Representation is based on stereotypes. Stereotypes are usually simplified and often an exaggerated representation of a character and also an over generalized belief about a particular category of people. In this case, the specific group that I am going to represent within my project would be women and girls of the ages 14-30. For as long as people can remember, women have always been portrayed as the “weaker” sex and also portrayed as dumb, non athletic, dramatic, only skinny, loves pink, considered objects and more. Let’s start with personality traits, domestic behaviors, occupations, and appearance. Woman’s personality traits are expected to be emotional and accommodating, their domestic behavior is expected for them to take care of the children, cook, and clean the house, many people are quick to assume that women’s occupation should be teachers and nurses, and lastly, for appearance, women are expected to be thin and short. As you can see, not only do people expect women to be this way, but the media world does as well.
To begin, one example within the media of how this group is represented would be the film mean girls. Although the movie mostly states the stereotypes of a high school life and the high school kids, it also shows us many stereotypes that “represent” women. For example, in Mean Girls, everyone is categorized into a group, and the most popular group (which are the mean girls) are known as the “Plastics.” This group’s name is a reference to a plastic Barbie Doll and these girls are mostly popular for their fit bodies, fancy clothes, their luxurious lifestyle, and their luscious hair, and most importantly fake, just like all Barbie Dolls. This film just goes to show that the Plastics, along with all the other girls are judged and criticized primarily on their looks. This happens a lot with women in real life. For example, most people seem to believe that if women are not skinny, then they are not beautiful. Also, the “Plastics” are shown as non-athletic and that only the men can play sports. For instance, as many of the students are in their P.E class, the film shows one of the girls on the phone walking around, one of the girls attempting to catch a ball but cant, and lastly one of the girls being carried by all the guys until she reaches the football field. While nowadays people are less likely to stereotype in their advertising, there are still many ways to go when it comes to the representation of women on screen and on print. With this being said, another example within the media of how this group is represented would be in Magazines. One specific Magazine that does this would be GQ. If you were to search up on google, “The GQ Women” you would see many women on the front cover of magazines half naked, and wearing minimal clothing. This shows the world that women can only be considered sexy and confident if they “show some skin.” When it comes to Magazines, men get cars, sports, watches and abs. Women get makeup, gossip, fashion, and weight loss. Both are getting fashion in various degrees but women get “feminine” magazines and men get “masculine” magazines. For example, the colors red, pink, and white dominate the covers of women’s magazines with more fancy fonts and represents femininity. Meanwhile, darker colors like black, blue, and grey dominate the covers of men’s magazines with bolder and harsher fonts to assert a tone of a dominance design.
Furthermore, I feel that these representations of women are very unfair. Although some women are represented this way, many other women are not. For example, women are intelligent, independent, they value work-life balance, empathetic, nurturing, great multitasks, athletic, and more. This is not considered fair because if media outlets continue to portray women as dumb, non athletic, dramatic, only skinny, loves pink, considered objects and more then many people will continue to treat women the way they are treated now and see them as the weaker sex. As a woman, I can say that these stereotypes are mainly incorrect. Back then, you used to see movies about princesses like Cinderella that depend on a man to save their life and make their life better, but now you see movies like Legally Blonde, where they don’t need a man for them to live “happily ever after.” Honestly, without women, humanity would lose its natural balance.
Finally, the representation characteristic that I would retain is that women are emotional and dramatic. Although there are many women who are strong and show no emotion, there are also women who tend to show way too much emotion. Honestly, I am not even gonna lie, lots of girls are more dramatic, emotional, and sensitive than guys are, and all you women reading this know that it’s true. We can’t help it, it’s just the way we are and the way we perceive things. Think of it like this, who is more likely to cry during a sad movie… girls. Who is more likely to get butt hurt about what others say about them….. Girls. Who is more likely the drama queen….. GIRLS! Now, guys can cry, get butt hurt, and be drama queens as well, but you mostly see it in girls first and that is why they are portrayed as dramatic and emotional. A stereotype that I would challenge is the appearance of women. I am a believer that no matter what size, shape, or form women are, they are always considered beautiful, and I would challenge this stereotype because women do NOT have to be thin in order to be beautiful. Don’t get me wrong, some women are obsessed about things like that, but the majority of women are learning to embrace and love how they look and feel in their own body. This stereotype of women having to be thin could drive them to do things like stop eating, working out like crazy, and getting surgery, but by breaking this stereotype, I would be showing women that no matter what they look like, they will always be accepted and loved. Overall, many stereotypes can be misleading, but they can also be true. Either way, media has been and always will develop stereotypes about different groups.
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