Catherine Arneson Synthesis Essay Period 2 Women have been objectified to look, act, dress, and sound a certain way that social media thinks it acceptable. Through seeking celebration of difference, to break down stereotypes, and appeal for justice all come together to create Third Wave Feminism. With third wave feminism comes the opportunity to break through that wall of criticism and opinion and create the women you truly would like to be. Third wave feminism is a step forward because it breaks down the stereotypes and media portrayals of media. Women over time have been the subject of judgment, critic, and ridicule, having women’s bodies parts portrayed as objects and being objectified through advertisements creates the fight for equality for women that Jean Kilbourne has devoted most of her life trying to achieve.
Everyday girls are bombarded with advertisements telling them that they are not good enough. These commercials make girls believe they need take pills, diet, and have surgeries to “fix” them when there is nothing wrong. These commercials also paint an unrealistic and absurd image of women in men’s brains causing men to wait around for the supposedly perfect woman, when they do not exist. Being a girl, beauty industries affect me every day. Commercials on TV, magazines, or just walking through the mall, advertisements about make up or weight loss programs follow me wherever I go.
In our society many girls believe that image is everything and strive to become the ‘perfect size zero’. In this generation style is everywhere; magazines, popular clothing brands and t.v shows which all promote size zero models. Models are constantly blamed for setting a bad example for young girls when majority of the models are also feeling the pressure to be perfect by the media and modelling agencies who will not accept models who are not under a healthy weight of size 6/8/10 or above as it as commonly seen as ‘fat’ or ‘plus size’. Many models suffer from anorexia nervosa which is an eating disorder cause by people restricting their food intake because of fear of gaining weight. Those who are suffering from anorexia often view themselves at ‘too fat’ and overweight although majority of them are unhealthily underweight.
I argue that it can help us to understand why we regard some things as disgusting and repulsive. This analysis can be a useful tool for feminist theories of gender, sexuality, and embodiment. Representations of the monstrous-feminine, as conceptualized by Barbara Creed, illustrate the ways in which femininity is feared and abjected in contemporary society. As Jayne Ussher notes, this positioning of women’s bodies as abject has important implications for women’s lived experience (7). Thus, it is useful and necessary for feminists to understand the concepts of abjection and the monstrous-feminine, as well as how they intersect and relate to one another.
Conflict Perspective assumes that social behavior is best understood in term of tension between groups over power or the allocation of resources, including housing, money, access to services and political representation. (Schaefer, 2013).In this case, feminist would note how much pressure they have received from society. These days, movies casting for actress does not only require their acting experiences, but also based on their look. It is clear for us to see that most of our actresses in movies look quite pretty. It might be called entertainment standard to serve audience's pleasure.
What modern women want: a beta male Kate Mulvey’s October 7th opinionated article entitled ‘What modern women want: a beta male’ which appeared on The Times affirms that modern women can be both successful achievers and have the ‘loving beta male’ at the same time. Mulvey’s blunt and frank tone reflects on women of today’s society whose true personality and accomplishments are hidden in the fear of ‘scarring off’ their ideal suitor. Visual language is used in this article to express to readers the idea of being a modern woman. The article image literally shows a figure of a business woman carrying a suitcase who seems to be stepping forward with power and confidence. The intended meaning behind this bold figure symbolizes the successful ‘21st century woman’ who can ‘rise to the top’ with no need to conceal her achievements since she has a ‘clear agenda’ of finding a mate.
Magazines, advertisements and television create and promote stereotypical images of females. Females are represented as sex objects with nurturing, motherly instincts, only focused on beauty, house hold chores, politically and professionally inferior. Males are depicted as the bread winners, career orientated, professional, political and important. This is in stark contrast to the truths of reality, where women in both Australia and America are professionals, and do infact hold numerous powerful positions in the workforce. This shows the immense influence the media has over western cultures, and how this can influence popular understandings of females.
The fatale woman archetype has been used in films since the beginnings of the film industry. Mystery is the key word related to her, but we also know that she is dangerous, deadly and she brings no good. Yet she has an attractive power and men cannot stay away from her. The archetype has been interpreted and reinterpreted numerous times and it is interesting to observe how a writer or a director can play with this figure. For this analysis I have chosen Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct and I wanted to talk about the similarities and differences of the two, focusing on the powerful female character, the male protagonist and the female gaze.
Or perhaps it’s from the magazines that plague the checkout stands at the local supermarkets. 4 Week by week women are exposed to negative body images of themselves and others by means of media. They fall victim to thousands of half-naked women who have perfect bodies, flawless personalities, and beautiful faces; but while this image of perfection is very desirable, it’s extremely unattainable for most. As a result, younger women feel inadequate within society, and older women fear the effects of ageing. Body image is a person’s perception of his or her own physical appearance.1 A person with a poor body image will perceive his or her own body as being unattractive or even repulsive to others, while a person with a good body image will see him or herself as attractive as others, or will at least accept his or her current form.
In a Dolce and Gabana ad, a women is shown being put down by a male twice her size with three other men eagerly watching .This is degrading for women because it makes it harder for men to take them serious when the media has given them little value in society. It seems as if women’s role in the media is solely to show