Media's Effect on Gender and Sexual Orientation in Society - Report Example

Fashion Images and Media Portraits Effect on Gender and Sexual Orientation in Society By + Introduction Human beings for all intents and purposes will always be largely influenced by the media. The overwhelming dalliance between people and the media affects their social, cultural, economic and political forms of conformity. The media is central game changer when it comes to people’s identity and way of life as regards fashion. When the media presents a fashion image to the society, it ends up defining several aspects of human lives (Twigg, 2013, p 74). This influence transcends health, ways of spending, social inclinations and even political movements world over. Psychologically, how the media images portrays certain images goes as far inflicting self-esteem imbalances among different age strata but mostly the grownups who still are defining their identity. However, it is important to note that it is not entirely the media that influences individual choices as regards gender and sexuality. People and the society are dynamic and as the media change, the society also changes. And with the growth of the internet, the media reach especially among the young is so huge especially when social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, what sup , YouTube, my space are considered. The audience is significantly large making images portrayed by the media hold a lot of sway and influence in the society. Fashion and Identity The world today is changing at an increasingly alarming rate. This fast level of change has never been experienced before in the society. With it comes great social cultural dynamics that forces people to adapt to the trending fashions just as fast. A raging form of competition has hence been effected by the fashion trends displayed in the media outlets. Fashion, with the incredible role of the media, influences a lot, the choices made by people in determining and living their identities. This is even made much worse in towns where everyone can afford a particular fashion trend but just has a moment or a second to be noticed among the huge population. It is of importance to realize that fashion is not just about clothing and accessories. Fashion in itself is a communal cultural sensation that has in it patterns of signs and connotations. These connotations visually impact on the society on who somebody is, where they come from, their class in life and who they aspire to be. Fashion therefore is an opportunity for individuals in the society to express independent statements and their social inclinations just by the mere use of their clothes, hairstyles and accoutrements. Clothes also are worn as a function of fortification and functionality. Fashion, thus is a crucial driver of how people identify themselves. It announces who a person is and where they originate from and the level of their financial muscle. Fashion, in a nutshell, speaks and talks and it does so loudly and the impact is deep as it is mostly visual. Identity, as a social construct brings out a social correlation that ascertains a person’s place in the society. People are bound to express their identity by either announcing specific aspects of their life or suppressing them. These aspects of their objectives range from class, religion, race, ethnicity, recreation and even political inclination. Other important reasons tend to do with sexual orientation, gender and age. Innovation and almost crude creativity in fashion make persons be able to convey implicit communications. These communications defines ones character, personality and taste. As a matter of fact, fashion is much more about wealth expression, education level and ones status of power in the social hierarchy. These fashion statements are propagated at large by the media and so the pressure becomes utterly enormous for people to belong or have a socially acceptable form of identity. Beauty ideals and femininity Fashion influences ideals of beauty in a catastrophic way. This has more effect and pressures on women. The media literally sets a worldwide standard of beauty. Feminine beauty is controlled a lot by media portrayals of images representing the idyllic physique. Many of these standards cannot be achieved by most women in the world. The magazines, the electronic media and the movies are the key medium used in sending these unfortunate messages. Models who are thin and tall are fed on the population as ideal beauty yet medically these models are below acceptable health standards. These posts end up portraying a beautiful lady to be that who is not just tall and slim but also unhealthy. A lot of stress is then placed on the women to be thin in order to be attractive to a man or land a career. What then starts as a journey to be beautiful ends up to be a straight path to poor health and worrying levels of self-esteem. This is because it becomes extremely difficult for women to attain a healthy state of contentment and satisfaction with their natural bodies. Masculinity The males are not spared either. A standard of masculinity is set and it encompasses unattainable physical frame and monetary power. To be a man, it is expected to have muscles, biceps and a six pack with a heavy bank balance. Other than being well built and tall, a man must have money to even be considered a real man. This influences the males to use body enhancing drugs to achieve the desired image of a movie star. Consequently, a health crisis arises that endangers the psychological make-up of a man. It makes contentment physically and socially appear like a mirage and a disaster. Television shows present men as belligerent, sexually aggressive, fully in control of his emotions, strong and governing. Gentleness, men doing household chores or caring for others and moral focus are rarely depicted. Gender and sexuality Sex and gender are two core factors that influence and is also influenced by fashion. This limits beliefs and possibilities of both gender. Sex and gender however are not one and the same thing. Sex is a biological function while gender is a completely social and cultural function. Fashions for both gender differ a lot. Fashions that target men change less often compared to that of women. Men are largely portrayed as the stronger sex and as creators. Women on the other hand are considered the lesser or passive sex and largely customers of fashion. Therefore, clothes designed for men are always designed in alignment with the core function of men as providers. Their fashion emphasize on pragmatism and is completely devoid of artistic charm. Women’s fashion are however defined with a huge touch on appearance and aesthetic inclination that include aspects of colour, texture and style. This makes fashion a tool that