I need to know more about how women are being portrait in the media. In order to discuss my subject I need to know how this is making the women feel and react. This subject concern the events of today since the media is bigger than it was before and women are the ones more affected by the stereotypes. Social media and tv plays a big role in how the women are being treated and hoe they look at themselves. In my project I would need to discuss more about how women are view through the years.
Over the years the media has changed helping people stay connected and informed but there’s other problems that come with it. One of the problems is that it makes people insecure for example women are always portrait as sexual objects. The women that are shown in the media always look good making the other women watching it feel insecure about themselves. They believe that a women should always look perfect.
Disidentify means not identify with something. For example, I’m Vietnamese and Chinese, and I was born and raised in Vietnam, both of my parents are mixed. When I was living there a few years ago, many people would disidentify or not consider that I’m Vietnamese just because I’m half Chinese. I remember going to school, and my friends always asked if I’m Vietnamese. If I tell them I was mixed, I will get bully.
In this blog post, I have interview grandmother born in 1950 and have lived through 1970. I remember she tells how difficult it was for women to live during the time that they did not have equal wages as men and were being stereotyped and unable to do many things. She mentions the social movement back in Vietnam when women go on the street and protest for their rights as well as having the right to vote, equal pay as men. Listening to her story made me feel sad about how the world operates in a way that people classify each other based on gender, race, and social status.
Cumberledge, Heather. “The Representation of Women in Media Needs to Change.” The Arizona State Press, 19 Oct. 2017, www.statepress.com/article/2017/10/the-representation-of-women-in-media-needs-to-change#.
This article is about gender representation in the media and how it makes people create assumptions about women like them being weaker than men and always having to do domestic roles. This article relates to my topic because it explains one of the effects that women representation in media has. This article offers reasons why the audiences should be shown a different part of the women like how strong and brave they are.
Aloisi, Fabiana. “Women and Social Media: Does Facebook Influence Perceptions of the Female Body?” Family And Media, 29 Nov. 2017, www.familyandmedia.eu/en/media-education/women-and-social-media-does-facebook-influence-perceptions-of-the-female-body/.
This article is about a study that was conducted with young girls about how social media affects the way they see themselves. This article relates to my topic because it would back up my point about social media making young girls insecure of their body image. This article provides good reasons as to why the stereotypes should change.
R, Sasha. “Feminist Media: Why We Need More Women Taking the Lead on-Screen.” YourStory.com, 27 July 2019, yourstory.com/herstory/2019/07/feminist-media-women-representation.
This article is about how womens should be represented in a more positive way because young girls need more role models. This article is relevant to my topic because it shows that women and men are not represented in the same way. It offers very good points on why women should have a positive image in the media.
“Social Media Is Distorting the Representation of Women in Africa. Here’s What Can Be Done about It.” Nieman Lab, www.niemanlab.org/2019/08/social-media-is-distorting-the-representation-of-women-in-africa-heres-what-can-be-done-about-it/.
This article talks about media in African and how as there is more technology women are still seen as sex objects. This article is relevant to my topic because it would help me discuss one of the ways the image of women in the media could be changed.
Hogue, Jacqueline V, and Jennifer S Mills. “The Effects of Active Social Media Engagement with Peers on Body Image in Young Women.” Body Image, vol. 28, 2019, pp. 1–5.
In this article an experiment was conducted to see how women and men interact with social media to understand how it affects the women’s body image. This article is relevant to my topic because it shows a relationship between the media and how women look at their bodies.
Thesis Statement: This project intends on educating others on the history of violence against women, the sexually charged cultural challenges women endure, as well as the modern-day image of femininity.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://www.academia.edu/3111028/Violence_against_women_global_scope_and_magnitude : This source is reliable because it is a well-cited peer-reviewed journal article and it is found on an academic website. This journal article discusses the various forms of violence women have faced over the years. Compared to other articles, this journal analyzes such violence on a global scale and discusses how many times violent events go unreported due to its sensitive nature. This relates to my project because I will expound on historical forms of violence against women.
https://www.academia.edu/7962973/Sexual_Violence_in_the_Lives_of_African_American_Women : This source is reliable because like the one above, it is a peer-reviewed journal article found on an academic website. This article discusses historical instances of violence against African women during slavery. The article goes on to mention how raping these women became a way of life and when being sold they would be stripped naked. The more “voluptuous” a women’s figure was the more likely she would get bought to have many children, who would then get sold and worked on other plantations. This relates to my project because I will be discussing ways in which violence was used to control women.
