The image of women are used to sell everything, and when we start to analyze it, these images are usually not of the “normal woman”, but of an unreachable beauty. In this study called Miss Representation by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, we are able to capture the severity of the problem that the media instills in young girls and woman in general. When everyday people turn on to see any type of media, all they see are images of woman being abused or used as sexual objects, and are almost never represented as a leader or as an intellectual. When a woman does break the mold and become a leader, they are still subjected into categories of being dumb or over demanding.
One of the great points Miss Representation makes is that everyday women are objectified and are often without a voice. Almost nothing in the media shows women in a role where they are the leader, where they are in command. In movies for example, there is often a sexy, promiscuous girl. A girl that is just there for the way she looks, the girl that men lust over and fight for. Then once in a while, there is the strong, often independent, woman portrayal. Before this part was reached, I knew of the many women that portrayed these strong roles and wanted to yell at the injustice that this documentary was making. However, when they did dwell into the strong independent woman subject, I was shocked. “What can they say about these women? They’re strong and they fight for what they believe in!” Newsom then brought a point home that probably hasn’t crossed a lot of people’s minds. These “strong” women aren’t really the strong women we see on screen because they just end up being sexualized, even in G-Rated films. The stat saying that only 16% of females are the main protagonists is equally eye popping. Television portrayals of women seem to be very similar to the ones in movies according to this documentary. When it comes to news shows, women are seen as better news anchors if their skirts are shorter, if their hair is stylized, and if they’re overall perceived as beautiful. Rachel Maddow for example, not necessarily seen as beautiful, is constantly sent mail telling her that she is revolting. Rachel is additionally seen as bitchy, which many powerful women, such as Hillary Clinton, are often appointed to. During this part, the documentary showed different excerpts, and one particular segment showed several men undermining Hillary Clinton and glorifying the perception of her “bitchyness.” Many awed in disagreement during the screening and I took it to ask a girl beside me what she thought. She said “I don’t agree with most of these opinions on women leaders. They (women) try to be inspirational, and all people get out of it is that they’re yelling with a high pitched voice. Maybe they should listen to the content and message instead of her looks and voice.” Sarah Palin is also brought in, as the other example of a woman leader, and is lauded as an older, good-looking, but ditzy woman.
Miss representation should hopefully be seen as a wake-up call for many women. This wake-up call should in some part show women that no one is perfect, and to inspire them to stand up and become leaders. Without someone standing up, this problem will only become worse. The underlying problem of being thin, being the right shape, and being beautiful is subjective, and women should not have to change themselves to feel like they belong. These same women that are shown what a woman should be in TV and movies are also constantly lied through advertising and told that they should look a certain way. This look that the woman wants is often put it so that they will continue to buy products and change themselves until that look is achieved. Instead of aspiring to be something great, a woman’s dreams are often cut short due to depression and lack of support. Hopefully, like mentioned above, many women see this film, or at least hear about it, and ask themselves if they want to be headed toward self-destruction, or the path of self-improvement. As one young girl was interviewed, she told the viewers of the struggles of her sister, and asked everyone, “When is it going to be enough?”
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