The Role of Media in Bringing Out the Image of Women in the Society - Essay Example

The role of media in bringing out the image of women in the society Introduction In the 21st century, media plays an important role in our society today. This is the main source of information where people can freely express themselves and give their opinions without fear. Further, the advancements in the levels of technology have led to numerous inventions such as the social media platforms, which are commonly used all over the world. In our context here, we are supposed to evaluate and determine the way media present women and their role in the society. That is; we need to evaluate whether they present a women in a respectful and a realistic way. Most people have different views, and this is what we will try to explore and come up with our point of view by the end of the day (Parker and Adrian 1-4). Different writers have featured on this topic, and this is where we will get ideas and arguments so that we can come up with a substantive opinion on the topic. Body First, I think television should and must present women in a respectful and a more realistic way all the time. The reason behind this is that women play important roles in our society, and most people look unto them as their role models (Richmond and Hurtman 58-59). For instance, when a child is being brought up, he or she believes that her mother is always right. However, when they grow up and understand what the world means to them, they start to change they mentality and way of view on very many issues. One of the things that greatly influence them is the role and impact of media on their lives. Televisions plays are important role in our lives as they give and update us on all the information on what is happening both locally and internationally (Berger 16-29). Almost every household can afford a television in our homes today and easily accessible to our children. Most of the advertisements that are aired on television focusing on various products use women to convey these messages. A good example could be women who are used to advertise toilet soaps where most of them are mostly naked. From a recent study, it showed that women are mostly used as sex objects in most television adverts. This study mostly focused on specific environment under certain conditions. The main aim of this study was to help promote gender stereotypes in response to social views and perceptions. Behavior was also an important factor was also considered. This is because this is where young children and teenagers where they learn and emulate these people as their role models. In most cases, television advertisements are normally very persuasive and suggestible. In reality, they can be used to strengthen or destroy gender stereotypes. Most of these ads that are aired on televisions are displayed and communicated in form of ideas ad gender-stereotypic ideas. In my view, the question remains, why are women used in these advertisements are not men. By nature, women are known to be feminine and attractive. Further, most ads aims at attracting men of all ages, and they know that women are their weak points (Peterson and Kerin 59-63). They are also beautiful, and they convey the message better than how a man could have delivered. The study also revealed that our country could not escape or avoid this since ninety percent of the households have televisions. In one or the other, all these households are affected by these ads. It also revealed that on average, within a span of one week, one would watch to approximately over seven hundred advertisements. From a business point of view, most television ads are aimed at promoting specific items so that the general sale of that specific product can improve and be popular in the market. In support of this argument, most social scientists have ads have lasting effects on so many things. This could be the beliefs, behaviors, attitudes and the values of that particular society. As we have seen earlier in our discussion, television can be used to either promote gender stereotypes or destroy them (Wood 32-36). This is because television is the medium of communication that are accessible to many people, and they are also used by marketers to convey whatever message they wish to convey. What most people do not know is that most of these ads that are posted on the television are meant to attract them into buying these items and products. The main aim of the marketers is making profits and improving their sales. On the other hand, it is very costly to air an advert in the television. Therefore, the management of these institutions also gains a lot in terms of the monetary aspects as their charge these ads very high rates. However, we need to ask ourselves, are there any rules and regulations that have been put in place to regulate the content that is aired in these adverts. Further, what are the position and the voice of women when it comes to this sensitive issue? In 1980, the United Nations released a research that revealed that general exposure to sexist ads mostly to children and other members of the public highly contributed to havoc of morals and behavior in our society. Precisely, it had a negative impact on the behavior that includes violence on women and sexual harassments of women of all ages in our society (Bahadur 1). The study also revealed that these ads also have an impact on views self-concepts. With this, I mean that these ads can influence his thinking and perceptions on a number of issues on so many ways. In our society, most