Blog Post 6

I had already watched the documentary "Miss Representation" on Netflix at the recommendation of a friend, and I loved the positive message it spread. The objectification and manipulation women go through in the media is transforming this generation as we know it. Girls are taught from a young age that beauty is only skin deep and that they must fit certain qualifications to be considered beautiful. They are taught that their value lies in their attractiveness and in winning the approval of men. We might blame the women in the media for acting this way, but they are victims of this scrutiny as well. When beauty is the only thing seemingly worthy of attaining, girls forget about excelling in school or finding their true passions. The scene from Mean Girls, where Cady acts dumb to get a boy to like her, comes to mind. Mean Girls is a perfect example of how the media perpetuates this stereotype of women being too competitive and dramatic for their own good. We see them fighting and acting like "zoo animals" over petty issues. The majority of people know most girls don't act this way, but some might think it's realistic. With this over dramatization, there is also a lot of truth to how they act in the movie, like when each girls picks out her flaws in the mirror or when Regina's younger sister dances in front of the TV. Something that always comes up when talking about future plans, is how a woman will balance career and family. It's absolutely absurd that we have to think about this from such a young age, can you imagine men being asked the same question? Like the documentary describes, since women can't "have it all", we have to put labels on what they can have. Women are either objectified like we are just there for the pleasure of others or just there to reproduce. There is no in between. Remember John and Kate plus Eight? How about Octamom or 19 kids and Counting (I think they're 20 kids now, but I hope they're not still counting)? Often women are put in the media in relationship to men, they aren't given their own identities. There are some shows nowadays that challenge this, but the vast majority of women on TV talk only about men and their dealing with them. TV shows and movies featuring women as leaders are great, but often they are portrayed as "not like other girls," because they're intelligent or passionate or funny. Did I miss something? Because the women I know are all of the above.