Portrayal of Women in Media

Portrayal of Wowork force in MediaAre We Seeing Increased Sexualization of Wo hands in Media?Feminists argue that common media contri exclusivelyes to coerciveness and informal assault toward wo hands as seen by the controlling presence of fury against wowork force in all forms of media (Linz Malamuth, 1993). Adolescents wipe out been resorting to popular enjoyment for information about sex, drugs, alcohol and effect (Kaiser Family Foundation, 1999). Their preference for the oft than popular and accessible harmony paintings has provides them with much(prenominal) information. Analysis of Music Television (MTV) has manifestn that men appe bed nearly twice as very much as women and engaged in signifi elicittly more(prenominal) aggressive, dominant look and women were shown as engaging in more implicitly versed and subservient behavior. They were depicted to be ghost objects of explicit, implicit and aggressive advances by men (Sommers-Flanagan, Sommers-Flanagan, Davis, 1993). It is usual for women in these videos to be utilize as decorative objects, and only a few videos show men and women be treated equally (Vincent, Davis Boruszkowski, 1987). oneness think over of media and versedity revealed that exposure to MTV among college egg-producing(prenominal)s was the most force-outful predictor of familiar permissiveness (Strouse Buerkel-Rothfuss, 1987). Likewise, in video games, a more sexist orientation and g lashhic violence against women is getting prevalent. Overall, core in conglomerate media such(prenominal)(prenominal) as television, video games, medicament videos circulates that women be to be objectified, sexualized, dominated, assaulted and even killed (Bretthauer, Zimmerman Banning, 2006).Evolving Standards of Womens BeautyStandards of womens beauty keep on changing, with more recent threadbargons emphasizing proboscis proportions that ar non normally seen on everyday women. Cusumano Thompson (1997) studied st andards of womens beauty in magazines over a 20-year period. In Playboy magazine, the models were considered to symbolise the ideal female body shape. Bust and pelvic girdle measurements as well up as weights of the centerfolds were back awayn in the span of 20 years (1959-1978) and involve weight of the centerfolds was observed to be signify antly lower than the average female for the same snip period. Another observation is a decrease in the centerfolds bust and hip measurements as the heights of the models step-upd over the 20-year period. Consequently, an increase in the number of diet cheaticles was seen in a number of womens magazines also in the same time span (Cusumano Thompson, 1997). Along with this, there was also a signifi washbowlt increase in the aras of weight loss, beauty, seaworthiness and health. Fashion magazines contained more health and fitness articles than traditional magazines.In price of body measurements, Thompson and Tantleff (1992) lay out th at womens ideal breast size to be larger than their own current size. On top of that, womens and mens concept of the societal ideal breast size was found to be even larger than the womens ideal size. This implies that media whitethorn have promoted images fostering discrepancies between current and ideal perceptions of societal ideal sizes (Thompson Tantleff, 1992). issue MediaSex sells. That is something macrocosmness propagated by media. Hence in all kinds of media formats, images of tantalizing ladies showing much of their skin ar being presented together with products being sold in the belief that the product will be more saleable. Magazines, in particular, have signifi corporationtly increased the amount of sexual field of study not only in exhibiting sexualized womens images but also crack explicit sexual advice (Kim Ward, 2004). The message being conveyed by contemporary magazines with more a liberated nature is that sexually assertive women ar prized creatures an d if women in make request to be considered as such, they should follow the advice in the magazine articles.This is a time when the sexuality of childlike girls is being presented in an exploitative manner. Sexual spot and desire is highly promoted to them. In magazines like Cosmopolitan, though, womens sexual authority and aggressiveness are promoted within the confines of a relationship (Durham, 1996). What is wry is that there is a strong emphasis for women to be sexually dynamical to please men, but not overtly sexual, as they still take away to make men feel in control. They are expected to be sexually attractive to men in a way that promotes sexual desir skill, but should keep their own desire concealed as they adopt to be pursued and not to be the predator (Durham, 1996, 1998 Garner et al., 1998). These magazines, then, can be seen as part of a cultural apparatus that purports to