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Friday, October 21, 2011

Miss Representation-- Day 14

Have you seen the documentary Miss Representation? I got to see it last night on TV and it was exceptional! It motivated me and infuriated me. The movie is about the representation of women in media. It discusses everything from movies to politics.

Essentially, we, as women, are still getting a pretty bad deal in media. There are few strong women characters, sexy women are still the predominant selling feature, and women in politics (regardless of their party) are typically caste in terms of their looks and what they wore. This is bad for all of us and it's important to remember that we are role models for our children--boys and girls. When we teach that women are objects (which is how tv, movies and video games depict us) it diminishes women as humans.

I'm certainly not doing the movie justice but one part in particular spoke to me--money talks--women represent 86% of the purchasing power in the US. If we simply don't consume goods that diminish women--tabloids, trashy tv, etc. then our message will be clear and the market for these goods will disappear. So for me--no more checking out People magazine or watching any of the "Housewives." These mediums often represent women as dumb, gold-digging, catty, superficial beings that are easy to dismiss. These characteristics in no way represent the women that I know and love. Let's remember to support each other and make a better way for our daughters and sons.

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