can be used as socialization matrix. What is not lost though is the fact that fashion defines gender roles and announces what is permitted and what is not. Male image and female image are well defined. Furthermore, it is expected of men to be less fashion conscious and exhibit no interest in fashion trends. It is considered unmanly and culturally weird to be obsessed by fashion. On the other hand, women who are not fashion conscious are the ones considered backward and out of taste and standard. In fact, for a woman to dress like a man, it is praised as woman wielding power. From ones mode of dressing, it is easier to determine the sex (Gauntlet, 2008, P 24). Sexuality comes into focus especially among people with different sexual orientation. In considering heterosexuals and homosexuals, fashion and the media go a mile in defining these categories of people. Men dressing like women especially as regards adorning styles and colours associated with femininity are portrayed as gays. Women who tend to dress like men are likely to be presented as lesbians. This standards are majorly set in the movies and electronic media. While this may be a big assumption as compared to what may be actually real, heterosexuals and homosexuals are subjectively portrayed as such by bot the fashion and media industry. Consequently, it is safe to say that just by what someone wears, he or she visually communicates information that touches on gender, sex and largely sexual orientation. Health and well being In trying to be fashionable, young girls go to great lengths to achieve desired body shapes. They tend to believe that to be famous and successful, one must be able to have the same body size and clothes as movie stars. In retrospect, they impact upon themselves strict diet routines to achieve that thin size. While depriving the body of food and rest, the young people end up emaciated and unhealthy. Disorders such as anorexia bulimia and anorexia nervosa set in affect the victims of strictly misguided diet. Stress and depression are also common place when the teenagers do not achieve their desired level of size. This high level of depression can also give birth to thoughts of suicide and uselessness. In most cases, it is not easy for these lads to realize that media expectations are just unachievable. It is worth noting that the feminist movement applied radical steps in trying to bridge the gender gap and empower women. Steps like men putting on clothes meant for men as a fashion statement dominated the world media. It was like being a woman in itself was a weakness and not a strength and therefore to be strong one needed to behave exactly as men. Trousers that fit the female physique were created to send specific messages of absolute independence. Putting on skirts was perceived as a serious form of weakness and was unacceptable. In order to be as fashionable as the Hollywood stars like Madonna, most young people went under the knife to enhance their looks to reach the media portrayal of beauty. As a result a lot of money spent precipitated the contagious culture of consumerism in the media and fashion industry. Learning took place in the televisions while money was used as a sure means at achieving the new trends of beauty and style learnt from the media. Self-esteem medical experts make a kill in putting back to manageable life young adults who now after undergoing catastrophic social storms aimed at regaining their desired level of sanity. Media effects The media has affected various aspects of human life. Technology and globalization levels have broken into the social world that still did not appreciate gender equality. The internet has penetrated the religious corners as the world id now on a path to great and newer aspects of globalization. Through the social media sites, females in Arab and Muslim countries are beginning to appreciate the essence of gender roles. World leaders are travelling the globe to champion gender consciousness approach in government policies that include inclusion of women in leadership roles. In careers, to pass through an interview, one must dress in a way that passes as formal. This formality is determined by the fashion the media portrays as formal. Women who are pretty are perceived to be more competent and focused. This affects many women all over the world. Most moving pictures like the movies are full of women who are portrayed as successful. Also, most films depict women as caregivers and rarely as leaders and corporate titans. Therefore most females tend to internalize this trend and as such work hard to achieve these unrealistic standards. Fatness is viewed as signs laziness, carelessness and non-productive. The media has even created who is bad and who is good based on appearances and style of dressing. The family unit and marriage has also suffered tremendous dynamics. Relationship between men and women are defined in very interesting ways. The media depicts men as independent while women are considered dependent. This kind of difference has negatively impacted on the equality movement. Women who can be married are described mostly as home keepers and soft. This really make men make pre-defined choices as regards their potential partners. The women too look for men who pass the depicted masculinity image. Women are completely underrepresented in the media. This actually does not represent the true picture on the ground. In most programs, there are more men than women even in programs that men should appear less. This is included even in the infant shows that have more male children than male. To make matters worse, more old men are viewed in the shows than there are older women. This so as older women are no longer beautiful and eye catching. Few women in media is reinforced by the fact that at the management level, very few women are represented. This is what ensures that most video productions are favouring the strengths of men while at the same time portraying women as inferior. The females who are in the television are depicted as thin as and younger than what the real situation on the ground. Furthermore the women are majorly cast for supporting roles. This kind of images of pretty young faces tend to distort the true population representation of old and less pretty adults. They are portrayed not as independent people but as those who are solely dependent on men. The consistent use of youth and perceived level of beauty is common place. A case in point is the newscasters. These group of people are usually young attractive women who report more stories about men than even their fellow women. In the field of education, maths and sciences are depicted as subjects that are tough to girls than boys. Films are replete with such story lines that end up marginalizing the progress of the female