About a month ago my mother sent me a YouTube clip of this movie "Miss Representation". Set in an American context it highlights the lack of positive female role models that are represented within the media as a consequence the patriarchal media industry.
Watching the film's trailer alone is enough to get you thinking about the last time you saw a positive portrayal of a woman in the media who was being celebrated for something that goes beyond their physical appearance. The only images I see are Kim Kardashian and the verbal bashing of intelligent women such as Julia Gillard who I believe needs to work twice as hard as any man in order to prove her worth as Australia's Prime Minister.
It was around the time of Britney Spears going "crazy" in the public view that I vowed to never buy another gossip magazine again. I imagine it was a combination of seeing such horrible images of someones suffering being plastered across the news and that I had started studying sociology that made me realise that I didn't want to be a part of that problem. I am guilty of picking up the latest gossip magazine in the doctors surgery, or while waiting in line at Coles but I won't buy them.
The free agents that we are in Australia, I challenge people to encourage themselves and those around them to demand positive images of women in the media. To look beyond what the mainstream media tells us and what advertising tells us. To question everything that you see and hear. I believe this is a far more fulfilling way to live life.
Please watch the Miss Representation trailer, it is in an American context however there are lessons to be learned. I would be interested to see the data from Australia however the infiltration of Australia's media with American content renders this close to the truth.
Enjoy!!
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