Representation of Women in Media - Essay Example

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Introduction Women empowerment has been an important topic in most societies in modern times, with many strategies being employed to sensitize women about the value and importance in the society. This has been brought about by increased cases of rape and discrimination against women in some societies that tend to give due preference for male members of the society. Education has been and continues to play an important role in helping women to know their worth and value in the society. The field of entertainment has been known to be one of the avenues by which the rights and values of women have been eroded. This follows a keen observation of how women and men are portrayed in most movies and music videos. The part that women have been known to play in such movies often portrays them as sexual objects. There has been a widespread debate concerning the kinds of costumes that both men and women play, in most videos and erotic films, their male counterparts, who have been cited as merely taking advantage of those women, usually use them as baits for sexual activities. The role of women in erotic films and music videos In most of the music videos and erotic films, women play a very passive role; their male counterparts often dictate them. Women are usually presented as weak characters and have to play their part in order to please men (Akinfeleye&Amobi 2011, p. 5-6). When people watch these movies, it has been discovered that they are largely influenced by the experiences they saw, something that has led to increased cases of sexual violence and other forms of aggression to women by male people. For this films and music videos to make sense to people who make them, women have to be dressed in a manner that is scanty and very revealing. On the other hand, male have always been seen as being formal and well dressed, something that has raised an issue about the aspect of such passivity and submission. Most of the feminist discussions have criticized this kind of portrayal of women as sex object rather than important and valuable members of the society just like men. Over time, the role of the mass media as a reliable and essential agent of socialization has attracted several criticisms from different segments of our contemporary society (Baran,& Davis 2012, p. 100). The images thatare usually aired in mass media about music videos, erotic films and other kinds of programs have been said to change people’s perceptions about social realities, this is according to the observations from social psychologists. According to these propositions, these images are believed to play an essential role towards stimulating certain kinds of behaviors that are highly undesirable (Marnie et al. 2005, p. 67). These behaviors are said to be anti-social and includes rape and molestation for women, different forms of crime and delinquency as well as different forms of violence. According to the perspectives of critical chauvinists, the mass media is an agent of male chauvinism, which has been systematically deployed for purposes of perpetuating of a male dominated socio-cultural, political as well as economic order. This is usually achieved by portraying and continually reinforcing the negative gender roles and stereotypes against women. These perspectives have been made evident by the many movies and music videos that have continued to dominate theatres and have found their way into people’s homes. In all these movies, the general impression made on women is that they are mere sex objects of erotic gaze for men as well as domestic servants in homes. They are shown to a weaker sex, sometimes wicked, like the case of scenes that depict mothers-in-law. Women are also shown as insubordinate wives as well as mothers who are uncaring about their children and family. This in turn has completely affected the manner in which the real society values women. Feminist discussions have often shown that these forms of negative portrayals and stereotypes for women in these movies seem to underpin the widely held beliefs and gender role expectation in most of the societies in the world. The problem of how women are portrayed in erotic films and music videos According to studies that have been conducted recently on the effect of erotic videos and music videos, it has been found that women in most parts of America and Europe including some countries in Africa have been raped and sexually assaulted at one point in their lives. At the same time, a similar study that was carried out in colleges and universities revealed that female college students have also suffered from similar incidences from male aggressors. Studies have revealed that sexual violence that is perpetrated on women is usually not a product of only a few individuals that can be termed as deviant, but rather, its committee by large number of men, who are influenced by different motives. In all these cases, the influence and effect of cultural beliefs as well as various social variables have attracted greater attention in recent alayses that have been conducted. One of the most important agents on this observation has been cited as the mass media. Several thoeires that have been put across have have positetd both direct and indirect paths of influnce on people’s actions and behavior. Those who argue for dirent effects of mass media have given examples of incidences where erotic movies and music videos have led to most young men wanting to prctise whatever they have seen in the videos. This offen leads to stalling on innocent ladies and young girls by male agresos who want to fultill their bulging sexual urges. This come after one had seen a movie or video that showed episodes of a rape cases (Bamburac, Jusic&Isanovic 2006, p. 82). Those who have made arguments for the indirect influence of masse media do not rule out a direct-cause association. Instead, they posit that there is a strong conection between mass media and people’s actions and behavior especially having watched some of the programs aired in the media. In order to underpin the views about indirect influences of mass media on people’s behavior, they say that people’s patterns of thinking, sexual arrousal as well as other reactions in the environment are shaped by exposure to depictions of sexully violence scenes in association with many other influences in mass media. Later on, these responses and reactios alongside other social, individual as well as other circumstanial factors may play an important role in the development of antisocial behaviors. In this case, the behaviors may take a totally different from from that which was portraued in the media. This the reason for increased cases of crime, delinquncy as well as different forms of social evils in the society. The idea of how women are portrayed and their perceived gender roles are two most important and critical issues that have characterised feminist discourse for a long period. According to Byerly& Ross (2006), different people that are concerned about this concept have said that,“the media are potentially powerful agents of socialization and social change-presenting models, conferring status, suggesting appropriate behaviors, encouraging stereotypes” (17). Women empowerment initiatives have been rising in most societies in order to compel the mass media to air content that portrays positive values about women. They have argued that the image of women in the societyhas been exploited consistently and abused. This is especially in the manner in which some advertisements are done as well as music videos and films. Empowerment initiatives have been aiming at reducing cases of rape as well as other forms of sexual abuse that has been brought about by the influence of such avenues. It is expected that those people who manage the entertainment scene and the mass media must take the lead in ensuring that all these incidences are reduced and that the value of women in society is well preserved. Bibliography Akinfeleye, R. A.&Amobi I.T. 2011. Nollywood Video films as a medium for reconstructing the African cultural identity. Communication Review,Vol 5, No. 1, pp. 1-23. Bamburac, N. M., Jusic, T., &Isanovic, A. 2006.Stereotyping: Representation of women in print mediain South East Europe.Mediacentar, Sarajevo. Baran, S. J, &Davis, D. K. 2012. Mass communication theory: Foundation, ferment and future. Wadsworth Cengage Learning, Boston. Byerly C. M & Ross K. 2006.Women and media: A critical introduction. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford Marnie E., et al. 2005. The Causes of Rape: Understanding Individual Differences In Male Propensity For Sexual Aggression (The Law and Public Policy.). American Psychology Association. New York. Read More