gender to an appalling level. When other girls read stories about their incapability in maths and sciences, they tend to internalize this message. Eventually, few girls emerge in this lucrative fields. In most films, female characters usually stand aloof and see their male counterparts do great things. They are mostly used to satisfy the sexual needs of men. Their bodies are used for sexual gratification and not a defining role. Females in females are there to be seen and not be heard, please men and exist in the side-lines of the story line. Categorizing women into bad and good help define women in astonishing aspects. Great women are wives who spend their time at home looking after children, washing dishes and mopping the floor, cooking and preparing meals, shopping in the malls, picking kids from school, loyal and second to men (Gamble, S 2006, p 56). Rarely are women portrayed as successful on their own. In sets where the females are successful, they are in fields that are traditionally female dominated as nursing, teaching and secretarial duties. The measure of success of women as portrayed by the media is basically tilted towards marital roles. Women are scarcely in the news as successful business leaders ( Wykes, M, 2005,p 43). Their achievements are defined more by the family roles and not career wise. Wives and mothers are the roles expected of women. In politics, when a woman seeks an elective post, the media scrutiny is never based on her track record but on whether she is a good mother, a wife or is faithful to the husband. This kind of bias prevents women who are qualified to take over positions of responsibility. The media is controlled by the male gender and therefore most programs are designed to massage the ego of the male gender. To achieve big profit margins, the media has to appeal to greater audience. And since sex sells, the female body is used to accrue profits in terms of sexualized commercials and adverts. This seals the belief that women are to be seen and not heard. Women are presented as victims and sex objects while men are glorified achievers. What is shocking however is that these admirable attributes that women are supposed to depict such as exquisiteness and impassiveness are the same that are ironically used to portray them as inferior beings and victims. On the other hand, the qualities expected of men as aggression and violence are the ones used in abuse of women. Perceptions that revolve around the menstrual cycle of women is also another impediment that really affects progression of women. The media defined this cycle as dirty and so many girls internalized this the wrong way. This is viewed as some form of evil and even affected absorption of women in the job market. This led to women being seen as inferior employees and in some cases it was very difficult to access jobs. The media managed to turn women’s natural biological process against their own body. This has even led to women being viewed as abnormal and so could not access leadership opportunity. This condition makes women to be viewed in blanket form as unreliable and incompetent. Menstrual cycle also affected women’s ability to get married. The media also ended up defining menopause in terms that scream immense inadequacy on the female’s part. Menopause has come to be associated with incompetence. This locks out women out of jobs and also affects their social engagement levels. Women are sometimes sacked because of their biology. To judge women based on their social features as portrayed in the media gives the women a raw deal. Size of breasts and hip size are aspects used to judge women more than their intelligence. This tends to justify the fact that girls do not need education but rather a good body to achieve or access services in the male dominated society. Media constant messages contribute a lot to abuse of women. When men are glorified more for being violent towards women, it goes without saying that the media aids propagation of violence against women. Images that are seen and stick in the minds of people who then tend to apply what they see sometimes even subconsciously. By doing this the media tolerates violence against women and make it look so normal. It is like a way of approval and a rubberstamp on such archaic behaviours. When young people see these images, they absorb it and imagine that it’s the order of the day there by inflicting danger not just to their female friends but also their mothers. This is because the media bestows no social value on the worth of a woman. The situation is even worsened in the workplace where male bosses are prone to reprimand their female employees in manners that are degrading and lack human respect and dignity. Portraying women in nude terms in the popular music videos strip women of dignity and respect. Men are also viewed in very bad terms as people ill intent at using women bodies to satisfy their ego and sexual appetite. When people are exposed to stuff like pornography, a lot of changes that are mostly psychological take place in peoples mind. Results of these images go as far as rape and sexual assaults on both men and women (Wood, 2008 ,p 32). The desire to have sex and even forcefully get involved with a person increases as somebody continuously feed these absurd images in their mind. This is because pornography depicts males as dominating, forceful and emotionless. This kind of false authority tend to justify the need to rape women and men. Cultural messages that imply men to be superior contribute a lot in making men think it as normal to objectify female bodies. Conclusion The fashion industry is a strong link in determining identities of people in the society. In fact, it is the sole driver of patterns of social behaviour that send information as to the sexual orientation of an individual. It is however advisable to view this perception with exceptions as not every person who dresses as a woman is necessarily a woman or metrosexual. The media on the other hand should aim at sending messages that do not endanger the social well-being of human beings in the society. Instead it ought to focus on information that aims to achieve functional and healthy kind of gender equality. All these aspects can be achieved with cautiously channelling useful and balanced posts to the global public. Bibliography Gamble, S. (2006) The Routledge Companion to Feminism and Postfeminism Routledge Gauntlett, D. (2nd Edition 2008) Media, Gender and Identity Routledge Wood, J. T., 2008. Gendered Media:The influence of the media on views of gender, Chapel: Department of communication, university of North carolina at chapel. Twigg, J. (2013) Fashion and Age: Dress, the Body and Later Life Bloomsbury Academic Wykes, M. (2005) Media and Body Image: If Looks Could Kill Sage Read More