The issue that is still important is Womans Rights and how women are potrayed in the media and also how they are expected to behave in society. First of all, besides the automobile and rights for people of colour, I feel Womans Rights was one of the biggest achievements of the 20th century. Women and girls of all ages were entitled to freedoms that their past female ancestors never had. More so, women were finally considered as being "humans", as the previous argument considered them to be less than human, a primitive and tribal concept. Today when the question of womens rights arises, people automatically turn to places like Afghanistan and picture a Muslim woman with a burqa and a muslim man with a beard "oppressing" her. This is not what Islam is and due to conservative and ignorant media like Fox news in America and many peoples ignorance of learning about what Islam actually says in terms of womens right, it is unfortunate that images like these are taken as truth when they in fact are tribal in nature.So my question is, how do you think woman are perceived in the media and in society in general, are they equal in the work place, has womens rights opened a lot of doors for women, or made women more vulnerable?
Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, "She doesn't have what it takes." They will say, "Women don't have what it takes."
~Clare Boothe Luce
You know what, I think its because people, men at most, look for and want a woman to be a certain way and because the media portrays what the people see as a "must have" women try to achieve that look or aspect to earn the, sort of, Alpha status or to be the best of the best thus why, again relating to Male dominance, women struggle to achieve what they see as perfection.
ReplyDeleteI would say that the women's right HAS opened doors for women. But the media still portrays the male being more dominant. Female stereotypes continue to thrive in the media we consume every day. The women's right, has made a major impact because for them to be considered as humans is probably better than being no one in the world. And that's what women were in the past, they were simply no one. And now we see that women have the equal rights as men. We see women doing the same jobs as men. Though women do have a great deal of power, the media still portrays them as lower class citizens.
ReplyDeleteObjectification of women still exists.
ReplyDeleteThat's it, that's all I'm going to write.
Proof? Just look at any magazine when you're waiting at the checkout.
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ReplyDelete^Agreed. It's trivial; there's almost no effort needed to comprehend or to fathom the fact that women are wrongly and pertinently objectified in today’s society. You might ponder as to why those women in magazines want to be scantily clad? The answer to that question is even more trivial; due to the objectification of women in today’s society (speaking strictly about western society of course), it’s almost become a norm for women. This is due to the media instilling that notion into the consumers. Women’s rights have gone a long way, but due to the media, the strong majority of the public still perceives scantily clad women to almost be a “norm”.
ReplyDeleteI completely support your argument and I agree upon the fact that the 20th century was the beginning of the achievement for Women's Rights, but not entirely.
ReplyDeleteTo begin with the workplace, women in today’s society have become too comfortable and have left the fight for equal rights unfinished with unacceptable results. I believe that there are many reasons why women should still continue to fight for equal rights. Families are still raising their daughters with thoughts of the past in their minds, and not the future. Lower salaries are being accepted without reason. Men are paid more than women at the same job with the same qualifications. Women jump through hoops for a promotion, but yet men are constantly being chosen over them. Yes, women have come a long way to achieve what they deserve as a human, but still have not achieved one hundred percent equality in the workplace.
Media texts such as magazines and movies mostly attempt to portray women as how an ideal woman should look and act like. A very good example to cover up that argument is beauty and body image in media. Popular film and television actresses are becoming younger, taller and thinner, through surgeries and other means. Women’s magazines are full of articles urging that if they can just lose those last twenty pounds, they’ll have it all—the perfect marriage, loving children, great sex, and a rewarding career. This is of course what the women that read these magazines perceive as how a woman should be.
Going back to Nisant's idea of women portrayed as lower-class citizens. This point can be supported through the number difference between males and females on Tv. Men outnumber women in general Tv shows, children's shows, children's cartoons, and movies. This dominance of the screen by men represents that women are still somewhat suppressed by the media.
"I feel Womans Rights was one of the biggest achievements of the 20th century." I just meant that it opened up a lot of doors for women that they never had before. I left the argument up to you.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Nisant. Although women have been given rights, the media's portrayal of women as "underdogs" that continuously defer to the "rightful" male leaders gives the impression that we are lower-class citizens.
ReplyDeleteYes, women have more rights now than they did before.
ReplyDeleteNo, women are not always treated with the same respect as men even after given the rights.
The media portraying islamic women as opressed is a false statement. The covering of head with a veil is never against a woman's will in Islam.
Equality of men and women is a new thing now for the world (not new, but not so long ago either), but the equality was stated in Islam when the religion came to being 1431 A.H years ago.
my point:
ReplyDeletewomen in Islam are NOTT opressed. They have their fair share of rights.
:D
There is no doubt that women are perceived as (to sum it in the least amount of words possible) everything a man isn’t!
ReplyDeleteAnd you’re quote “Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, "She doesn't have what it takes." They will say, "Women don't have what it takes” really ties to what I am about to say. The quote mirrors media's way in representing women, like the minority they are, as one. If one women fails at a task, then it’s as weighed as if all women have failed.The reasoning behind this? I believe its all due to the belief that being a female equates to having a deficiency. The failure of one woman reinforces the belief that all women are unable to do excel at whatever it is they’re doing. Note: It is not because they are unable to do it that they fail, but the fact that they are women.
I think women are looked down upon in the media. In my opinion what has caused this is that women have stopped respecting themselves in terms of image, status etc. As a result of this it had led to society as a whole to belittle the women and simply portray them like an object. If you look at any product the more inappropriate the women are dressed in the advertisement the more it will sell. Therefore, I think that the women themselves play a huge role in the lack of respect they receive from the media and society.
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