Women are both underrepresented and misrepresented in the media. Personally, I think this needs to change. We consume a large amount of media daily and in turn it has an effect on us. If we see something portrayed in a certain way, then we will start to believe that the something is the way that it is portrayed.
Women are consistently sexualized in the media which leads people to sexualize them in real life as well. News anchors, athletes, reality tv show hosts, sitcom characters, etc. are all sexualized in some way in the media. It’s extremely dehumanizing and makes women feel like objects instead of human beings.
People see women having “perfect” bodies and think that’s what every woman should look like when in reality every body is different. Women feel like they have to have that “perfect” body type in order to fit in and this can cause them to have mental health issues and eating disorders. They also feel like they’re always expected to wear makeup or dress up in order to be “pretty”.
Women are also treated unfairly in the music industry. There are countless songs objectifying women and we have to be okay with that but that shouldn’t have to be the case. Many people will also say that they don’t like an artist just because they are female which to me is insane. Female musicians also get judged so much on what they wear. For example, Billie Eilish wears baggier clothing and gets told she should dress more “feminine” and then Sabrina Carpenter wears a bodysuit and gets called a slut.
Women are also underrepresented in the media. This is especially true for sports media. Women’s sports are broadcasted less and even talked about less on sports talk shows. When women’s sports are talked about it is usually once and then the talk goes back to the men’s games. If there is a female reporter for the game, she is usually all dressed up with a heavy amount of makeup.
Once again, the underrepresentation and misrepresentation of women in the media is a big issue that affects how society views and treats women. The way that women are viewed and treated in the media has an effect on women’s self-image and their mental health. It is extremely unfair and can cause women to not have someone to look up to or be scared that they may not fit in. We need to change this and make history!