Gender in the Media and Women Health Care Issues

Gender in the Media

            Anastasia Higginbotham wrote this in her article about teen magazines “Be happy with yourself, but not if you’re fat, ugly, poor, gay, disabled, anti-social, or can’t pass as white (pg. 91).”  I thought this quote perfectly stated what messages teen magazines send to their young customers. The image of what ideal beauty is supposed to be is carved from what the mass media adversities. The media has set unrealistic standards for women to feel attractive (Gender in the Media by Marielena Zuniga pg. 95.)  The media sets the standards by using models that are seemingly perfect with beauty and body.

            Mass media produces these images of what society should look like. However, they fail to mention the bill they will receive for photo editing of the pictures they advertise. They also do not include that the models used only make up a small portion of the women with that body type. Even the models with the “perfect body” have to be changed to fit the media’s image of ideal beauty. Magazines assume girls need improving by telling them they should be prettier, cooler, and better (Anastasia Higginbotham pg. 89) while telling them they should love their body.

            With media sending confusing messages about their self-image I am not surprised that eating disorders, low self-esteem, and self-hatred are aided by the media. Not all media is harmful to people. There are some good media campaigns that support the idea that beauty does not have to be a stick skinny tanned model. I think the dove commercials have inspired women to accept themselves as they are. The media will always bombard society with impossible standards. Though it is hard to censor it I think the next best thing is to counteract them with positive images of beauty.

            A song called So Beautiful by Superchick is a good example of positive beauty. The song lyrics convey to the listener that they are beautiful as they are. If only we could all realize how beautiful we are then we could stand up against the mass media’s impossible standards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bv7Wn4GcoQ
Ageism/Women’s Healthcare Issues

As I read the article written by the Older Women’s League, titled Older Women: The Realities, I couldn’t stop thinking about how it describes my grandmother.  The article had many points that I thought where true because I could relate them to my grandmother. Most women tend to outlive their spouse and struggle to make ends meet on a limited income (pg. 439) Women over the age of 65 account for 70% of the poverty in older adults (pg. 440.) Most of a woman’s income is a limited amount of money social security provides. Due to be being the primary care giver women are more likely not have worked much during her marriage. This leaves them without much income to support them.

            Most income they do have is used on Medicare and supplement insurance. Most women suffer from two or more chronic illnesses that Medicare does not support making supplement insurance a most to receive the health care they need. My grandmother is an example of a woman struggling after her husband’s death. She suffers from arthritis and osteoporosis. While she pays Medicare and supplement insurance it is not sufficient enough to pay all her medical bills. My grandmother struggles to make ends meet because she was the primary care giver to her children and spouse, she could not work much throughout her life.  

I found an article written by Noam N. Levey that suggests that the already expensive Medicare cost could possibly increase. This makes me worry that women, already living in poverty, will have to increase payment for health care that is hardly adequate for their needs. The article mentions what little Medicare does cover. Supplement insurance is common for elder people to add to cover their medical insurance. If cost of Medicare increases, older people such as my grandmother, will have to stretch even farther to make ends meet.

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/15/nation/la-na-medicare-costs-20110715

History of Feminism

Living in a time where “Women were the property of men (Proto-feminism article)” would have been horrible. Mary Wollstonecraft, the mother of the feminist movement, was born into the world where women was not allowed to be educated, own property, or have a job without damaging her reputation. Though she was restricted she self-educated herself and fought for equal education rights for women. In my opinion she was very brave to do this when men earned everything.

If I was living during her time period I would have probably been too scared to stand up for women’s rights. I am not ashamed to admit that I would have not fallen in line with Mary. If I was born at that time I would have been uneducated and not have known better. However, since I was born after the second wave of feminism I do expect equal rights and can appreciate what the women in the past have accomplished. Women’s rights have come a long way. It may have taken 72 years but women can now vote (The First and Second Waves of Feminism in the United States by Amy Kesseiman pg. 558.) I am also impressed with how far women study programs have come. By 1989 over 500 colleges in the United States had women study programs (Women Images and Realities pg. 9.) 

While reading the article Men and Women’s Studies: Premises, Perils, and Promises by Michael Kimmel I was blown away with his point of view. This made me stop and think about how men reacted positively to equality for women. Men Acting for Change (MAC) is a male pro-feminist group. He had a good point when he asked what the men were doing when the women was fighting for equality.  Against the Tide is a book that holds some history of how men reacted positively to the Feminist Movement.

            Though the United States has made substantial progress concerning women’s rights there are other women who have to suffer the same inequality as women in Wollstonecraft’s time period. Saudi Arabia is the only country that banes women from competitive sports including the Olympics. In the article I found it states that girls are banned from participating in any sport if they attend a state school. Other issues concerning women rights in Saudi Arabia include having their body fully covered while exercising, not being able to drive, and having to have a male accompany them anywhere they go.
http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2012/05/18/saudi-ban-on-womens-sports-blamed-for-rising-obesity/

Introduction

             Hello! My name is Susan Webb. I am double majoring in Criminal Justice and Police Studies. I will be graduating in December. This both excites and terrifies me. I love cats and reading. I absolutely hate fish wither they are pets or served for dinner.

            The reason I am enrolled in this class is to fulfill my last general education requirement. In all honesty I’m not sure what I expected of this class. Before reading the course overview it started as a class I had to take. After reading the course overview my interest in this class increased.  I agree with the fact that women are severely under-represented in other courses (found in course overview reading first page.)

            I am very interested in watching one of the documentaries on the list given. I decided to watch a documentary about sex trade. I think this will fit me perfectly because the topic not only fits my major but also contains my interest. Not only does the documentary topic fit into my major but so does this class. I hope this class gives me prospect on criminal justice issues concerning women.