7 Infuriating Ways the Media Misrepresents Women ...

By Sabrina

7 Infuriating Ways the Media Misrepresents Women ...

The media isn’t always as helpful to issues of social justice as we would like; in fact, it’s sometimes the enemy in the war against sexism. The objectification and sexualization of women often result from the media depicting women poorly. Part of fighting sexism is being aware of all the ammunition being used against feminism, so check out these infuriating ways the media misrepresents women.

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1

We Don’t Exist

One of the most harmful ways the media misrepresents women is simply by under-representing women. Women are essentially invisible in film, making up only 23.6% of speaking roles. (Source: ew.com) When you think about it, it isn’t difficult to believe—movies targeting a female audience still have several complex male characters as love interests. But what do movies targeting a male audience have? Women waking up in bed, pouring a beer, or dancing on a pole for the main male character. And cars.

2

Welcome Back to 1950!

If you watch a movie with a board meeting scene of business people, lawyers, politicians, etc. you’ll see one, maybe two, women. I started noticing this trend recently, after learning that women make up only 14.6% of executive officers in the U.S. (Source: americanprogress.org) Before America ever elected a black president, several films featured black presidents, and the public’s view of black men in power began to shift. Why, then, doesn’t the media take a stance on sexism and depict 10 women in a board meeting and 2 men? Rather, women are seen more at home, running around a kitchen or chauffeuring their children to school. While there is nothing wrong with that, of course—stay at home mothers are extremely valuable in our society—it limits women by making it seem like they only have one option.

3

If You’re Not Sexy, You’re Not on Screen

Women in the media are constantly sexualized, as if their value comes from their bodies and what those bodies can do for men. This isn’t simply in film, but also on TV, in music videos, and video games. Female protagonists in action films generally wear tight or revealing clothing and lack as much characterization as male characters. This is detrimental to our society because young boys watching these films grow up thinking women are sexual objects without depth and complex emotions, as well as believing that women are the inferior sex.

4

Will the Perfect Woman Please Stand up?

Fact or fiction: Only one woman is beautiful, she has double D breasts, a 22-inch waist, a Kim Kardashian butt, and supermodel length legs. If you look in the mirror right now, odds are you won’t match that description, but you know you’re a gorgeous goddess with unparalleled beauty... so how can that be fact? Yet the media tries to convince us that the “ideal body” is more common than it is via photoshop, distorting a body image and destroying self-confidence.

5

White Washing

Just as the media claims that only one body type is beautiful, it assumes that only white women are beautiful, and therefore they are far better represented by the media than women of any other race. Look at the Disney princesses, for example: out of 11, only 4 are non-white. For our non-cartoon starlets, Beyonce for instance, we see skin-lightening techniques used on an already light-skinned woman when photos are edited for magazine covers. Additionally, women of African, Arab, Asian, and Latin American decent are often underrepresented in film. 74% of female characters are white, 11% black, 4% Latina, 3% Asian. (Source: indiewire.com)

Famous Quotes

Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech.

Plutarch
6

Breaking News: Women Are Underrepresented in Broadcasting, Too!

It’s not just scripted films and magazine covers that are biased toward men; TV news anchors are mostly men as well. CBS evening news had 95% male anchors, NBC 93% in 2014. ABC News and PBS: NewsHour, however, skew the national average being comprised of 58% women and 93% women anchors respectively. Still, overall women make up only 36.1% of newsroom workers seen on television, which perpetuates the stereotype that women are less informed about social and political issues than men. (Source: wmc.3cdn.net)

7

The Vanishing Act

The older women get, the less you see them in film. Women over 40 comprise only 30% of all female characters, whereas men over 40 account for 53% of all male characters. (Source: indiewire.com) This bias causes a vanishing act for women between ages 30 and 50-something, when they can hit the screen again, if they're lucky, and begin playing grandmother-types.

Overall, the media has hurt the feminist movement quite a bit in recent years, and it’s your job to change it. Support films directed by and starring women, be vocal about your anger toward the issue, let your voice be heard so that a change begins. What makes you angriest about misrepresented women in the media?

Feedback Junction

Where Thoughts and Opinions Converge

So true.

Sometimes women can't expect things to go their way you have to earn it.

1. A lot of women don't want or care about politics. 2. As pretty as Melissa McCarthy is she doesn't have a perfect body. 3. Jennifer Lopez and Oprah aren't white. 4. Most countries don't have kings or queens so the media tries to base them off real live places. 5. News anchors are at least half women if not more. 6. Cameron Diaz is 42. Jennifer Anniston is 46. Julia Roberts is 47. Angelina Jolie is 40

Lately I've been taking notice to how many woman vs men are in superior work positions. In my grocery store, saveonfoods, they have a board with all the managers names and a picture saying 'we care blah blah'... There are 10 pictures. Only 1 woman.

well said. Women are underrepresented indeed. Black women almost non existence Ongar other women who are not Caucasian. Share the future not only will there be more competitiveness nothing to be afraid of. I agree Shandon I watched jungle fever recently and hole Berry played a druggist. Now she was acting and she later it quite well and to be honest she made it look almost normal and almost acceptable. How strange. I would love to see a period drama with more black women with a love interest something different. I bet it would boost the ratings.

Tired of seeing black women portrayed as 1950's or drug addicted and winning Oscars for it. We've come along damn way to keep taking these roles. We as women ( not just of color) need our own production companies, hire women writers , directors!!!!

Good points, very well made!

4 is so completely true.

Sorry these mistakes r not deliberate it is the iPhone darn!

So true!!! With ref. to point no. 3 and 4 I would also like to add that media is one of the reasons today tat women are facing the problem of low self esteem and the lack of confidence with respect to their appearance ...

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