Women In The Media

Social construction of gender believes that gender roles are constructed and are not things that naturally occur, the difference between the way a male and female behave in today's society, such as young girls playing with Barbie dolls, is not natural according to social construct, but rather it is the way we are expected to behave as female or male in society. So if gender is socially constructed, this means the media representations of gender have a massive impact on society's view of male and female, and what is expected of them. Women are often represented in domestic situations. They are often seen playing the role of a hardworking housewife or a nurturing mother. If they are not shown as being domestic they are shown as being promiscuous women and often are represented as sex symbols. These two representations are the most common amongst the way women are portrayed by the media. These images of women being sex objects or domestic housewives have existed for a very long time, although women now are more or less equal to men , these representations of women still remain the same.

However there is one area of the media that has changed over time. It is the film and television industry, more often we are seeing women play the lead role and are shown in positions of high authority and power. Films such as GI Jane and Lara Croft Tomb Raider represent women as being tough and powerful. Prior to the release of such films involving a female lead, women played passive roles with very little involvement with the narrative. They often were there just "To be looked at", as Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze argues. Although women are now seen playing powerful women, this concept of the male gaze remains. In The Tomb Raider, Angelina Jolie plays a fierce and independent archaeologist, however she is still being shown as a sex object at the same time, as camera shots can reveal, many of the camera angles focus on the legs, breasts and bottom, this can once again be linked to Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze. Rather than redefining femininity, such characters like, "Lara Croft", only demonstrate feminine masculinity. The advertising industry often represents women as being sex objects; they are shown as being flawless and always looking beautiful and skinny. Adverts such as, "Paco Rabanne Lady Million" and "Diesel Loverdose" Both show women as being sex objects and are show as being very skinny and look almost flawless. This can be damaging to women as they may feel like they have to live up to this image of having a model like figure and lovely skin, such high expectations lead to women suffering from anorexia and most women would probably say that they are unhappy with their image. The media's representation of women in advertising is a false image of what everyday women look like, this can be damaging to women in today's society.

Although women are being represented by the media in a degrading way, we see still see many famous and powerful women starting to emerge amongst the media industry such as "Michelle Obama", who was ranked the 8th most powerful woman in the world, by "Forbes" magazine. She presents women in a way that balances women out as being powerful and work orientated as well as being a family woman, this gives the impression of a well rounded woman, she is seen as a role model to women around the world. Her presence in the media may be significant, as she portrays women in a way that subverts stereotypes of women being sex objects, although traditional domestic stereotypes still remain, they are much more subtle than they would have been before. Whilst women aspire to be like her and follow in her footsteps, men on the other hand may view this as a negative change within societies view s about a woman's role. They may feel like they are being challenged by the opposite gender for power and dominance. The rising number of powerful women such as "Oprah Winfrey", "Hillary Clinton" and even "Beyonce Knowles", may lead to a change in the way gender is constructed by society. The music industry is one of the most powerful sources of media, where women are being mainly represented as sex symbols. One Example would be "Katy Perry", a well known singer who is widely recognised for her sex appeal and wild party lifestyle. In her Music video, "California Girls", we see Katy Perry dressed in very revealing clothing and in some scenes she is fully exposed, this once again highlights the idea of women being portrayed as sex objects and brings in Laura Mulvey's idea of "the male gaze", we also see in the music video that Katy Perry places the character of a game piece on a game board, which "Snoop Dogg" is in control of, this could imply that men are being shown as being dominant and that women are just passive, we can once again relate this to Laura Mulvey's theory in which she speaks of women always being represented as passive rather than the one in control. This concept can also be linked to the idea of a patriarchal society. Further on in the video we here Perry singing lyrics such as, "Sun kissed skin it melts your popsicle", the lyrics of the song are very sexual, therefore representing women as sex objects. Katy Perry is seen featuring on the cover of Cosmopolitan, the taglines on the cover read "125 sex moves", "The Hot Issue", we see intertextuality taking place between Katy Perry's image of being sexy and promiscuous and the taglines featured in this edition of the magazine. Once again we see the media representing women as sex objects.

On the other hand we have singers such as Adele. Adele's image conforms from the idea of women being seen as sex symbols. She is neither skinny nor is she represented as being flawless. This is a very positive image that is being portrayed as an everyday average woman in today's society may feel like she is able to relate to Adele, she represents women in a more realistic prospective; women no longer feel the need to look skinnier or completely flawless. They may feel like they can be real women, rather than conform to the image of women that the media is portraying, which is inevitably unreachable as almost every image of women featured in magazines has been edited and resized to show a near perfect image of a man's ideal woman. This means that the concept of a "perfect woman" does not actually exist. The introduction of Adele to the music industry highlights this point and may make women feel comfortable with themselves.

Overall most media representations of women are based around the idea of a patriarchal society. Women are shown as being passive and are presented as sex objects. If they are not represented as sex objects, then they are represented with the use of traditional views of women, and are portrayed as being domestic. However the rise in the number of powerful women being represented is leading to women breaking out of this stereotypical image of women that has been set by the media. This could in the future lead to society rethinking about gender construction, and the role women play within our society.