Women in the Media

So this week we started to watch a video and discuss the ways that women are misrepresented in the media. How the ways they are represented is causing women to feel insecure and hate themselves. How it is causing men to look for the "ideal" woman, and not "real" women.

The thing is, that yes. The media does all of that. But people can't blame the media for the repercussions.

Now I'm not saying I'm an expert on this subject, but I know that pressure sucks. You look around and you see other girls that are skinnier, thicker, stronger, smaller, prettier, shorter, taller and a million more adjectives, than you. You look at yourself in the mirror in the morning and the thought comes to mind, "God, I'm disgusting." And when someone comes up to you and gives you a compliment, you either believe it or you don't, depending on your mood.... usually its the latter. Although this may be true for many girls out there, that doesn't mean it is all the media's fault.

Ask any girl you know if she thinks she is pretty, and the answers may vary. Ask a girl if she has anything she would change about her appearance, there is probably something. Ask a boy these same questions (not pretty... handsome?) and it would probably have the same results. It isn't just girls that have these pressures to look good. It's true that it is more common for people to see it when a male is disrespectful towards a female than it is for a female to be disrespectful to a male, or even a female against another female. So yes, it may be true that a lot of guys out there are hoping for the "ideal" woman; the one with the big butt, amazing curves, pretty face, and great boobs to match. Honestly though, there are about the same amount of girls who have an idea in their mind of what the "ideal" guy is for them. Everyone's opinion might be different, but you're not going to be physically attracted to every person you meet.

Yes, the media definitely has amplified these thoughts and beliefs. But us humans look for what we want to see. You want to believe it's all the media's fault, so you see how the media displays it. The reality TV shows that show girls with all the same body type, the model shows that display them all as whiney and dramatic, and even the abundance of commercials that simply advertise their food by showing a hot girl seductively eating a giant sandwich. But all of these things happen because people like it, if they didn't, it wouldn't happen as often as it does. Boys like cat fights, and girls like watching drama unfold when they aren't a part of it.

People can't blame other things for their problems though. Yeah, there's a lot of pressure. Yeah, there is a lot of comparing. But if you don't let it get to you, then there would be none of that anyway. I'm not saying that people bring it upon themselves to feel a certain way day after day; I have fallen for these things many times. But I also know plenty of girls who function quite well, despite the fact everyone assumes every girl hates the way they look. Women may be misrepresented in the media, but if that's true so are a lot of other things, and that doesn't mean that every girl is like that. Or that every guy is like that. Or even that every sandwich looks like the way they do in the commercials. The media over exaggerates; that much is obvious. The reasons people are bullied or feel insecure include a lot more than just the media.(631)