Media's Degradation

The media is one of the most influential things available today. Even if we try to avoid it, the media will sneak it's way into your life. Sometimes it can be a good influence on women, but most times it seems to bring them down. Here are some ads that almost make a mockery of women, and do not value them as a person, but as an item!

Who knows what Burger King was trying to do, but their point was not to attract women into their restaurants. The ad shows the female with her mouth wide open and the words "It'll blow" largely printed below her. This is one of the most ridiculous ads, that does not help the company, but instead adds more problems not only for the company, but also to society.

  

In the ever present world, men are becoming more likely to stay home and raise kids, while the women works to bring home the bacon. While that may be the case in some instances, this ad seems to think it is not a real option. Even if a women are the bread winner, they are still thought to cook, clean, and be superwoman.

Degrading women started years ago, and is continuing to this day! The image demonstrates how women were perceived as being weak, and unable to do minimal tasks.

I am afraid this Skyy vodka ad will give young girls the idea that alcohol makes you sexy and that is not the case!

These were just a few ads that companies put out to the public to bring women down. Even if that was not the intention, it is what they do. Women might feel inferior next to these ads, but they shouldn't. We are all powerful and do not need an ad to tell us how to look, act, or dress.  

Twisted Images Poem

Twisted Images

Sarah: I am damaged, dirty—no longer pure,

out casted as a slut.

My friends don’t want to be seen

with me. They call me a

prostitute, a skank, a whore.

They say I’ll end up

pregnant, get an STD, and die.

I had sex with my boyfriend,

so I guess that make me a whore.

I thought sex was as normal as talking,

I thought everyone was doing it, but I guess not. 

Jenna: I’m at fault. I should have called

my mom for a ride— rather than

walking home—by myself.  All I could smell

was the odor of the old man’s musty cigar

as he tossed and held me down.

Holding my mouth shut. Telling me

 it’s my fault for walking alone,

for dressing like a whore, for being young

and beautiful. If I had chosen a different path. If I

had jeans on and not a skirt. Maybe,

just maybe I’d be at home studying

right now, instead of lying in a hospital bed

reliving the rape.  

Amy: I look at my reflection and I see

the truth. I see the real me:

an overweight, fat, obese pig. I’ll never be

skinny, a model, a cheerleader.

Not at 123 pounds.

150 calories a day—

I make every morsel of food count,

while counting every calorie my body

takes in. Resisting—

Resisting the hunger, resisting the pain

because every day when I weigh myself,

I scan my naked body in the mirror

only to see the ugliness and fatness

staring back at me.     

                                           ~D. Griff

Response to Poem

Stanza 1- Virginity

Society looks at teenage female sexuality as something negative.  For having sex, girls are often called names such as “whores,” “sluts,” and “prostitutes,” etc.  Society often pairs a girl’s virginity with her pureness.  When a girl loses her virginity, she is no longer considered “pure.”  Teenage boys are totally different.  They are often looked at in a positive light by others when they lose their virginity, and for having a higher number of sex partners.

Stanza 2- Rape

Often when a girl is raped, excuses are found to suggest why she is at fault.  People tend to blame her for walking home alone, dressing a certain way, for being young and beautiful… or because the guy “thought she wanted it.”  By educating girls about sex and rape, girls who have experienced sexual assault may place the blame where it should be.

Stanza 3- Eating disorders

Society often relates beauty to weight, size, and youth.  Sometimes we are too preoccupied with appearance that other valuable qualities often get ignored.  Everyone wants to be slim and beautiful… even if the cost is the individual’s health.  Eating disorders are quite common, and they often lead to death.  We frequently look to the media to determine beauty.  Here are some examples of celebrities’ weights and heights:    

Celebrity	Height	Weight
Miley Cyrus	5’4	104 lbs.
Selena Gomez	5’5	117 lbs.
Jennifer Lopez	5’6	125 lbs.
Jennifer Aniston	5’6	110 lbs.
Rihanna	5’8	126 lbs.
Katie Holmes	5’9	118 lbs.
Cameron Diaz	5’9	120 lbs.
Katy Perry	5’9	123 lbs.
Princess Diana	5’10	130 lbs.
Taylor Swift	5’11	120 lbs.