Images of Femininity: Media Portrayals of Women

From the time we are very young we are exposed to media. These images surround us and teach us lessons about how the world should be viewed. Even as we grow older, we pay attention to media for cues on behavior. Often, television is listed as the main source of information for today's youth (Holtzman, p. 74) . This presents an alarming problem for females. The ways in which they are represented in the media, especially on television, can lead to the continuing oppression of women and the continued belief that they are objects of male satisfaction (this image is especially pervasive in advertising).

There are television shows that are more positive toward women, and there has been progress made. The 1970s especially saw more feminist oriented programming. However, the 1980s saw an immense drop in such shows. Right now it seems that for all the progress made, some images still persist. These images are most often seen in advertising. And these images are some of the most detrimental of all. As people watch media portrayals of women, they develop an idea of how women should be, of what they are. It's not just men that see these images and learn from them; women also interpret the messages as directions on how to behave.

This paper takes a look at media representations of women as they are portrayed on television. It contends that even though some progress has been made, women are still in need of better representation in the media. There are social dangers that result from the images that prevail, and these images need to be changed.

Justification

Because the media is so influential, it is important to look at the representations that it gives to society. While there is debate on exactly how influential the media is, there is little doubt that the media is an agent for socialization (Holtzman, p. 76, Weimann, p. 20). Sreberny and van Zoonen p. 226) contend that from the beginning television has been in institution through which Americans are informed about and socialized into society.