Representation Of Women Essay

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Miss Representation argues that women are misrepresented by the media, causing harmful consequences towards how women view themselves and how men view women. The title is a play on words, using Miss, pertaining to women but also as a whole, pertains to the misrepresentation of women in the media and its consequences. The media causes young girls to try and meet unrealistic expectations that is shown through TV shows and advertisements as well as emphasizing the importance of looks in order to succeed. The media’s effect is harmful and the falsification of women has negative impact on women’s physical and mental health, starting from a young age. The media’s misrepresentation also alienates and dehumanizes girls and women who don’t “look the way they’re supposed …show more content…
When the media portrays the women in politics, as the documentary points out, they focus on the looks of the women in political office rather than what they have achieved. They are judged more harshly by the media, which shows young girls, that it is what would happen if they join politics. For example, in the documentary,
Former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi talked about how one of the most common questions

Masanga 4 that the media asked her was regarding how she would balance her family life and her career.
This was something that men in her position would not be asked, she points out. It shows that the media has a double standard when it comes to how they portray men and women in positions of power and how women are usually degraded. Another example would be how the sexualized
Sarah Palin while she was running for Vice President and portrayed her as a person who is not smart, showing all the stereotypes of women. The media chose to focus on her looks rather than the content of what she is saying. They did the same thing to Hillary Clinton when she was running for Presidency the first time, choosing to refer to her in offensive words because of

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