Social Media Evaluation Essay

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In this evaluation I will be looking at how semiotics, ideology and visual signifiers all link in to both media as well as our society as a whole, and how that has supported me in my journey of creating a truly gender neutral/non biased product packaging that is suitable and appealing towards my target audience. I have looked at a multitude of examples in my research that have shed light on why society has so many constricting boundaries, and how I needed to approach these issues with an outcome that questions and breaks traditional ideologies to make space for a refreshing new perspective of how we see gender roles and body image through a compelling brand concept.

Social media has taken the world as we knew it by storm – it is now easier than ever to communicate to a large audience at the click of a button. Celebrities and public figures are at the centre of this multimedia universe; we can now see how those we look up to feel and think – and 23 year old fashion model Charli Howard is a recent example of how we can put social media to a positive use. Charli used her Facebook page to write an open letter aimed at her previous modelling agency that was open to the public eye.

Charli quotes:

“Here’s a big FUCK YOU to my (now ex) model agency, for saying that at 5”8 tall and a UK size 6-8 (naturally), I’m “too big” and “out of shape” to
…show more content…
For decades, we have been exposed to the media’s contorted ideals of perfection and it’s habit of female objectification, which Barbara L. Fredrickson writes about in her article “Objectification Theory Toward Understanding Women’s Lived Experiences And Mental Health Risks.” (Barbara L. Fredrickson and Tomi-Ann Roberts, 1997) Fredrickson explains that the effects of female objectification have dire consequences on women’s mental and physical health; women are being made to look and act a certain way – even if it harms them in the process. Fredrickson

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