Femininity Free Essays

Images in the media today illustrate an unrealistic and even dangerous standard of ideal female beauty hat can have a powerful influence on the way women perceive themselves. The popular culture influences our ides of femininity to the extent that we hold high expectations of a women’s appearance. Society is driven to judge or neglect a woman if they don’t kick a certain way because they compare them to the unrealistic models seen on magazines, television, music videos, and so on. We will write a custom essay sample on Femininity or any similar topic only for you Order Now The media impacts the ideas of femininity to the extent that women are portrayed as sex objects who exist primarily to service men, or as weak individuals. To initiate, mass media is a powerful tool that is used to impact TTS audience in various ways. For instance, when I’m surfing the internet shopping for clothing in websites such as (Forever 21, Hollister, or H M,) the models I perceive are usually extremely thin. When I look at the model info the height of the model tends to be about 5’8†³ or taller and the waist is typically between 23 and 25. The models shown are always wearing a size extra-small or small, and they always appear very young and beautiful. They have perfect facial features and many times have colored eyes. They never display a model wearing anything bigger than a size small almost as if earring a size medium or anything bigger is unacceptable. The ideal expected body is also perceived in beauty pageants such as the Latin show â€Å"Muenster Bella Latin. † Beauty pageants like these push women to exercise a great deal and follow strict diets in order to meet the ideal weight. In one of the episodes that I watched a girl was eliminated simply because she was about two or three pounds over the expected weight. Common women are compared to these ideal models and society believes that in order for a woman to be sexy or attractive they must resemble these models. As a result, any women are disappointed with their bodies and are forced to exercise excessively, suffer anorexia or other eating disorders because they are obsessed with the idea of thinness. Not only are women disappointed with their bodies, but also fear aging and they are driven to various methods such as surgery or anti-aging creams in order to maintain a young appearance. In addition, advertising adds to the ideal image that is expected of woman. Advertising is a powerful force that surrounds us and influences us subconsciously on a daily basis. Advertisements use Photos and create artificial images of women, and women in real life attempt to measure themselves against those images. It gives women the idea that there’s only one way to look good and receive the attention they want or deserve. For example, bikini or lingerie advertisements always have extremely thin woman hinting that a thicker girl would not look good wearing that. Not only does advertising promote the ideal image of a woman, but it also influences the idea that women are just sex objects, and that they are the weaker sex. In many occasions advertisements utilize sex appeal by illustrating naked omen or men who are in control over a woman. In â€Å"Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt,† Jean Kilojoules asserts that â€Å"Male violence is subtly encouraged by ads that encourage men to be forceful and dominant, and to value sexual intimacy more than emotional intimacy’ (422). What Kilojoules states is that men believe sex is more significant and they forget the sentimental value. It is easier for men to identify women as an object because they justify their violent behavior, and if they perceive a woman as an object they overlook the fact that they have feelings and emotions. Moreover, music is another factor that influences ideas of femininity particularly in a negative way. The lyrics used by rappers constantly degrade women by referring to them as â€Å"pitches† and â€Å"host†. Women using their bodies and sexuality to get what they want are what make these words acceptable. In the passage â€Å"From Fly-Girls to Pitches and Host†, Joan Morgan writes â€Å"but many of the ways in which men exploit our images and sexuality in hip-hop is done with our permission and cooperation† (459). What Morgan states, is that females will be willing to expose their dies in a music video or allow rappers to degrade them simply to make money or get attention. There are countless songs that degrade women such as the song â€Å"Pitches anti chit but hoes and tricks. The name of the song is a phrase that is repeated multiple times throughout the song as if once were not enough. Tag, the artist of this song sings, â€Å"Got this bitchy named Tar, she let me buck her in the car, / Like Kim Sardinian she wane be star. † These lyrics suggest that women are good for sex, and deserve no respect. The worse part of the particular songs is that women listen to the m or dance to hem at clubs because they enjoy the beat of the songs, but they are not conscious of the demeaning lyrics. If women themselves listen to these songs it gives society the idea that they can refer to women in such a way. Due to the fact, because women are degraded in this manner, men believe that women are only good for sex and they fail to love them. Yet some readers may challenge my view by saying that popular culture has a minor influence on society’s ideas of femininity. It’s not so much the media but typical gender stereotypes that impact our ideas of femininity. Gender stereotyping begins t a young age, and little girls believe only girls should wear pink or only girls should play with Barbie’s. Many hold stereotypes that women should look a certain way in order to be identified as a woman. People hold stereotypes that women must be classy, and not trashy. Indeed, stereotyping plays a significant role, but as we grow older it’s not so much about the gender stereotypes but rather about what surrounds us on a daily basis that influences our ideas. Once you get older individuals can decide to ignore or put their gender stereotypes aside, but popular culture is something that Anton be ignored by any means. Popular culture is everywhere go, and without a doubt it’s the primary factor that impacts our ideas. Furthermore, there are various steps that the popular culture can take in order to improve the perceptions of women. For instance, beauty pageants should have models that are more like the average woman who are not extremely thin. Beau’ pageants should choose contestants based on their talents rather than their appearance. Advertisements should be appropriate, and not objectify women because they are human beings. They should eliminate advertisements where women are practically naked. In addition, they should not Photos the image of women in advertisements, but rather display the true image of the model. Women need to speak out about how degrading it is to be insulted in music by rappers, and the songs should be banned from the radio. Women should not agree to be degraded simply because they want to be in the music video of some popular rapper. Females must stand up for themselves in order to be treated with respect. In conclusion, even if We tried to ignore it the popular culture constantly influences our ideas of femininity. If the media was not so powerful society would have more realistic perceptions of femininity. Women should be valued for who they truly are because there’s so much more to femininity then just a physical appearance or sex objectification. Females are sensitive individuals who have feelings and emotions, and deserve to be respected. A woman should not be judged if she does not look a certain way because nobody is perfect, and we all have flaws. Females are not Barbie dolls with a perfect little waist or the ideal face, they are real life individuals. How to cite Femininity, Papers