According to Webster’s Dictionary, media is “a medium of cultivation,
conveyance, or expression”1. It contains newspapers, magazines, television, radio,
the internet, video games, and much more. Undoubtedly, not only men but also
women appear in media. Along with it, women are bombarded by lots of media
pictures every day, nowadays. Those pictures present women who are beautiful
only if they are slim, pretty, and culturally accepted.
In the opinion of the viewers, television is supposed to be the medium that
is most “real”. In that case, one has to question the correctness of the images of
women on television and how this affects the attitudes of the viewers.
Advertisements are probably the most influential products on television. Here,
women are mainly pictured as a housewife who is married, with children, and
who is obsessed with cleanliness or as a sex object who is tall, with long legs,
wonderful teeth, hair, and skin. Similarly, the image of women as sex objects can
be found in other media such as magazines, music clips, or video games. One can
find many examples for each. Thus, Britany Spears hardly wears any clothes in
her music videos and men who are shown in the background of music clips are
fully clothed while women in the same position are close to be naked2. If you have
look at computer games you won`t find many women in it but if so they are very
much sexualized – “wearing tight revealing clothes and having unrealistically
large breasts, and distorted small waists”3 - such as Lara Croft.
This paper will deal with those images of women and consequently the
effects of them. Concerning the effects this work will concentrate on the
increasing prevalence of plastic surgery, especially among teenagers, eating
disorders, and low self-esteem nowadays.
1 Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (1997), 10th edition. Springfield.
2 What’s the problem? Facts about girls, women and media, No name. No date. 3 pages. Online.
Internet. April 25, 2004. Available: URL:http://www.mediaandwomen.org/problem.html p. 1-2.
3 Ibid., p.2.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Portrayal of Women in the Media
2.1 The Image of Women in Television Advertisements
2.1 The Image of Women in Magazines
3. Low Self-esteem Caused by the Depiction of Women in Media?
3.1 Eating Disorders
3.2 Cosmetic Plastic Surgeries
4. Conclusion
5. Resources
Research Objectives and Topics
This paper examines how the media constructs and influences the public perception of women, focusing on the detrimental effects of idealized beauty standards. The research questions investigate how women are stereotyped in advertisements and magazines, and to what extent these representations correlate with negative psychological and physical health outcomes.
- The construction of female stereotypes in advertising and television.
- The evolution and influence of women's magazines on body image.
- The correlation between media exposure and the development of eating disorders.
- The societal pressures leading to the rise of cosmetic plastic surgery among teenagers.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1 The Image of Women in Television Advertisements
Just by watching television and by watching tv advertisements one hardly realizes how wrong women are portrayed in them. A reason for that phenomena is that we are very much used to a difference in the representation of gender in advertisements. However, if one has a closer look at advertisements it becomes obvious, for example, how few women wear when they present a product like beer – a product which mainly appeals to men. Christine Schmerl holds the opinion that the wrapped up discrimination against women in advertisements only comes visual for us if we would switch the role of women in advertisements with minorities. It would be unimaginable if a foreigner, a disabled person, or a homosexual advertises for a product with obvious or stereotyped characteristics, just the way it is done with women. One only has to think of the critics against United Colour of Benetton which advertised for their clothes with AIDS patients.
Generalization and reduction are important elements of advertisements. The human being is typified and finally reduced to just a small item – individualism does not exist. As a result, the human being is reduced to clichés and stereotypes. A study of Kotelmann and Mikos in 1981 supported this thesis by checking 633 German advertisements. They found out that in those advertisements women only were reduced to two stereotypes: first, housewife and mother and, second, a woman that is young, attractive, and seductive. The housewife did not appear as attractive or well-dressed but with a pinafore, being married, over 35, and mother. The attractive and seductive woman, on the other hand, was presented as being cultivated, well-dressed, wealthy, independent, single, and under 35. A later study by Brigitte Spieß in 1991 brings out four stereotypes of women: the old lady, the wife and mother, the working woman, and the independent woman.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter defines the media as a powerful tool of cultivation and introduces the core problem: the overwhelming prevalence of narrow, unrealistic beauty standards for women in modern media.
2. The Portrayal of Women in the Media: This chapter analyzes how women are systematically reduced to stereotypes in television advertisements and how magazines have shifted their focus toward appearance and beauty myths over time.
3. Low Self-esteem Caused by the Depiction of Women in Media?: This chapter explores the direct psychological impact of media-driven ideals, specifically linking body dissatisfaction to the rise of eating disorders and the increase in cosmetic plastic surgery among youth.
4. Conclusion: The concluding chapter summarizes the persistent negative influence of idealized images on future generations and notes initial societal efforts to challenge these damaging portrayals.
5. Resources: This section provides a comprehensive list of the scholarly works, studies, and internet sources referenced throughout the paper.
Keywords
Media, Women, Stereotypes, Advertisements, Body Image, Self-esteem, Eating Disorders, Cosmetic Surgery, Beauty Myth, Teenagers, Fashion, Gender Representation, Television, Magazines, Idealization.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper examines how media portrayals of women shape societal standards of beauty and the subsequent negative psychological and physical health impacts on women, particularly teenagers.
What are the central themes discussed in the text?
Key themes include gender stereotyping in advertising, the transition of women's magazines toward appearance-focused content, body dissatisfaction, and the rise of disordered eating and surgical interventions.
What is the core research objective?
The objective is to question the "realness" of media images and to determine how these unrealistic depictions contribute to low self-esteem and harmful behaviors in female viewers.
Which methodologies are employed in the study?
The author utilizes a qualitative review of existing psychological and media research, including specific case studies and statistical data regarding advertisements, eating disorders, and surgical trends.
What topics are covered in the main body?
The main body covers the analysis of female stereotypes in television and magazines, the psychological consequences of the "beauty myth," and the alarming rise of cosmetic procedures and eating disorders.
How would you characterize this work with keywords?
It is characterized by terms such as media criticism, gender representation, body image, self-esteem, and the sociological impact of the fashion and beauty industries.
How did the role of women's magazines change after the 1960s?
Magazines shifted from being a "friend" to housewives offering domestic advice to publications like Cosmopolitan that promoted the "Cosmo girl" ideal, focusing heavily on beauty, diets, and appearance-related perfection.
What example does the author provide to show the influence of media on body image?
The author cites a study on Fiji, where after the introduction of television, local girls began adopting Western thinness standards, leading to a dramatic drop in self-esteem and the emergence of weight-control behaviors like vomiting.
- Quote paper
- Linda Dittmann (Author), 2004, Depictions of Women in Media, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/27463
