I have never really considered myself a feminist, but like most women, I believe in equal rights and there shouldn’t be discrimination based on gender. However, there are many feminist theories that I find a tad bit extreme. On the other hand, there are quite a few feminist ideas I believe should be enforced.
Living in the United States in the 21st century, it is believed that women are equal to men. Equal meaning having the same rights, earning the same wages, etc. But what about in the media? Being a journalist, I find this is difficult to define. After constantly being bombarded with commercials every day where the woman is the main character, I’ve noticed a pattern. Women are the only stars in commercials dealing with cleaning, household products, laundry, cooking, dealing with children, and so forth. The list goes on and on. The media rarely (if ever) shows a man doing those mundane chores. Since this is the 21st century, shouldn’t we be beyond sexism?
Ever notice that Swiffer commercials like these only use women? Photos courtesy of Google.
Being a woman in the 21st century, I am bothered that America is still stuck in a rut; this isn’t the 1950s. Women have jobs and are educated, yet they are still portrayed strictly as homemakers. As a woman receiving a college education, it irritates me that the media shows women mainly as a Mrs. Why are women the only ones shown doing laundry? Why are women the only ones shown dusting the living room? Why are women the only ones shown making meals for the family? The more women continue to be demonstrated in this light, the more we take about 10 steps back for the equality feminists have fought for all these years.
There are many women in this world who are mothers and homemakers—and there is nothing wrong with a woman wanting this dream. But if the media keeps presenting women in solely the homemaker role, girls of future generations will believe they have nothing else to live up to. Not an independent woman who has a career or is out living her dream, but the woman who is at home all the time cleaning and cooking is idolized still today in the 21st century.
Not sure if I’m a feminist or not, but this recent trend in the media has made me sure now, more than ever, that women deserve the same equal rights as men. The way we are portrayed today in the media isn’t helping the feminist agenda. For women to receive the same treatment, to receive the same equalities and rights as men, they need to be shown as equals—in all aspects of life. What harm would it do to show a man cooking dinner? Or to show a man dusting the house? Or even to show a man doing laundry? If men and women are shown with no specific household roles, then women can finally receive the equalities and rights they deserve.