Media suggests that women should be portrayed as objects of beauty, leisure, sex and nurture. In my opinion it is apparent that media shapes society and gives woman unrealistic goals for what they feel they should look like. This in turn, ruins their self-worth and self-esteem. Some experts say that media mirrors culture, while others say the media shapes culture (Luttrell). I strongly believe that advertising dehumanizes woman, destroys self-esteem and distorts the view of woman in society. First of all, the way ads portray women is very dangerous. It’s not only dangerous to women, but it’s also dangerous to all of society. Women in ads are seen as flawless and perfectly beautiful. The only problem is, this beauty cannot be achieved. …show more content…
Young girls and women are being objectified and sexualized at younger ages now more than ever. The idea that young women have to look a certain way, act passively, and be super thin is leading to major health problems. Eating disorders and low self-esteem stem from these insane pressures to achieve the perfect look. A look that is flawless and sexy at all times, these girls who try so hard to achieve this perfect look and body are bound to fail. The epidemic of the much-desired thigh gap and the race to thinness is even being improved by photoshop. This desire to be thin flames the fire and adds to the eating disorder epidemic in our country. According to eating disorders statistics estimated by the National Eating Disorder Association, in the United States of America up to thirty million people suffer from an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder. (Farrar) Anorexia is growing rampant, an estimated one out of four percent of women have had bulimia nervosa at some point in their life time. (Farrar) It has become an epidemic and it has been found that suicide rates are linked to this disorder. Body shaming and fat bullying pressure young girls to eat less and look at themselves as too fat. This is a problem that can be fixed and yet it has gotten worse. Ninety-one percent of women who were …show more content…
Over the course of the history of TV advertising, women have been defined in very narrow roles. When I started in TV advertising, people were so dismissive about women. That was partly indicative of the problem – women were firmly placed in the domestic sphere, talking animatedly about cleaning and housework. Of course, you also had the female sex object. Women are also often shown as the family nurturer, which is something that men weren’t allowed to be either. This is a problem for both genders. There have been some real strides in that recently, where advertisements show men in a much more nurturing rule.” (Leonie). It is my belief that we have made some progress in the area of advertising. However, we have a long way to go! Women need to be portrayed as capable and strong. They do not need to be demeaned in any