Since I have been very interested in the portrayal of women in the media since I started this class, I will continue on the same theme for this entry of my blog.
In the media, women are required to be an image of ideal beauty. They are supposed to be role models for young women across the United States, and show everyone else what Americans see as beautiful and what is not. Women are to be flawless and graceful at all times, and to never be seen in a state where their hair is a mess, and they are not wearing any make up. Women must also be thin. If they are naturally thick, then they must control and manipulate their bodies and eating habits to achieve the desired look. In my last post, I had mentioned the difference between how women were portrayed in the 18th century compared to how they are supposed to look now. Back then, women were glorified if they had some fat to their bodies because it meant that they were wealthy and could afford to eat more than what was necessary for survival. If you were skinny, it meant that you couldn’t afford to eat enough. Now days, the women who are looked up to by girls all across the United States are those who do not look healthy at all. Beach stated in his book: “these representations have resulted in adolescent females engaging in unhealthy eating habits, anorexia, and bulimia, with long term negative effects on their bodies” (pg.48).
In the world of sociology, the concept of how women are portrayed in the media is on the forefront of research. In one particular article, written by Jo Ann M. Buysse and Melissa Sheridan Embser-Herbert, they discuss women athletes, and how no matter how strong, or how well they excel in their sport, they are always women first. On the other hand, in men’s athletics, the sports stars are seen for what they do, not who they are. Buysse and Embser-Herbert wrote: “the reality of women athletes as strong, skilled, competent competitors is masked by media representations that depict them as good enough to compete against other women but never as good as the top men in the same sport” (pg.68). In sociology, researchers are concerned as to how popular media is affecting young women in regards to how they are portrayed. The message that the sociology discipline seems to be conveying from my limited research is that the medial portrayal of women has a general negative effect. While there are some aspects of the media that condones this kind of behavior, most of the media continues to advertise with the “ideal beauty.” They let everyone who participates in this specific media what is acceptable and what is not.
Constructions of Gender in Sport: An Analysis of Intercollegiate Media Guide Cover Photographs by Jo Ann M. Buysse and Melissa Sheridan Embser-Herbert, Gender and Society, Vol. 18, No. 1 (Feb., 2004), pp. 66-81
Minnesota, home of two seasons!
11 years ago
1 comment:
Kate I'm glad you talked about this. AAAAARRRRRRGGGG doesn't it make you mad! You wanna know who decided this stuff for us? MEN! I don't actually know that but it seems logical, sorry guys. It makes you wonder when and how things changed when you look historically at how women have been portrayed and what has been viewed as beautiful. What I don't get is that women (not all obviously) seem to go along with it! Okay, I'll starve myself, workout until I drop! What the hell! Do you think it would be possible to change, manipulate, alter the way women are portrayed if we all banned together to say absolutely not...we're all going out for cheeseburgers now?? I wonder. Sadly though, I think men are objectified this way too at times, not all the time, but think of how men are portrayed in media too. You need to be fit, strong, manly whatever. I think we talked about this in our chat too and Patrick chimed in. Anyhow, I do wonder if there is an eventual way to get the way people are portrayed in media changed. We would have to change the minds of so many people out there as to what is attractive..since we know people don't make their minds up themselves about this issue. We are all told what to wear, how to act, what's acceptable, etc. Good question, who decides this stuff? And how do I get that job? I think it's interesting the point you make about female athletes. It's always she's a woman first, then a decent athlete. Whereas with men, it's look what an awesome football player he is, then..well of course he's a man. When I was in high school there was one girl that played on the football team after a lot of negotiation you could imagine. She finally got to play and no one knew she was a girl when she put her uniform, pads and helmet on. It was always awesome to see her take off her helmet and let her hair down after playing really well and seeing the crowd and other team freak out. That's right guys, she's a girl. Still, it always seemed to change the game then. Well..this happened because of...no no...she played a great game and you know it! I think you made some really interesting points here Kate.
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