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Media portrayal of gender roles
Media portrayal of gender roles
Media portrayal of gender roles
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“Sit Still, Look Pretty” by Daya addresses the topic of feminism. The songs starts off with Daya singing about how she doesn’t need to impress anyone, and how she isn’t going to turn into a barbie just to impress someone else. She then proceeds to talk about how she doesn't need anybody in her life she has her own Queen and she don't need a king. The rest of the song she just repeats this over and over again but in different ways and she talks about how she doesn't want to sit around and pretty she wants to do something. “Sit Still, Look Pretty” carries out the theme that you don’t have to conform or act a certain way simply because society says so. In these two lines“Could dress up/ To get love/ But guess what?/ I'm never gonna be that girl/ Who's living in a Barbie …show more content…
Could wake up/ In make up/ and play dumb/ Pretending that I need a boy/ Who's going to treat me like a toy,” (Daya 1-10) we first get the idea that the speaker is against trying to impress someone. She states that she’s “never gonna be that girl/ Who’s living in a barbie world” (Daya 4-5) which means that she’s not willing to be fake for anyone. Within the lines “That Snow White/ She did right/ In her life/ Had 7 men to do the chores/ 'Cause that's not what a lady's for” (Daya 26-30) Daya starts to say that Snow White was right when she had the men doing the chores again bringing up the fact that there should be no gender role. The theme completely declared in the chorus that goes like this “Oh, I don't know what you've been told/ But this gal right here's gonna rule the world/ Yeah, that is where I'm gonna be because I wanna be/ No, I don't wanna sit still, look pretty’ You get off on your 9 to 5/ Dream of picket fences and trophy wives/ But no, I'm never gonna be 'cause I don't wanna be/ No, I don't wanna sit still look pretty,” (Daya 15-22). Here Daya reveals that she isn’t gonna sit around and take it anymore, she isn’t gonna be the girl who does that
The poem starts with the line, “This girlchild was born as usual,” which suggests that as soon as a girl is born, society already expects her to learn the role she will soon play in when she hits puberty (1). Thus, showing why we are given dolls as little girls to illustrate how we should act and appear according to society. After we learn all the roles we will soon take part in, “the magic of puberty,” hits and girls immediately begin applying the ideals to their own lives (5). As if this attempt to conform is not enough we have other people telling us we are not to perfect. “You have a great big nose and fat legs,” says a classmate to the girl (6). This type of pressure can slowly but surely destroy even the little confidence women do have in themselves.
The speaker is trying to address all Americans that know deeper into Barbie doll life. By using the word “hippie” she gives a sense of rejection, opposition and liberalism towards things. Hippie Barbie reveals the ugly truth about the society based on the appearances that we live in. Using personification as her strongest tool, she uses Barbie to establish a somewhat comic parallel world with real women. The author introduces her poem with; “Barbie couldn’t grasp the concept of free love.
The girls feel that people need to mask their imperfections and true selves to uphold the image of how they are supposed to be. These dolls were found in a less than desirable place, such as “Lying on the street next to some tool bits ,and platform shoes with the heels all squashed, and a florescent green wicker wastebasket, and aluminum foil, and hubcaps, and a pink shag rug, and windshield wiper blades, and dusty mason jars, and a coffee can full of rusty nails”. They find another Barbie with heals in the depths of junk. They cover up the physical flaws of the burnt barbies with pretty outfits such as the “Prom Pinks” dress. One of the girls state “as long as you don't lift her dress, right? - who’s to know.” This attempt to cover up where the dolls came from and their imperfections seem to parallel their feelings about themselves and where they come from. The girls have an image of how their dolls would be if they were new. This could be the role society plays on the image of how women are supposed to be and look
What do little girls do with these dolls? They put on fresh makeup, change there fashionable clothing, and style there long luscious hair. This alone is creating a psychological change in a little girls brain, it is instilling that this is what is customary for a girl to do. Rather than fixing things you are to play princess, along with your easy bake oven. For centuries society has quietly driven a complex into the hearts and minds of young girls, that you have to be pretty to succeed. In our time today you rarely see unattractive; politicians, movie stars, musicians, officials or entertainers. Anybody who is somebody these days has attractive physical qualities.
In the beginning when they first meet: “If you will jeep house for us, and cook, make beds, wash, sew, and knit, and keep everything clean and orderly, then you can stay with us”. Furthermore, this quote shows that in order for the dwarfs to keep Snow White safe she must do the basic “female” jobs such as cooking and cleaning because they are out working and doing “male” jobs. Another gender role is at the end when the heroic male accidently dislodges the piece poison apple from her throat and saves the helpless Snow White by bringing her back to life.
The video promotes a realistic portrayal of women while undermining negative societal expectations put to those women. Furthermore, the message behind it, one calling people to accept themselves and to not feel the need to strive towards unreachable goals set by the media, can be applied to the lives of not only women but men as well. While the song was obviously meant for women, it is still holds the important message for people of any gender, age, or race to understand that being true to and learning to accept one’s self can only lead to positive
...tivating for the advancement of women, without realizing they were doing so. She also claims that the term "feminist" changes over time, to become appropriate for how one would like to apply it.