assistance women to be heterosexually attractive, to be coy, alluring, sexy, and flirtat ious, in order to find true admire and to catch a man, and then to maintain his interest (Overall, 1999, p. 298).Mass medias dominant representation of women is that they exist for mens satisfaction of their sexual fantasies (Wood, 1994). Cleo and Cosmopolitan magazines encourage women to be as sexual as they can be, making them available to satisfy mens sexual fantasies and desires. Although being able to provide sexual satisfaction for men may be a source of pleasure and power for women, it also reflects that women are reliant on men for their own self-image and power (Ma raise Thornborrow, 2003). Thus, repeatedly reading articles on how to give pleasure to men may promote womens precarious sexuality (Farvid Braun, 2006).Sex is promoted as a way to keep a man interested in a woman enough to keep on in a relationship. Farvid Braun (2006) observe in Cleo and Cosmopolitan magazines that the ability of some women to provide enormous sex to men is essential in fulfilling not onl y mens sexual needs but womens relational needs as well. Cleo magazine advocates women to leave an movie where it counts in bed. These magazines project an image of men as potential cheaters and great sex can keep them from straying. That is why women are advocated to learn the art of sexual pleasing to keep their men faithful.Krassas, Blaukamp Wesselink (2001) conclude that womens magazines communicate a paradoxical perspective of female sexuality in that women are encouraged to shed their traditional roles and become more in helpless bit they are pressured to find and sexually satisfy a man. Womens bodies are considered commodities and their independence allows them to use such commodities to their advantage and to maximize their market mensurate (Goldman, Heath Smith, 1991). Krassas, Blaukamp Wesselink (2001) also note that Cosmopolitan magazine may be the first to recognize women as sexual, at the same time, they are earlier sexual objects whose desire is fulfilled by all owing themselves to be treated as commodities that are sexually available to men and designed to attract men.How Women are Depicted in AdvertisingErving Goffman (1979) has studied positioning of women in advertisements and reason that it mirrored their role in baseball club. Goffman identified the models survey to be important and suggested that women are usually sights to be gazed upon. How the woman is positioned in pictures have accorded meanings. Stereotypical poses such as the model gazing away from the camera and seem o drift off may be categorize as licensed withdrawal. Goffman describes a pattern in which women more practically than men are pictured as removed psychologically from the social situation at large, leaving them unoriented in it, and presumably, therefore, dependent on the protectiveness and goodwill of others (Goffman, 1979, p. 57). Gestures suggesting licensed withdrawal are covering the face, suction or biting fingers, averting ones head or eyes, shieldi ng oneself behind an object or person, and leaning for support against some other person. Contrarily, when the model gazes into the camera, it is an engaging gaze engaging the viewer with a seductive look (Frith, Cheng Shaw, 2004).Goffmans category of feminine touch most often depicts women lightly caressing an object sequence men are depicted as grasping or using an object. Women are envisioned as more likely touching themselves such as resting their fingertips on their chin or neck (Goffman, 1979). Conveying a conventionalized expression of sexual availability (Goffman, 1979, p. 41), women are often pictured reclining on a base or a bed, or canting a head or genu at an odd angle that can be read as an acceptance of subordination, an expression of ingratiation, submissiveness, and appeasement (1979, p. 46).Other observations of Goffman regarding pictures of women and men together implicate men positioned as bigger or higher in the fix than women. This communicates differen ces in social status and dependency of women on men. Also, men are often portrayed as performing a function whereas women are merely decorative (Goffman, 1979).Womens bodies have been utilize to sell several(prenominal) advertised products. Walsh-Childers (1996) observed that photos of women in advertising usually focused the proofreaders eye on womens body parts such as the breasts. Soley and Kurzbad (1986) also observed that more and more sexual cloy became manifest since the mid-1980s as female nudity and erotic content became commonplace in contemporary U.S. advertising. Ms. Magazine published advertisements that increasingly portrayed women as sex objects in its first 15 years of semipublication. subsequently it no longer ran such ads, Ms. Magazine upheld a position that explicitly