This article is credible because it is a good source for academic research and statistical data. This work summarizes how society views men and women and how these views contribute to what is expected for men and women. A survey compiled reveals that society values leadership and financial success in men but values beauty and empathy in women. This relates to my project because I want to discuss the results of societal pressures on women (poor body image, underestimating their capabilities, and body modifications).
https://www.history.com/news/comfort-women-japan-military-brothels-korea : This article is credible because it is a well-published company that specializes in documenting and reporting history, hence the name of the website. This article discusses the use of women as sex slaves during World War 2. Women were kidnapped from all across Asia and used merely for pleasure by the Japanese military. These war crimes have had rippling effects in modern times. This relates to my project because it has great historical significance and can support the claims I have made about the many atrocities endured by women since the beginning.
This article is a credible one because it is a well-published news company. This article discusses the Harvey Weinstein trials and discusses how he used his status in the entertainment industry to sexually assault and rape women. (Unequal power relations). This article will be much-needed support for discussing modern events of violence against women.
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20150624-when-fashion-kills : This article is credible because it is coming from a knowledgeable news network. The article discusses the various trends in fashion that women wore over the years to achieve far-reaching beauty standards. Such fashion items include corsets, high heels, and traditional Chinese foot bindings that broke women’s feet and bound the toes to the heels to keep feet small. Women who had their feet bound could not walk, were constantly in extreme pain, and the chance of losing toes were high.
In an ‘ideal world’ in which feminism and anti-racist activism has succeeded, hopefully most of the population would have a better mindset. Societies would instill better ideals, beliefs, and values. Women could assert that their role in life is not limited to motherhood or being a care-taker. A woman’s value would not be based on living up to the standard of being a “perfect” wife and/or mother. Instead of being pressured to get married off young and have children, girls could explore their passions. Women and minorities would take on more leadership positions at jobs and get significantly better pay. Using women for sex, cheating on women, and abusing women (physically and emotionally) would become less glamorized in pop culture. These actions would not be seen as tokens of manhood. Also, the words of a woman would also be taken more earnestly. For example, women’s concerns about their health would be taken more seriously within the field of healthcare. Doctors would not dismiss them as being overly-dramatic or ‘crazy’.
Within this ‘ideal world’ my lifestyle would be slightly different. From a young age, girls are taught to always keep their ‘guard up’ and stay alert around men they do not know from the fear of being attacked. As a petite woman, I would not have to be in a constant state of anxiety when commuting to/from work and/or school. Also, during warm seasons, I could wear more ‘revealing’ clothing such as shorts and dresses without being sexually harassed and catcalled by strangers on the street. When scrolling through social media pages, I would not have to see so many derogatory posts and comments about women-especially black women. When entering a beauty supply store, I would not be followed around while browsing because its assumed based on my skin complexion that I am a thief. The state of my life would be much more peaceful.
One definition of feminism according to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary is “organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests”. I agree with this definition more than the definition of having equality for both sexes. I do not believe that ‘equality’ is truly attainable for everyone depending on their life situation. Also, women and men may not always share the same concerns, as they experience life differently.
Feminism begins with changing the way women are viewed by majority of societies. The traditional narrative of a woman only existing to act as a mother and care-taker places limits on her abilities. When a woman is viewed in this way, patriarchal societies have the attitude that it is not necessary for a woman to have certain rights, because she will never fill a dominant role. Her fate will be contributing to motherly duties. This gives to the notion that a woman does not possess important ideas or opinions that will benefit society. It is difficult to change this perception of women in certain societies based on culture, religion, etc. Aside from this traditional narrative, feminism should focus on the experiences and oppression faced by women of all backgrounds. One of the issues it should tackle is ensuring paid maternity leave for women in the workforce. Another issue it should tackle as brought up by Rebecca Solnit is the seriousness of assaults such as rape, domestic violence, and sexual harassment. If I had a feminist project, I would create a program that empowers and serves as a safe space for teenage girls. They would be guided on personal topics such as how they should be treated in a relationship, sexual health, etc.
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