Robbie D.C.

10/17/16
B Block
Gender Essay

Vice President Joe Biden stated that he disagreed with the current
foreign policy. Feinstein complained about the foreign policy. Spot the
difference? This is only one example of how media contorts our view on
gender. The films, Miss Representation and The Mask We Live In, capture these
differences and societal pressures and bring them out into the light and call for a much
needed change. Media is the most dangerous influence on the Youth of America because it
influences our understanding of gender and gendered behavior and gives us this warped
perception.
Social Media doesnt help our view on gender or gendered behaviors
because its just another platform for the media to broadcast hypermasculinity and hyper-femininity. There are people like Essena ONeill who
became famous solely because of Instagram or SnapChat. Essena ONeill was a
former teenage Instagram model. She posted pictures with captions stating how
difficult it was. For example, on one of her posts she says NOT REAL LIFE took over 100 in similar posts trying to make my stomach look good. Would
have hardly eaten that day. Would have yelled at my little sister to keep
taking them until I was somewhat proud of this. Yep so totally #goals. Miss
Representation also shows this pattern which supports what ONeill is saying.

Women are mostly seen and talked about in the media simply for their
bodies while men get talked about for their power, their wits and their
leadership. Miss Representation showed how young girls are when they are
exposed and in the beginning the teary testimony from a high schooler
saying I have a younger sister and she cuts herself because she is teased in
school because she doesnt have the perfect body. How long is it going to take for
somebody to take a stand? Both of these quotes show how women are
affected by the media from a young age and that this warped perception damages
young teens.
Movies and T.V. Shows are as destructive as having it on Instagram
because actors and actresses are so influential and people look up to them,
so when their bodies look like that they promote the idea that the only way
to be famous is through having a perfect body. Taking a look at actors and
actresses like Channing Tatum or Megan Fox and how they are dressed in the
roles that they are given, gives young teens this misconception that the only
way to get famous is to have the perfect body. Often they are given scenes in
which they wear as little clothes as possible such as in Magic Mike or some
scenes in Transformers 2. Also in both of these movies the woman is seen as
a prize and the main character is a man. This is the case in most movies and
in the few movies where women are the main character the entire movie seems to
be about their struggle to get a man. In these chick flicks the women never
seem to have a destiny or a purpose of achieving their goals whilst in movies
where men are the main characters they have a destiny and they get power,

fame and money. This gives young women that their bodies are the only way
theyre allowed to become famous, make money and be liked. It also doesnt
help that the stereotypes set by the media and older generations support the
fact that women can only play minimal roles in movies but in life as well.
Stereotypes that have been started by older generations, hold our
generation to a higher standard and give us a warped perception on how
gender roles should be played. In, We Should All Be Feminists, Chimamanda Ngozi talks
about how men and women in Africa arent accustomed to women having money. For example,
when she tipped their valet from her own purse and the man receiving it thanked her date she
wasnt surprised because she had grown up with that. However, her date who wasnt from Africa
was and it took him a bit to realize what was happening. Ngozi, had grown up with adults around
her treating women like that and associating women with being this weaker figure. However, this
isnt just the case in Africa. Many people in older generations of the United States also arent
used to women being able to do these things. However, things that we assume are polite like men
paying on dates or helping a woman out of a car could be considered foreign for people not used
to these things. The media and movies also portray this ideology that women are weak and only
get anywhere by having the perfect body and anything else is worthless while men are powerful
and do everything. When anyone falls short of those standards, theyre ridiculed and its not
okay.
Spot the difference now? Media especially social media is a snake slyly sneaking
opinions in unbiased places and tainting the full picture. Now with the rise in technology and
making everything handheld these distorted perceptions are now mobile. There are active forces
trying to stop this and show the Youth of America that they are acceptable for who they are and

that changing themselves to try and mold into what the media wants is futile. Less and less
women are in power and the older girls get the less likely they are to strive for powerful and
influential positions. Men simply bottle their emotions up and refuse to show anger or sadness
and act like everything is chill. If this is the case, with less girls striving for influential
positions and boys still being taught that having emotions is showing weakness, does our
generation stand a chance against the media without help from the generations before us who
created these stereotypes?

Outside Sources
Levine, Eitan. "Former Instagram Model Edits Her Posts To Reveal Truth Behind The Photos." Elite
Daily Comments. N.p., 07 Oct. 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.