Blog 7 - Miss Representation

The documentary, Miss Representation, is interesting in the way they presented how women are portrayed by the media and in various political and leadership positions. I knew about all the wrong ways in which media twists women’s roles in society, but seeing it portrayed with such intensity and with such a high level of importance is what really struck me. I am now completely willing to critically analyze what light the media sheds on women, or any type of person. The film exhibited body image and gender differences as recurring themes of the problem of media in regards to how women are viewed.

The question of what beauty is and how women should view themselves emerges when the narrator, who is a mother, from the beginning spoke about her worry and fear for her daughter growing up in a society that is so focused on a woman’s physical appearance instead of who they are as a person. Katie Couric spoke about media greatly and even negatively affecting womens’ perception of what they need to do and how they should look. She said, “We get conditioned to think that this is what women should look like.” It shouldn’t be like this. Women shouldn’t be conditioned to view themselves in this negative, demeaning light. So what if someone is fat or skinny, has straight or curly, frizzy unmanageable hair? What matters is what is on the inside and the great, powerful, and inspirational ideas that women have. Physical looks and gender differences should not be the determining factor of whether or not a woman is successful and accepted as a human being and strong leader.