people view women as homemakers and their role is to nurture and maintain their households. However, with the current flow of events and exposure in the society, the roles of women have been reversed into something else. For instance, when women are used in these commercial ads when half naked, they are a considered to be alluring and used as sexual objects. Further, our culture is also to be blamed on how it depicts and displays the image of the feminine beauty sometimes. Sometimes back in history, plump women were considered to be very beautiful but currently that slender physique is mostly considered. We can ask ourselves, what has changed? Moreover, the women in our society remain to the same ones. In my view, most people love the thinner ideal. This has caused a lot of dissatisfaction in many women concerning their body image. Considering eating disorders are on the rise in this 21st century, I think that this perception has killed that inner motivation in the women who are plump. As we know, being plump could be caused by some genetic components are inherited from our families. Therefore, I think it is not just fair to condemn plump women in the media, as they are also feminine and beautiful too. In my research, I also came across a book by Carilli and Campbell. The author clearly depicts that during his television as a news anchor in one of the television, women we sometimes frustrated as they could not be given early morning shows. The reason behind this was that some of these roles were considered to be handled better by men other than women. This spurred the resignation of this anchor that sent a wave of shock to the entire television community. She argued that women in the industry were marginalized. This led to a major revolution in the media industry all over the world. This is evident as women in the world today in the media industry can now handle any roles in different departments in the media industry. Many gender issues in the media industry need to be taken care of as sometimes women are discriminated because of their gender (Rainwater, Coleman and Handle 1-6). These issues require immediate examination and intervention in order to promote equality in this industry. However, we also know that women greatly contribute to success of the media industry. For example, we have strong and admirable women such as Oprah Winfrey who is a successful businessperson and a television host. Her show is very popular as it mainly focuses on issues that are affecting women in our society as well as ways and means of empowering them to be better in all what they do. With the advancements in the levels of technology, social media platforms have been invented and well appreciated globally. People are now able to post their opinions and views on certain sensitive issues such as what we are discussing. The focus on the role of media in displaying the character and the role of the women in the society, it is evident that different people have different views and perception on the position of a woman in the society. Precisely, their perceptions have been directly affected and influenced by the role and impact of media mostly on the ads that are aired on them. From the many researches and surveys that have been conducted by many on individuals and organizations, it is evident that most people have negative attitude towards sexist’s ads. Most people can now agree that the content that is aired need to be controlled and managed by the relevant bodies. In addition, these ads have also led to low self-esteem in women who are plump (Carilli and Campbell 6-10). This is because most television ads appreciate slender women, and this impacts negatively on their attitudes as most of them strive to be slender. Social scientists have a role to play in our society and mostly on the issue of gender stereotypes. This is because media today have a lot of influence on the behaviors and attitudes of people in our society. It is evident that television ads has changed the roles of the women from being homemakers into being sex objects. Conclusion Media plays an important role in our societies, and we need to appreciate its role. However, when we do this, it also needs to uphold and promote what is best for everyone. Feminism and gender stereotypes are sensitive topics that need to be focused and addressed in the right way. What we need to see the media doing today is promoting what is best for the women other that discriminating them on basis of gender. Therefore, I think television media and the ads which are posted via them should and must present more in a more realistic and respectful ways. This will help us to eliminate women sexualization on the television. Work Cited Bahadur, Nina. "Women in Media." Huffingtonpost.com. Web. 09 December 2014. Berger, John. "Using Woman in Advertisement." Journal of Yasar University (2010): 16-29. Carilli, Theresa and Campbell, Jane. “Challenging Images in Women in Media.” Newyork: Lexington Books, 2012. Parker, Ellie and Adrian, Furnham. "Does Sex Sell?" Applied Cognitive Psychology (2007): 1-4. Peterson, R. A., and Kerin, R. A. “The Female Role in Advertisements: Some Experimental Evidence.” Journal of Marketing 41.7 (1977): 59-63. Rainwater, L., Coleman, R. P and Handle, G. “Workingmans Wife.” Chicago: Social Research, Inc., 1959, 6-8. Richmond, David and Hurtman, Timothy. "Sex Appeal in Advertising." Journal of Advertising in Research (2012): 58-59. Wood, Julia. “Gendered Media: The Influence of Media on Views of Gender.” Udel.edu. Web. 09 December 2014. Read More