embraced feminist orientation and spurned advertisements which were insulting to women. Ms. magazine established itself as an institutional prototype for the appropriate conduct of advertising t o women (Ferguson et al., 1990, p. 41). Still, with this supposed case law of championing for women in advertising, there persist ads depicting women as sex objects (Krassas, Blaukamp Wesselink, 2001). ethnic Differences in the Portrayal of Women in MediaWomen s depiction in media varies depending on their cultural background. Predominantly, women from horse opera cultures are depicted to be more sexually open and less inhibited in showing their bodies and being associated with more sexually-suggestive themes. Frith, Cheng Shaw (2004) contend that in western cultures, women have acquired rights to display their bodies in public without fear of retribution or condemnation. These women have also claimed their right to take pleasure in their bodies. However, in the Middle East and in umteen parts of Asia, women are expected to dress modestly and demurely (Cheng, 1997). word-painting women as classic beauty types with demure dress across cultures is overlap by Eastern and western cultures. When it comes to portraying women as sensual or sexy beauty types, though, a noticeable difference emerges. More often, such beauty type is used with western models suggesting that advertisers across cultures present western models as more sexually liberated than Asiatics (Frith, Cheng Shaw, 2004). The message conveyed is that western models are seen more as sex objects than Asian models.On the other hand, Asian models more likely portray the cute/girl-next-door beauty type (Maynard Taylor, 1999). One outcome of depicting women in such childish manner is change magnitude their standing in society as full-fledged adults, thereby raggedness them less than their male counterparts. Representations of women as strong, lord and independent individuals may be threatening to men, and since patriarchal ideology is mostly upholded in certain countries, advertisers repress such portrayal of women (Frith, Cheng Shaw, 2004).In terms of womens roles, in Sweden, they are ghostl y portrayed as professionals while in the US, they are used more as decorative elements. Biswas et al. (1992) reported that sex appeal was used more often in French advertising than in the US. Asian women are usually represented as actively working while US women are seen as relaxing at home. For example, Sengupta (1995) observed that in print advertisement, Japanese women were more likely to be shown as cooking, cleanup and doing other household chores (p. 329). However, in Japanese advertising, when women were portrayed in their professional roles, it is more often as entertainers or actresses (Cooper-Chen, 1995). Maynard Taylor (1999) also observed young Japanese models posed as cute or girlish (smiling and giggling), whereas Western models were posed with more serious expressions depicting a more difficult and independent image. This reflects discordant portrayals of women as they are seen in their culture. Swedish society may see women as capable professionals. American cul ture may view women as embellishments to lives made better by men. They may be the recipients of their mens compensation for hard work as they are shown enjoying life and occupy themselves in remaining beautiful. In Japan, women are seen as lower class citizens compared to men, and this shows in their advertisements. They are portrayed as domestic and dependent on their men as compared to American women who are portrayed to e more independent.A models gaze in ads communicates various messages to readers. Samovar, Porter Jain (2001) claim that intercultural communication researchers found that in Asian cultures, direct eye contact is considered aggressive and unfeminine. However, in cultures such as Singapore and Taiwan, women models tend to look directly at the camera. This may be credited to prevailing standards of appearing attractive or it may suggest photographic conventions led by womens liberation cause in Western industrialized countries to depict women as confident and ex pressing themselves with direct eye contact (Frith, Cheng Shaw, 2004).Hovland et al. (2005) conducted a study that found many Korean women experiencing dilemmas between the Westernized ideal images of women conveyed in womens magazines and their own expected traditional roles in their culture. Western values promoted such as competition, freedom, professionalism and individualism dispute traditional Korean values of harmony, obedience and collectivism. This shows how American magazines can be powerful in unsettling readers when they read articles that have ideologies that may not equalize with their own. It is interesting to note that American contemporary womens magazines