Since the early 1800’s women have struggled and strived to obtain equal rights of the average man. It was not up until 1920 when women were even granted the right to vote and it was not until 1981 when the United States finally appointed a woman Supreme Justice (Weinbaum). It has been a long and tedious process to acquire equal rights for women and fairness in politics. After over two centuries, women have almost completely overcome the gender barrier and established an equal dominant role in society as men. However, the recent provocative portrayals of women in the media have questioned the idea that, if in fact, the years spent overcoming this gender hardship was to ultimately come back to square one. With television programs such as “The Bachelor” presenting a dozen women competing for the attention of one man and television commercials highlighting a woman's thigh to sell sneakers, it is difficult for society and especially the youth to not to be influenced by the overpowering message to objectify women (Coleman). Television shows portraying woman in explicit dogmatic behaviors like “Flavor of Love” or “The Bachelor” make it difficult for the everyday women to process exactly why the media allows such depictions of women to be viewed and accepted around the world. According to author Breanna Coleman, “Television programs show slender, unrealistically curvaceous, and vulnerable young women, who are dependent on male figures for strength and survival, not their own sense of empowerment.” This media stereotyping of women as objects and helpless beings creates an impracticable example for the million of young teenagers watching these programs.
Young women watch these programs assuming that using sexuality to compete for attention of one man is ultimately ideal and having a certain type of body or look can only get a woman a man. This representation of women is seen throughout the different spectrums of media. Furthermore, the women portrayed in magazine ads and commercials furnish the same highly provocative and sexually overbearing image as what is perceived in television shows. According to author and Professor Steve Craig, “Although sexual objectification of women characters in ads is often quite subtle…portraying women as blatant sex objects is doubtless good business in the daytime or primetime” (208). It is clear that today the image of the everyday women have degraded into an image of a type of sex goddess willing to do anything for a man. Craig states, “When women appear in men’s commercial women are portrayed as physically attractive, slim… and usually dressed in revealing clothes” (207). This over used and deliberate scheme used in commercials and the media creates a new standard young women feel like they need to meet. Ironically, this new standard that women should be sexually erotic and ready to please a man at any cost would usually be looked down upon and acquiescently degrades women. These are the models of femininity presented for young girls to study and emulate. The highly provocative method a women’s sexuality is portrayed in the media has surpassed its means and has become a leading role in young teens sexual self-objectification. Psychologist Barbara Frederickson has identified “self-objectification” as a key process whereby girls learn to think of and treat their own bodies as objects of others’ desires (Frederickson 270). Virtually every media form studied provides ample evidence of the sexualization of women, including: television, music videos, music lyrics, movies, magazines, sports media, video games, the Internet and advertising (Report of the APA). Through television shows and nationwide broadcasted ads, young developing females are exposed to this new wave sexually objectifying women and are highly susceptible to this influence. According to Frederickson, “Frequent exposure to media images that sexualize girls and women affects how girls conceptualize femininity and sexuality… girls and young women who more frequently consume or engage with mainstream media content offer stronger endorsement of sexual stereotypes that depict women as sexual objects” (273). In this time of age, it is almost evitable to not be influenced by what is seen in the media. Nowadays, every teenager is able to obtain some sort of media outlet, thus including the Internet, TV or magazines. Thus making it easier for young women to be highly influenced and susceptible to self-objectification. Critics may argue that the key societal messages that contribute to the sexualization of girls come mostly through interpersonal relationships and not the media. Parents, friends and close relationships are what influence how a young teenager develops and exactly how they objectify themselves. According to author Breanna Colemon, “Parents may contribute to sexualization in a number of ways, parents may convey the message that maintaining an attractive physical appearance is the most important goal for girls or at worst case sexually abusing a child.” In other words, since at norm most parents are raising their children from birth to adult years, they have the heaviest influence on their children. If a developing youth is raised in manners that it is accepted to dress a certain way or that appearing sexy is a great thing, they are inclined to have that attitude for the rest of their lives. It may be true, that interpersonal relationships and how a child is raised are key factors in how young women objectify themselves. However, in a time where parents are mostly working and children have an extreme access to medias everywhere including free magazines at the library, their own internet and anything they choose to watch on the television, it is easy for the youth to have access to whatever they want. According to the American Psychological Association, studies have shown self-objectification has been repeatedly shown in all mass of media and is the leading cause in the sexualization of women. In short, the cause of young women self-objectifying themselves is due to the media and its compulsive urge to sexually objectify women. In conclusion, sexualizing women in the media is evident and its effect on developing teens cannot be ignored. There is no way to completely eliminate this view of women in the media, but there are clear ways to reduce it before it becomes out of hand. With so much supremacy from broadcasters on what is aired on their station, they can essentially filter out any sexually objectifying commercials during a time where teenagers and children watch what is aired. It is for the multibillion-dollar corporations to choose what is more important, societal morals and profit.

Work Cited

Coleman, Brenna. "Media Portrayal of Women." Suite101.com. 15 Jan. 2010. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. .

Craig, Steve. “Men’s men and Women’s Women.” Maasik and Solmon (202-213).

Fredrickson, B. L., Roberts,T., Noll, S. M., Quinn, D. M., & Twenge, J.M. That swimsuit becomes you: Sex differences in self-objectification, restrained eating, and math performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. (269-284). 1998. Print.

Maasik, Sonia and Jackson Solmon, eds. Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. Sixth Edition. Boston: Beford/ST. Martin’s, 2009. Print.

"Report of the APA: Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls." American Psychological Association (APA). American Psychological Association, 2007. Web. 02 Apr. 2012. .

Weinbaum, Eve, and Rachel Roth. "Beyond Suffrage." Los Angeles Times. 26 Aug 2011: A.19. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 26 March 2012.