The media is an inescapable source of influence and information in our society.
Women can barely catch a break from highly sexualized images of other women that are supposed to represent what every woman should aspire to be.
The images of emaciated models strewn across fashion magazines and female celebrities being idolized or put down based on their beauty, weight, and relationship status sends a clear message: women’s empowerment and self-worth depends on their sexuality.
It could be argued that men recreate women in their own image through the media. Women working in news and film get cast in stereotypical gender roles that reinforce negative portrayals of women.
In film, women protagonists are usually cast as hopeless romantics in search of their prince charming. The ultimate goal for the woman is to win the man. In contrast, the male protagonist is cast as a strong, determined hero who has a mission and a goal that’s not dependent on women.
Usually the women in these films are side characters that ooze sex appeal and are included simply to gain more male viewers.
The men who dominate the film and media industry are the same men who own it. As a result of this, the stories we are told are coming from a male-centric point of view.
This all leads to a misrepresentation of women in the media that is destructive socially, mentally, and physically.