such as Cosmopolitan magazines have such a wide reach that traverses various cultures and locations, so the ideologies they present may be interpreted in various ways. Contemporary American womens magazines use a limited setting of races of its models. These magazines target a market that is predominantly Cauc asian and may not expect to target other races. This may be viewed as ethnocentric (Hovland et al., 2005). Ironically, Asian womens magazines adopt Western images in their advertising. In both American and Asian magazines, the use of Black models is not too frequent and this may be indicative of the adoption of the Western emphasis on the predominance of a White or European beauty standard (Hovland et al., 2005).Increased Sexualization in Popular Modern Music GenresHeavy surface music, described as the overtly violent and sexually explicit segments of judder and roll music (Lynxwiler, 1988) earned the wrath of Parents Music Resource digest (PMRC) and targeted a media campaign against it (Gore, 1987). The organization portrayed heavy alloy music as dangerous to young minds because it emphasized the use of drugs, encouraged jejune sex, endorsed sexist/ pornographic values, instrumental in delivering occult messages and caused violent, lawless behavior (Markson, 1990). Such claims created much controversy that it received national attention when congressional hearings were held to determine if indeed heavy metal albums and other forms of popular music must be evaluated for their influence in proliferation of porn-rock in the United States (Gray, 1989). The hearings did not produce great changes however, more and more organizations concerned with child victims such as conservative parental, religious and feminist groups pushed for the regulation of heavy metal music (Bayles, 1994). Still others began their own uprising against rap music (Binder, 1993).Jones (1997) claims, that as a matter of definition, rap and hip-hop music are often used interchangeably. However, Powell (1991) defined hip-hop as the beat of the music and rap as the narrative representation, the talking over the beat. Hence, the use of explicit violence and sexual lyrics may be blamed down to rap. Powell (1991) described mercenary rap as hip hop or dance rap. loyal rap, or gangster rap is the one that raises much controversy.Researchers have suggested that hip hop and rap music, rooted in Black culture can be tools through which Black youth may negotiate their identities to heighten an authentic Black identity (Clay, 2003). They see the music as pensive of their lives and to assert that music relates to empowerment, cultural connection and positive identity information (Sullivan, 2003 Berry, 1994). Critics of hip hop and rap, however, have argued that Black youth may be very susceptible to the influences of hip hop role models who promise money, power and status to men who show disrespect for women (Squires, Kohn-Wood, Chavous Carter, 2006). Mahiri and Conners (2003) ethnographic study of African American middle school students manifested resistance in the blackball images emanating from rap and hiphop. This study suggested the use of rap and hiphop images related to social and sexual activity roles as a point of reference from which participants could verbally evaluate, compare and agate line their own beliefs and attitudes. Adolescents in the study of Squires, Kohn-Wood, Chavous Carter (2006) believed that certain women can be abominable and may choose to be abused, and that abusive men may be products of their environment. Still, they showed dissatisfaction with the representations of Black men and women in hip hop. Their criticisms revolved around womens individual behavior and style and how outsiders might stereotype Black men as thugs for emulating hiphop fashion. Such perceptions of gender roles based on hiphop seemed to extend to the participants evaluations of womens and mens responsibility and choices with regards to real world sexual onslaught and violence (Squires, Kohn-Wood, Chavous Carter, 2006)The problematic aspects of rap music is usually focused on its most acrimonious strain which is gangsta rap. Narratives in such strain are extremely troubling in their glamorization of violence,, materialism, misogyny and sexual guilt (Mahiri Conner, 2003). However, Dyson (1996) argued that the vulgarity expressed in gangsta rap are strongly connect to dominate cultural constructions of the other and market-driven strategies for rampant economic and human exploitation. Therefore, Dyson noted, the argument about gangsta rap should be situated in a much broader critique of how these narratives essentially mirror ancient stereotypes of Black identity and sexual proclivity through the societys circulation of brutal images of black men as sexual outlaws and black females as hos (1996, p. 178)