Oklahoma State students and staff are invited to see Miss Representation this Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in JB 208. The 90 minute film uncovers a daunting trend, the misrepresentation of women by the media and the impact it has on our society.
“The topic of women’s representation—or misrepresentation—in the media is an increasingly important topic as our world becomes more digitized,” says Jen Macken, Coordinator of Women’s and LGBT Affairs.
The screening is hosted by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Association of Women in Multicultural Affairs. The film, written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, reveals the connection between mainstream media and the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. Viewers will be asked to questions how the media’s limited portrayals of women and girls impacts their ability to attain leadership positions.
“Women as well as men often learn much about society’s appropriate gender presentations and behaviors from what they see around them, on the web, in print, and in television and movies,” Macken says. “The way that woman are portrayed in various forms of media, then, becomes an important developmental factor and shapes the ways that girls learn to be girls and eventually how to be women.”
In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that our young women and men overwhelmingly receive is that a woman’s value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality, and not in her capacity as a leader, Macken says.
Although women have made great strides in leadership over the past few decades, the United States is still 90th in the world for women in national legislatures. Women hold only 3% of clout positions in mainstream media, while 65% of women and girls have disordered eating behaviors.
The film will tell the stories from teenage girls and will showcase compelling interviews with female politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists and academics, such as Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Margaret Cho, Rosario Dawson and Gloria Steinem.
Macken says the hope is that the film will leave the audience shaken and armed with a new perspective. The screening of Miss Representation will be followed by a discussion about the film.