induction task (Aaliyah)
How is the female gender represented in the media?
In music videos:
In today’s society, both men and women are standing up for women. Big names in the celebrity world are putting their foot down to the female stereotype that women are only for show or they are only good for being housewives.
In various ways, female power is broadcasted globally. In the music video ‘Power’ sang by Little Mix and Stormzy, there is a scene where women are working in the barber shop, which is usually where men work. This represents the idea that women can do a man’s job and it’s not all about men, balancing the equality between the two genders. When linking this to stereotypes, in the 19C, people believed that a woman should stick to a woman’s job because their abilities are limited due to their feminism.
In 2017 when the song was released, Stormzy rapped the lines “You look him in the eye and say ‘I know I’m not a guy but see there’s power in my losses and there’s power in my wins.’” Here, he has shown that he notices the power that women have, whether it’s in their wins or losses. He is saying that a woman can also have power regardless. Further on in the verse, he states “You can be a woman and a boss and wear the trousers at the same time.” This interprets the positive stereotype that women can multitask as he mentions “at the same time”. Normally, you could hear that from mothers to their child when they say “you can wash and dry the dishes at the same time.” In that sense, it’s also women that try to keep that stereotype of multitasking as they always do it and they even say “I can multitask,” which can indicate the women throwing shade at the males.
Moreover, the mothers’ of the Little Mix members appear which can represent the idea that a person’s strength is their mother and they don't need a man to provide for them. They also indicate that mother's also have power even if they have newborn children and that they don't have limitations to be successful.
In social media, influencers such as Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian show off their bodies and it really effects young women because originally, body size and shape didn’t matter to them but now, women feel like they have to have a curvaceous body with a slim waist and a thick build because of how people like Kylie Jenner looks. Women also go under the knife and alter their appearances just to look like celebrities.
I think men could also be a contribution as to why women want to change themselves because in the comment sections, both genders are always praising how these curvy celebrities look. On popular social media sites, women are often sexualised by men as there are posts with how males want their women to be. For example, when it comes to clothing - if they wear a certain thing or look a certain way, they could easily win their hearts. They often talk about their physical features rather than their personality which can push women to change their looks. Also, the way men talk about women on social media can cause them to do workouts, buy branded things that they don’t necessarily need, wear fitted clothing. It can cause women to have insecurities because they then worry about what men think if they don’t look a particular way.
In relation to the 50’s, the main thing that mattered when it came to being wife material, was if they could be a housewife and a sex object. Men continue on with that stereotype in a way that if they are rich and they are at a casino or something like that, they make sure they have a stunning woman just to show off and the whole idea of “better to be seen and not heard” was not just for children. In fact, men wanted it for the women because the personality was not what going to boost up their rich lifestyle – rather it was how they looked.
From the pictures above, you can see Kylie Jenner in 2011 and 2020. Here you can see how the expectations of how a woman should look has changed. Jenner at the time was around thirteen years old in the 2011 shot. Here, she is simply displaying the simple physique. At the time, she wasn't heavy on the make up or the curves and she definitely didn't use any visible plastic surgery. in contrast to this though, the 2020 photo of Kylie who was roughly aged twenty-three is now presenting the modern look for women now. She has a lot more curves on show, she has her lip fillers and she has gone heavy with the makeup.
In the gaming industry
When it comes down to gaming, gender still has that stereotypical behaviour. Episode as an example, has thousands of stories either written by users or created by the actual creators of the app. In particular episodes like mafia or education related, men are always created as the love interest or the villain who has a sad backstory and hence the reason they act all emotionless and bad. In some of the mafia related stories, the males are called very dehumanising names like "monster" and "beast" because of how they live. they are also ones to murder without remorse or sympathy or they act really aggressive and heartless toward people even their own love interest. Furthermore, women are still sexualised and the males are treating the females like objects. They tend to go to a girl when they're struggling to get over someone they can't have or when they've had a drink or even done something terrible.
This stereotype is seen in movies and in real life. A boy with a sad backstory tends to be the bad boy or the careless one, and is called all sorts. He is also kind of feared by people that take a first glance at him. Over the years though, the gaming industry have changed the stereotype more so that it fits today's image. Now, female characters are the bosses and CEO's of huge enterprises and they're also using the male characters as either a distraction or because they are drunk. This completely changes that typical act of the males and it's become a lot more balanced, where the female characters also get to be the ones to lead an entire mafia empire and they can do whatever they like.
Comments
Post a Comment