Miss Representation

Miss Representation expanded my knowledge on the topic of the objectification of women and girls as sexual toys, which I have learned about before, but I have never realized just how pervasive and ingrained this message is in today’s society. For example, the fact that there are so few women in governmental leadership positions causes many girls, from a young age, to believe that leadership positions are not fit for women. Also, the amount of backlash that successful female politicians who have not conformed to society’s standards have received is enough to make any future female leader feel apprehensive about asserting herself. I had also never made the connection that most of the media industry is controlled by men before, and this contributes to the cancellation of shows which feature a female protagonist, because those who work in the industry do not want to risk money on a show that may very well end up being a flop.

The article I read about girls being sexualized at a young age alarms me. Reading it also made me feel guilty, because, admittedly, I watch shows like Toddler and Tiaras sometimes when nothing else is on, and I feel like I have contributed to fueling a disgusting practice. I worry that these girls will have body image issues when they are older, because they are forced to be absolutely perfect from such a young age. Since these young girls are wearing clothes which are only appropriate for women going to bars or clubs in their twenties during these pageants, it scares me to imagine what they will wear when they are older.

I anticipate that my gender will play a neutral, or even negative role, in the workforce, depending on where I work in the future. During the summer, I had a job working as a sales associate at Aeropostale, and my gender never affected me negatively because people shopping at stores like that expect to see female sales associates who are in their late teens and early twenties. However, someday after I graduate from college, I hope to work in the publishing industry, and it concerns me that most of the leaders in the media industry are men. Only around 20% of professional writers are men, so I predict that I will encounter some prejudice if I choose to pursue that career. Attending the Mount has greatly influenced my belief that we, as women, can become whoever we want to be, but I recognize that when I go to college next year, that the men will most likely dominate classroom discussions. I hope to counteract that by staying confident, and showing other women who might not have gone to a Catholic school with all girls that allowing men to monopolize the classroom is not something that we have to tolerate.