A Patriarchal World

   Did you know that only 17% of Congress members are women? Or that only 34 women have served as governors, as opposed to 2319 men? These are a just few of many real statistics presented by the female voices in the film MissRepresentation. They presented eye-opening facts about our male-dominated world. Whether it's in movies and TV, or politics and news, women are continuously sexualized, stereotyped, and discriminated, while men get all of the praise, prowess, and power. But this doesn't just happen immediately. It all starts at a young age, for both boys and girls, when they see their first movie, play their first video game, get their first dolls or actions figures, and all the other sources of exposure.

   Throughout these mediums, men and boys are shown that they "have power" over women; that they can have them in the palms of their hands; that women are objects or are made for sex. For example, in some video games, female characters usually where something along the lines of a bikini or something that shows more skin than necessary, "selling" their bodies. Additionally, sometimes, one of the motives is to kill the women to win some prize. I only have one question: why? Why do video games portray women as evil, sexually pleasing, vulnerable, or a prize to be won? Why are these companies teaching young boys that they trample over women; that they have all the power; that women are only there to please them? Not only does this occur in video games, but also in movies, TV shows, news, and even politics.

   A good example of this is The Bachelor/Bachelorette. On The Bachelor, participants' main premise is to make the bachelor fall in love with them and choose them so they can move and potentially "win his heart," but they must do this by competing against one another. This show reinforces the idea that girls need to find their "Prince Charming," and that we need to compete against other women to do so. The Bachelorette has the same basic idea, but the roles are reversed in terms of who's looking for who. There is one bachelorette and her main focus is to fall in love with some guy. Same premise, different "protagonist." Another example of this appears in political news. During Sarah Palin's campaign, she was constantly sexualized and discriminated against. People called her a "ditz" or sexualized her looks into something made to please men. Some pictures of her were even shot between her legs, implying these same messages. It seems that the more power women get or at least try to achieve, the less respect they get. Like the women in the film stated, "people associate the worst aspects of power to women in power." Like when a female candidate argues or states something, the media calls it "complaining," while when men do the same thing, it's publicized as "so and so 'stated' this.

   These kinds of influences are the sort of thing that teach boys and young men that they have an advantage. Sometimes, this kind of exposure causes men to become rapists, human-traffickers, or be the culprit of dating or sexual abuse. All mediums need to start portraying women in a more accomplished and successful manner, focusing on their achievements and credentials, rather than their looks. We should not be teaching boys that they have all the power benefits, while teaching girls they have to subject to being treated like objects. This patriarchal world needs to learn to appreciated and accept women for being the strong, independent, hard-working, and equally human people they truly are.