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Thursday, January 17

 

 

The mass media has an immense
impact on society and how individuals
think if themselves and others. The
media habitually presents women as
inferior to, and less important than,
«nen.

IMAGES OF WOMEN

Women are often stereotyped in
their roles in the media. Most fre-
quently, women are housewives and
mothers looking after the needs of
others. In this role, they are overly
concerned about the cleanliness of
their homes; and must stock up on the
approved junk food for their children
to avoid reprisals. They discuss and

 

by RHONDA JESCHKE

re.

compare brand names with other
women. If their children’s clothing is
not as white and bright as_ their
neighbour’s, they are embarrassed
and angry at themselves. If men are
seen doing any sort of housework, it is
usually only if their wives are ill and,
even then, they are made to look
feeble and silly doing the chores.
Obviously, the above examples are not
realistic portrayals of women.

Women are often depicted as ob-

 

jects obsessed with their appearance;

in essence, the ‘‘look pretty but keep

‘your mouth shut’’ types. They are

shown as attention-getting or decora-
tive sex objects, the kind that men do a
180 degree turn for, or go chasing after
with flowers. Wonder Woman is a
good example of a decorative object.
Fragmentation (the exhibit of only
certain parts of the body in advertis-
ing) aids in showing women as objects.
If they are not seen as whole, it is
easier not to think of them as real
people, but as pieces on display. The
epitome of the sex object are the
Playboy ‘‘bunny’’ and the Penthouse
““pet’’. When men think of women as
objects, it is simpler for them not to be
sensitive to women’s feelings.

Then there is the seductresses, the
women who are not fit. for marriage
and have hypnotic eyes and come
hither looks. These women are evil and
want sex. A variation of the seduc-
tress, is the super-bitch, often very
sexy but also very money hungry. She
will stop at nothing to get to the top.
This image initiates distrust and
disrespect for women.

Women presented in the media, are

of their weaknesses, they need the
guidance of male experts and the
protection of men. In Canadian Per-
spectives on Sex Stereotyping in
Advertising, Alice Courtney and
Thomas Whipple point out ‘‘advertis-
ing to doctors has been found to show
women as passive, helpless and de-
pendent.’’ Perhaps this explains why
tranquilizers, especially Valium, and
amphetamines are over-prescribed to
women. There are a lot of drugged-up
women in the world. Unfortunately,
their condition only serves to isolate
them further.

As mentioned previously, women
are primarily depicted as housewives,
but when they are presented in the
work force, it is usually within lower
status jobs. The stereotypes spring to
mind, nurses, secretaries and teachers
are common roles for women. When
they do have higher status jobs, they
still must answer to a male boss. Two
examples are the Bionic Woman and

Charlie’s Angels. Some women are -

indeed the heads of companies, but
they are customarily the super-bitches
described earlier. When women see
themselves as only in lower status
jobs, they may not aspire to higher
positions.

ARE THESE IMAGES
REALISTIC

Women are not portrayed realistically

in the media. They are often used to
sell merchandise and are presented
much more so than men, as con-
sumers. They rarely assume authorita-
tive positions. Most of the women in
ads and on television are young, white
and middle to upper class. This is not
fair representation.

Although models are drawn from a
special and select population, they are
supposed to represent the norm. As
Erving Goffman points out in Gender
Advertisements, ‘‘The females depict-
ed in commercially posed scenes have
straighter teeth’ and are slimmer,
younger, taller, blonder, and ‘‘better’’
looking than those found in most real
scenes...’’ There is a lack of represen-
tation of older women, ethnic minority
women and lower income people in
general, in the media.

EFFECTS OF IMAGES
ON WOMEN

How a woman feels about her body
and herself, reflects the way she acts

 

 

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these images may begin to think that
they are indeed lower or second class
citizens.

 

spouse. Some men don’t want to be or
can’t be the breadwinner, big, strong
well-off man they are supposed to be,
according to the media. Expectations

 

often in competition with one another; i" ie world. The ad industry : based THE EFFECTS OF between the sexes become too high.
usually for the attention of a man. If 09 the insecurities women have of IMAGES ON MEN

they have nicer clothes, they will have themselves. If their hair is curly, it aoe ; IMAGES ON

more boyfriends. Remember the ad- Should be straight; if straight, it “The depiction of women in_ the CHILDREN
vertisement for dishwashing soap? A should be curly. Their hair is never the media has an effect on men as well.

male voice asks the viewer to guess
which one of the women in the
commercial is the mother and which is
the daughter. ‘Gentlemen _ prefer
blondes’’ caused brunettes to be
envious of light-haired women. After a
few years the ‘‘dumb blonde’’ image
was created to compensate brunettes
but produce the same effect. If women
are jealous and suspicious of other
females, no energy will be exerted to
unify to work towards bettering their
inferior position. The old adage ‘‘di-
vide and conquer’’ seems appropriate.

To help the process of isolation,
women are often pictured as neurotic,
incompetent unsure beings. Because

right colour or soft enough. Going gray
indicates growing old, which women
are not supposed to do because old age
(for women) equals uselessness. Being
overweight is being unattractive; it is
know that women, if nothing else, are
supposed to be attractive. Many
women simply cannot live up to the
images presented in the media. If

taken to heart, today’s woman is:

supposed to be a chef, keep an
immaculate house, have a career, be a
super mom and look sexy and alluring
when her husband comes home. Those
who don’t measure up, start to feel
inadequate. The portrayal of women in
the media is one of lower class
citizens; many women exposed to

The images put pressure on men to be
strong, largely unemotional bread-
winners who protect women and do not
see them clearly as equal human
beings. Aman is defined by the job he
holds. Feelings of inadequacy may
develop in an economic environment
which produces high unemployment.
Some men may begin to lose touch
with real women because they are
bombarded with airbrushed, touched-
up photographs of stunning models on
television. They may begin judging
other women by these standards, not
realizing that beauty is only skin deep.
Husbands may look at their wives and
feel that they are missing out by not
having a ravishing beauty for a

 

Children are presented with images
of how they are supposed to be at a
very early age. Dolls are for girls,
trucks are for boys. Children pick up
ideas, words and mannerisms so
quickly it is astonishing. Their parents
may provide stereotyped roles for
them to learn from. Children’s stories
are full of evil stepmothers and
stepsisters and wicked witches. Mean-
while, the men and boys in children’s
stories are participating in high adven- ~
tures, with important deeds to accom-
plish. Even without television, child-
ren receive stereotypical images. With
television (and videos) however, the

‘impact is far greater. There is evi-