Despite the huge feminist movement as of late, it seems that woman are still dealt a losing hand in today’s society.
Look at magazines like Sports Illustrated, which sells to a demographic of heterosexual men by putting women in bikinis in their issues. Many woman would agree that this is degrading. Why is it that so many woman are over-sexualized and documented for the entertainment of men?
But this seems to be pop culture today. In a lot of mainstream music written by men today are about women and sex. Music videos on MTV or MUCH are quite frequently very sexual, and depict males and females in strict gender rolls. Women in these videos are depicted as nymphomaniacs who only desire to pleasure men. Pop culture describes the “trophy wife” as a submissive and attractive woman who will stay at home and be a “homemaker.” Although men no longer rule society, it seems as though plenty of advertisers and consumers act this way.
Just look at advertising; makeup and clothing companies use beautiful woman to lure costumers. A marketing strategy commonly used today is to make woman feel inadequate in order for them to buy products. A lot of companies use Photoshop to make their models appear perfect, and use that to promote women into looking like that by purchasing their products. Companies for aging products use young looking women and encourage you to look the same.
How come women are encouraged to change themselves? In general, I feel like women are forced to worry about their appearances more than men, and are taught to worry about how they look from a young age. One third of 10-year-old girls’ main concerns is their looks. I think that is a serious problem.
Not to mention that women can never win. As females, if we choose to dress sexy, we will likely be called “slutty” or “desperate and trying,” and should we choose to be conservative and classy, we might be called “prudish” and “insecure” for covering ourselves up. Women are constantly judged in harsh and unfair ways and it must stop.
Do you think that society is sexist towards females? Share your thoughts with me!