Essay Sample on The Portrayal of Women in Media

Introduction

For the longest time now, there have been separate events regarding the involvement of media in portraying women as women in the media. Although the issue of women and media may not entirely consider the happening that women issues are excluded from media or rather bias against women, the primary question relies on the event that media is creating a certain perception regarding women in media as well as through media. The issue concerning the portrayal of women in media is an ongoing occurrence depicting on two sides of the event. For instance, a portion of media is stereotyping women in a gendered manner while on the other hand, the media is playing a significant role in empowering women. Also, media has created a certain perception concerning how women should be and look that impacting their lifestyles along with other occurrences. Within this issue of women portrayal by media, the existence of the problems concerning gender and media has been recognized be not only the regional organization but also international agencies and organization. However, in this paper, I will consider the issue of media presentation of women along with the effects of media on women. I will provide a rhetorical analysis of two articles considering the two different perceptions on the issue of media and women. The first article covers the subject of stereotyped gender portrayal of women in media while the other material involves the use of media in accelerating the empowerment of women.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

In different contexts, the media has managed to deliver a significant effect on the people and the community as a whole. The impact or influence by media has not only offered a specific perception but has provided a profound influence on the lifestyles of people. As for the case of women, there are various perceptions whereby the community is similarly perceiving women. In most of the cases, these perceptions are not valid since the media has managed to provide a particular view on how something is presented. For example, there are different occasions where the media is portraying women in different ways that are either positive or negative.

However, the article by Kumari and Joshi (2015) has delivered profound details concerning the presentation of women in the media. Majorly, these perceptions are created by the subjects concerning women are treated by different media platforms. In various occasions, whether, unintentional or deliberately the presentation of women by media is exaggerated and minimal circumstances rhyme the relationship of these perceptions with real life. According to Kumari and Joshi (2015), the portrayal of women in the media has delivered an impression and impact on the adolescent. For example, in consideration to the women in commercial, media has presented women in a specific manner that has entirely shifted the perception concerning how a woman should look like. More often, media tends to promote women in a sexual way whereby, in entertainment media, women are frequently marginalized for instance there is a likelihood of young women to be hyper-sexualized in a film far more than their male counterparts. Through the different cases of this stereotypical presentation of women in media, there are other messages that the media is sending to the society today. A perfect example is an occurrence whereby media is presenting the ideal woman as slim and skinny body image which should not be the case. As the adolescents of today strive to maintain the "looks of a woman" the media is misguiding them as to what a woman looks like.

Additionally, according to Kumari and Joshi (2015), as women are presented differently in commercials, television, print media, and film, one of the underlying factors is that the women have been stereotyped in a manner creating different perceptions which should not be the case. Today, the young women are exposed to these perceptions shaped by media in a way that is delivering impacts to them as they strive to keep up with the viewpoints or image created by media. On the backdrop of the current studies, it is critical to understand the difference between the image or portrayal of women in media and the actual occurrence with the real-life occasions.

Correspondingly, the article by Pankaj (2017) is writing delivering details concerning the involvement of media as a great tool to accelerate the process of empowerment of women. In the process of creating empowerment and spreading awareness, media is playing a significant role, especially in women empowerment. Pankaj (2017) primary claim revolves around the fact that the media presentation of women is creating empowerment since the people are aware of the different factors and social issues affecting women. The author supports this claim by providing various information regarding how media is a tool in the empowerment of women. According to Pankaj (2017), since media has a significant impact on the perceptions and various occurrences within the society, the right information published by the media is playing a significant role in empowering women especially in underdeveloped areas as well as protecting the women from specific issues that could negatively harm them. Moreover, as the author focuses on the different attempts of media to help in empowering women, there are details concerning the role of media in women as well as the role of women in media. One of the ways through which media is accelerating the empowerment of women is through; highlighting gender inequality, creating awareness of wages discrimination, promote more representation of women, among other occurrences.

Nonetheless, in comparison to the two articles, they deliver concerns regarding the issue of women and media especially in ways through which the media is presenting the women. Evident from the article by Kumari and Joshi (2015), media is creating different perceptions that are affecting the overall view of women in a negative manner. Moreover, Kumari and Joshi (2015) attempt to elaborate the different actions that the media platforms are undertaking that are affecting young women especially by portraying them as sex objects. On the other hand, the article by Pankaj (2017) presents the issue of women and media as one delivering profound benefits. Within the section, it derives that the media is playing a significant role in accelerating the process of women empowerment.

Conclusion

In a majority of media and gender consideration, there are various perspectives developed regardless of the situation. The issue concerning the involvement of media and women is one that requires significant attention. For instance, with the happening that media is creating a given perception of women, more research is critical to ensure considerable information. Also, while other perspectives regard media as a tool to women empowerment, it is equally essential to consider the trends in the involvement of gender and media. Through either view, the media is delivering different impact to gender through various ways.

Works Cited

Kumari, Archana, and Himani Joshi. "Gender Stereotyped Depiction of Women in the Media: Perception and Impact on Adolescent." International Organization of Scientific Research, Journal of Humanities and Social Science (IOSR-JHSS), 20 (4) (2015): 44-52. DOI: 10.9790/0837-20424452

Pankaj Bala(JRF). "Media: A great tool to hasten the process of Women Empowerment." Journal of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) 22.7 (2017): 61-65. DOI: 10.9790/0837-2207076165