Introduction
The image of a woman has been given a several views in the media depending on the circumstances the women in the society both locally and internally. The media has given a diverse viewand information in relation to women in the society and how they live in the society despite the forces that affect them in the society. The media has given great attention and focus in the issues related to women in the society, for instance, the feminist issues and concerns have been given extra attention and focus by the media. The woman has been given different and diverse views that relate to the perception of women in the society.
In the modern world, the media plays a crucial role in the construction of the gender roles which leads to perception and myths regarding to the various roles to be performed by each gender in the society or community of concern. The mass media has given focus and attention on the various roles of gender as well as the survival of women in the society. The media channels like newspapers, televisions and the internet hastried to explain and expound the origin and basis of the myths and beliefs as well as conventions that surround the constructed views and images of women in the society. The media also does a role in replicating and analyzing the impact of these constructed images of women in the society and how such images can be reconstructed in the favor of women. The media has therefore tried to influence the image of women in the society. The mass media should therefore not reduce women to the status of material objects (Lee 2005, pg. 16)
The new advancements in the media has facilitated the influence and concern regarding the social issues as well as gender conventions and forces which are as a result of the feminist current issues in the society that relates to the advancements in the social change. The media has therefore influenced the creating of images that pertains to the roles of women in the society. The impact of the survival of women in the society has been given much attention by the mass media and the scope of their roles in the community.
The media is playing a role in the promotion of women dignity and value in the society. This reaction of the media is as a result of the feminist movements which advocates for the rights of women in various spheres of the society ranging from the political angle to the social perspective of a family role. The media tries to convince the public that the women can perform the activities and duties as well as roles played by men as opposed to the myths and beliefs of the society. For a long time women have been perceived as people to be led in the society, therefore most of the women were not free to participate in the positions of influence and leadership in the society which is a denial of political rights and freedom.(Lee 2005,pg 20).
The media has played a critical role in influencing the society to elect women to the political positions by showing regularly the successful women in such positions in many parts of the world. This acts as a source of inspiration to many women which motivate them to participate in the political positions. This enhances the freedom of women giving the right to express themselves in the communities they live in.The media has enable women participate in the leaderships especially the political positions of which they never participated in the recent past due to the political bias and prejudice in most parts of the world. The examples of successful women in the political field in most parts of the world have been aired and emphasized by the media in order to attract the attention of the public in an effort to influence them in electing women in the political positions.
In the recent world, theperspective of women in the media hasgreatly transformed from a discriminatory one to fighting for their rights and freedoms in relation to different spheres of life. In the past the women were portrayed as weak people who could not perform specific activities roles and duties in the society. This led to discrimination of women for long which denied them of their rights as well as terming them unequal to men in relation to the roles and duties in the society. According to Martin, 2010pg18, the image of women as weak people has transformed due to the influence of the media and now they are regarded as capable like men in performing different roles in all fields irrespective of their gender. The media ha influenced women to participate in careers which have been dominated by men for long, this enabled them to qualify and work in professions like engineering which were perceived to dominate by men.
The female images constructed in the media are usually caused by cultural and social perspectives, conventions as well as beliefs of the society that the women are weak and should not be involved in activities of the society. The women were also not allowed to perform the cultural roles in the society (Ross 2010, pg 39).
The images and pictures of women have been widely used in the mass media to perform several roles. Some companies have aggressively used the images of women in advertisement and promotion of their products. The use of the images of women is widely used in the fashion industry to advertise various types of clothes as the companies strive to maximize their profits. These advertisement companies at times use the images of women in appropriately, for instance, most companies use the half-naked images which are suitable for the public consumption. The use of the naked images lowers the dignity of women through such advertisements. The women are objectified by these companies making them appear as products in the market. These displays of women in the magazines weaken the self-esteem of women.
The products advertised by the companies are related to the perfect qualities of women especially in the aspect of silky hair and a smooth sin and bodies. This makes men encourage their women to stick on the products in order to obtain these advertised qualities. In most of the times the products advertised may not meet the goals mentioned in the advertisements. The construction of a perfect woman by the media rough promotion of products is not meant to improve the image of women but is basically purposed to maximize the profits of the company. (Bull, 2004, pg 26)This encourages women to continue buying these products in order to be recognized and appreciated by men.
Most of the television productions are directed towards extra marital affairs of women in their families. This creates an awkward image in that the woman will appear to be unfaithful which lowers the dignity of women. The women in these programs are only meant to portray women as the home caretakers. Women are believed to be good in performing house chores as well taking care of their children and husbands. This makes women submit to their husbands. This poses a great challenge to women and will greatly affect their careers because they are also expected to perform well in their careers in order to act as role models to their children. Both social and cultural perceptions have made women believe that their role in the society is to a good mother, wife as well as a good rolemodel to the children.
The use of pornographic images in the media and the internet has greatly lowered the image of women in the society. (Lin2009pg43)This lowers their self-esteem because they are used as sex objects in the pornographic works of art.
Some images portray the features of ugly women. The women who have the physical qualities perceived to be ugly often find themselves having low esteem and they may not feel free to interact with the public in a free manner (Ross 2010, pg 25).
In conclusion, the media has played a crucial role in influencing the nature of women in the society and how they are perceived in the general public. The media has influenced the society to transform from a discriminatory perspective to a society that treats women equitably with men. The media has therefore influenced both the past and current situation of women perception in the society.
Works Cited
Bull, Sabrina D. "Violence Against Women: Media (Mis) Representations of Femicide." (0): Print.
LEE, JEAN. "Perception of Women Managers in Singapore: A Media Analysis." Asia Pacific Business Review (2005): n. pag. Print.
Lin, Chong-Ling, and Jin-Tsann Yen. "Comparing Society’s Awareness of Women: Media-Portrayed Idealized Images and Physical Attractiveness." Journal of Business Ethics (2009): n. pag. Print.
Martin, Carolyn L., and Eboni J. Baugh. "Minority Women, Media, and Body Image1." (0): Print.
Ross, Karen. Gendered Media: Women, Men, and Identity Politics. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2010. Print.
