images. Accord...
In media today, women seem to have a terrible way of being represented. This can even be brought as far back as the early 1950 's. When we look at the past we can see that there are so many similarities to the present day. One thing that we all seem to notice from the media is that women are constantly being sexually objectified. Women are often represented as individuals who are seen as just a means of sexual gratification and nothing else. Whereas men are seen as sexual subjects. This brings the question if this will ever change in society or will this keep going on for future generations. In this essay, I will be talking about how women in media are objectified in reality TV shows.
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 sexist. A very interesting article this came to be because the writer had numerous accountants to keep her argument steady. A worthy writer brings up present time activities, statistics, and people being affected by the scenario and provides the reader some closure. With a devastatingly crucial issue such as women being shunned by the media, it’s not okay to have the ideas of other people in your work. In the article, “Controversial Hillary Cover of Time Illuminates Sexism in the Media” by Marianne Schnall, implies that the media is negatively affecting the chances of women becoming successful with all the sexism it is portraying. Marianne Schnall is a published writer and professional interviewer with many influential credentials that she in not afraid to use.
It is shocking to see the digression in humanity’s morals and values over the past decade. As cliché as it sounds, the media is the center of it all. The way women are being represented, from our television sets, the radio, pornography and even art has pushed beauty to the top of the list of controversial and widely debated topics around the globe. “Whenever we walk down the street, watch TV, open a magazine or enter an art gallery, we are faced with images of femininity,” (Watson and Martin).
The media, through its many outlets, has a lasting effect on the values and social structure evident in modern day society. Television, in particular, has the ability to influence the social structure of society with its subjective content. As Dwight E. Brooks and Lisa P. Hébert write in their article, “GENDER, RACE, AND MEDIA REPRESENTATION”, the basis of our accepted social identities is heavily controlled by the media we consume. One of the social identities that is heavily influenced is gender: Brooks and Hébert conclude, “While sex differences are rooted in biology, how we come to understand and perform gender is based on culture” (Brooks, Hébert 297). With gender being shaped so profusely by our culture, it is important to be aware of how social identities, such as gender, are being constructed in the media.
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.
I will show you my understanding of how in the past women were marginalised in the media. and how men were shown as powerful figures. I will use the following sources in my essay: Kenzo perfume for women advert (4.2a), Yves Saint. Laurent perfume for men advert (4.2b), IBM global services (4.14a). Lanvin (4.14b) -.
Media and communications are a central element of today’s society, yet the thought that media has little to no effect on gender and sexuality shapes how each individual views their own self-identity. Over the years we have witnessed the launch of social media sites, music sites such as YouTube, new genres of music, and other forms of media, that all contribute to the outlook of gender roles and stereotypes. The media contains countless standards based on how the genders should act, look, and feel, that is seems almost ordinary to satisfy these stereotypical demands of society. For example, Meghan Trainor’s “Dear Future Husband,” is a catchy song with a 50’s themed video that portrays standards of a feminine woman spoiled by strong, caring and masculine men. Now, it is unusual to catch the issues between the lyrics and video at first glance, but, the controversy shared between the two are quite focused on gender roles, stereotypes, and
On the other hand however, others argue that the response women have to media is due to the way celebrities and models are portrayed. When speaking in reference to this issue, Jo Piazza author of “Americans have an Unhealthy Obsession with Celebrities,” says “Soon after the turn of the millennium, we saw the proliferation of weekly glossy magazines as well as a growth in televised celebrity news programming. This was followed in short succession by the rise of the Internet as a news resource, hence the onslaught of celebrity blogs.” Only a decade ago, there was just one or two ways for women to get access to this information, but now with access to the internet so easily acquired, and the magazines portraying women more as objects rather than people, has negative effects that celebrities portray are having greater effects on women.
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.
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.
When people imagine women in the media we often imagine women playing a negative role. As our media sources grow women continue to establish a negative stigma to them. Research shows that women in the media should either have bodies that may not be attainable and play a role where they have to find a man to obtain success and happiness. Although, women have extensively roles in every characteristic of life, the extended list of in human behavior given seems to never end. Sources such as the government and social action groups are taking helpful actions to supply women true pride in economic, social and personal areas. In attempt the mass media have a critical role reporting misleading actions, using public opinions, bringing social change and emphasizing positive improvement.