On Wednesday November 11th, Jean Kilbourne visited BC to give a presentation on advertising’s depiction of women in the media. The event was one in a series for Love Your Body Week, which has brought awareness and consideration about this issue to campus. Sophomore Shanaz Mahmood, the front runner for this year’s LYBW expressed that, “Love Your Body Week is a week of programming that aims to educate BC’s students about body image issues, the media’s influence on our perceptions of body image, and how to have a healthy relationship with one’s body. We hope that by the end of the week students will be able to identify healthy and unhealthy relationships with their body, build healthier relationships and work to counteract the false media portrayals of beauty.” This directly relates to the message that Jean Kilbourne is working to share.
At the event, Kilbourne was greeted by a healthy mix of male and female students in a packed McGuinn 121. The one hour presentation was followed by a book signing of her latest book. Kilbourne is an incredible speaker that captured the attention of the crowd. Her wit made the important message truly resonate with the audience, because of how engaged everyone was.
Kilbourne addressed media’s poor representation of both men and women in the media, with a focus on its effects on younger people. The ideal woman in the media is blonde, blue-eyed, thin, and young. Women are often made to seem small and frail, and the message that girls receive is that they should not have a voice. Men, meanwhile, are photoshopped to appear stronger and bulkier than they normally are, and in this case the message is that in order to be considered masculine, you must be strong and intimidating. While this does have harmful mental and physical consequences for men, these stereotypes lead to a society where women are constantly seen as inferior. Not only does this portrayal cause girls to have incredibly low self- confidence, it also makes violence and hostility towards women seem normal.
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that this is not an appropriate path for society to be headed in. There must be a cultural change for there to be any hope in the future. But how do we change societal norms? Kilbourne advocates for counter advertising. She also believes that citizen activism, education, discussion, and media literacy will be successful in changing these norms. Kilbourne maintains hope that things will change based on how many people have joined her in her fight. It is clear to all of us that more and more people are recognizing this culture as a problem and are fighting for change.
If you would like to learn more about Jean Kilbourne and her message, visit jeankilbourne.com or visit her Facebook page. Thank you to the Women’s Center for hosting Jean Kilbourne and for organizing a great week of LYBW events!
Sources:
https://lmcarroll.wordpress.com
http://indianparentsforum.com/home/a-hair-story/
http://livelovelifeeleni.deviantart.com/journal/LOVE-YOU-BODY-CONFIDENCE-AND-POSITIVITY-554974272