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=8Bv7Wn4GcoQAgeism/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
I agree the media has set unrealistic standards of what beauty is. It is hard enough growing but trying to live up to the expectations the media puts on beauty is ridiculous. I would dare to say that if the media didn't tell the female population they need to improve their self there would not be much of a beauty industry. But there is hope that someday the media will change and let in positive more realistic average women be seen as beautiful as each woman is. The song you picked out is a excellent example of how women should feel.
ReplyDeleteSadly, the media does exert an extreme amount of influence over what society accepts as beauty. Most forms of media portray a standard of beauty that is unattainable while also meagerly attempting to tell everyone to accept their body as true beauty no matter what. Not only has the media influenced young girls to the point of eating disorders, it also exploits women to the point that many of the models themselves are plagued by eating disorders in order to maintain their careers in the model industry. I totally agree with your statement regarding models with the “perfect body” are still not up to the industry standard. Most teen magazines are a written cesspool that contains articles and photographs that stress the consequences of being anything but the most awesome and coolest kid to ever walk the halls of a high school.
ReplyDeleteIn regard to the healthcare of women, I agree with you, and find it very troubling as well. It seems that healthcare has become such a big business that one could actually compare it to the gas and oil monopoly that we live in. As the healthcare costs increase exponentially, the income of our senior citizens does not increase exponentially which leaves a large void to fill as they struggle to be healthy and survive financially.