Feminism and the right to equality has been a long and arduous struggle for women before the Civil Rights Act. The Feminine Mystique sparked a change, questioning society, which continues today as women fight for equal treatment regardless of laws that claim for their protection. Feminists will continue to fight for the day where women will be treated as equals, where there will be no gender bias, and for the day when a woman can state her mind, just as her male counterpart, without being called an uptight
Everyone dreams of being “perfect”, but what they don’t know is that they are perfect. One just has to see within themselves. Everyone is uniquely and secretly beautiful, but that gets taken away because it is not what society wants. What society wants is for women’s self-esteem to be broken so that they can be morphed into a product of someone else's idea of perfect. In “Barbie Doll” Piercy argues that the pressures put on women by society affect their self-esteem. No one needs to change who they are for anyone. If anyone wants to change, they should change for themselves! Being you is all that really matters. The key to beauty is confidence. Something that everyone should keep in mind is that, don’t let someone change who you are, to become what they need; otherwise you don’t need them in your
Feminist is about equality between men and woman. Yet, in the poem, there is very little information about men she mentioned. The poem is vastly about her or their own body, because she desperately focus on her image. While have no argument for men, what she said is completely one sided opinion. When she said “these hips” can do what they wanted, yet she said nothing men can do what they want. Men are also human, they have as much rights as woman, yet only woman are capable of making such claim because of “these hips” have all the power to control them, making them submissive and give them no right to have a voice of saying what they can
Pretty Woman is a modern take on the classic Cinderella story where a poor misguided girl meets her prince and her life is dramatically changed. This film has fairy tale elements, but the biggest element in the movie is the use of sex; Vivian, the main character, is a prostitute. She meets her “prince” and is swept off of her feet, but what this really means is that she is bought for an entire week by a handsome, wealthy business man. One would assume that he was buying her for sex, but this is not your average prostitute transaction. This movie has a lot of third wave feminism ideals. Third wave feminism deals with using the female gender and sexuality to further the cause and portray their views. The ultimate goal of this paper is to show that Vivian Ward (portrayed by Julia Roberts), is the poster girl for third wave feminism.
A feminist is someone who believes that women should have the same opportunities as men. Some individuals dislike the fact of being named a feminist. While many others on the hand are proud to call themselves a feminist. An upcoming artist whose very popular in the music industry, and so happens to be a strong feminist advocate is known by the stage name Grimes. In all of Grimes’s appearances, performances, and music videos, she demonstrates her knowledge of, and her refusal to participate in, self-objectification and being sexualized. In some of her famous song Grimes reverses the male gaze, creating a situation in which men are being watched and masculinity is being deconstructed. The surprising fact of the term feminist is that men can
Adichie was born in Nigeria and is most known for giving a TEDxTalk in 2013 about modern feminism. After the overwhelming success of the talk, such as having millions of views on YouTube and being featured in the song “Flawless” by Beyoncé, she decided to publish the speech into an expanded essay named “We Should All Be Feminists.” In this essay, Adichie talks about her life and encounters of sexism from a young age, especially her introduction to the word “feminist” occurring at fourteen. She is having a normal day, playing and arguing with her friend Okoloma, until he “harmlessly” quips, “`You know, you’re a feminist’” (8), which in Nigeria, is not a compliment. She also spends a third of the essay addressing the fact all negativity towards gender inequality has the same root: unwavering tradition. She questions, “What if, in raising our children, we (the parents) focus on ability instead of gender… interest instead of gender” (36)? Simply, if negativity towards the opposite sex is eradicated in a new generation, there will be no more inequality to worry about. She also parallels Wollstonecraft in commenting on the fascinating diversity of males and females. She claims that if men are undeniably strong physically, women should be held in the same
Feminism can simply be defined as a range of movements and ideologies in which share a common ground in terms of defining, establishing and achieving equal opportunities to that of males, in regards to economic, cultural and social rights. It is a critique of male supremacy with efforts in changing this to end the social oppression of women. (Hooks, 2000)
Meghan Trainor reassures women do not need to be concerned about meeting the standards of beauty imposed by the fashion industry (e.g., “see the magazines working that Photoshop, we know that shit ain't real so make it stop”), and yet, meeting the standards imposed by men is necessary if a woman wants to feel loved, desired, and consequently, accepted (e.g., “I got that boom boom that all the boys chase in all the right places”). Carrie Fisher’s ideologies, as described in the article written by Sady Doyle (2016), empower women to set their own rules and refuse to fit stereotypical and limiting roles society attempts to force upon them (e.g., “Things come out in the media about me… it’s someone else’s version of me. I want it to be my version”). Meghan Trainor must include similar ideologies in her songs, as women need to be reminded that they are beautiful regardless of how their bodies look or what society labels as beautiful. The song contradicts itself by promoting self-acceptance (e.g., “don’t worry about your size”) while at the same time advocating for external validation (i.e., “boys like a little more booty to hold at night”).