MissRepresentation Response

MissRepresentation is a powerful and eye opening documentary about the effect that the media has on women of our society today. There were a lot of things that really stood out to me when watching this video. Most of the statistics presented were hard to believe, and really opened my eyes to the pressure put on women in society today. The first thing that stood out to me was that 65% of women and girls have eating disorders. This number is astronomically high due to the way advertising photo shops women and how they portray women as only bodies and not people. These advertising firms set unrealistic expectations for women that cause them to become anorexic to try to live up to these standards to be accepted in society. To add onto that, I found it interesting that companies spent 256 billion dollars on advertising in 2009, which is higher than 80% of GDP's of all countries in the world. This statistic shows how much the United States values advertising and how often young women and girls are exposed to it. The stress from the media and advertising is having a substantial effect on women's eating habits, their cognitive function, and is causing lower GPA's among these women. Advertising is clearly having an impact on a much deeper level on the women in society than just the buying and selling of products. Television is another form of media in which women are exposed to every day. When the movie talked about television, I found it really interesting that 39% of the women in our population today are aged in their teens, 20's, and 30's. However, this group makes up for 71% of television. On the other hand, women aged 40 and older make up 47% of the population. This group of women only make up 26% of television. Television shows are showing primarily younger women, when in reality the majority of our population is aged older. This means that television is unrealistic about the world they are portraying to young women in America. Television also oversexualizes women in programs you wouldn't expect, such as the daily news channel. Journalists are criticized for what they wear on a daily basis. Also, the clothing they wear is much more revealing than in previous years. Lastly, the thing that stood out to me the most was a headline in a newspaper that said, “2-year-old girl raped at sea world." The headline disgusted me and made me question how someone could ever possibly think of something that sick. Overall, the movie opened my eyes to the pressure women face to conform to the standards media sets in order to be accepted in society. As a whole, we should challenge the media and how they portray women and the influence they have on young women.