UNIT C: Blog 19

BLOG 19:

An actress, Geena Davis, in this video talks about the empowerment of women through media imaging. She talks about how women were changed by the power of these roles of women being empowered and changing the roles of genders by crossing over into male dominated occupations. This can be show in the movie A League of their Own. Women, an especially younger girls, through the power of media gained the power and motivation to break into male dominated roles such as sports in playing baseball. she also touched on the influences of animated children's cartoon characters that reinforced the traditional views on male and female dominate roles. A couple of the characters in which she talks about our Daisy Duck and Minnie Mouse in which reinforced the traditional roles of females and all she said she could remember them saying was that they wanted to go shopping and didn't really do that much. They played a feminine character that does not exert that much other traits other than simple feminine stereotypes.

There is a huge problem with how young girls are getting their information because the media is getting these girls the wrong idea and sending them a very limited and stereotyped image of they they should act. In the video is states that 87 percent of Senior girls in high school are not happy with their body and 1/3 of third graders have been on a diet. All if not most of all female cartoon characters are stereotyped and sexualized.

Another horrible example of cartoon stereotyping is of the Smurfs. I did not know this, but was shocked to find out the story of the girl smurf from the video. The storu how there were not female smurfs and then one finally got added. This girl smurf was depicted as having ugly eye lashed, ugly having ugly hair and evil. She was given plastic smurfing and changed into the "blond bombshell" that she is today and then, and only then was she liked and accepted.

With "See Jane" Genna Davis along with another foundation created and analyzed the largest investigation of G rated movies. Out of these G rated movies 3 out 4 characters were males and the few female characters in the movies were stereotyped. See Jane's goal is to increase the female characters and to reduce the stereotyping of these characters.

This video is just one more example and way for us to see stereotyping in our culture. This example is one that needs to be dealt with because they are makes impressionable stereotypes to young females that could potentially Carry with them for the rest of their lives. These characters are painting a pictures that women are weak, can not confront issues, not physical, do not stand out for themselves, and all around mostly only care about personal appearance issues. It is easy to see from the information about body images that young girls are taking and carrying these ideals. An example from this is from our readings that women are not "fit" to be correctional officers because they are seen as more fragile and can not handle the inmates. As i talked about before rules such as not being able to have an physical contact with inmates for women shows that people think of women differently. There is a stereotype that women can not handle themselves and can not handle a job as a correctional officer.

On the other hand males attitudes to handle violence is the opposite of what women can handle. Males are associated with dominance and masculine traits and people think that all men can handle being a correctional officer. Women, because of their stereotype are seen as weak and :should be grateful for protection from their males" (Ch. 6). Women gain control by gaining gender identity and equality in their job. Correctional Officers that are women treat all inmates the same, do not feel an different more more threatened by males, do not see males any different, they take dominating positions, they feel women are more problems and do not think gender is an issue. The women are harder on the inmates that the Male officers. Women are showing the men that they can take care of themselves and can do the job just as good as them or even better by being stricter on the inmates (ch. 6).