Literally hopeless

Rhianna's hit single, "We Found Love" has a music video that screams sex, drugs, and love. Throughout the entire video Rhianna is either groping the male character or touching herself. She also wears very little to no clothing in many of the scenes throughout the video. Is the logic that if an artists wears little clothing and acts provocatively in a video their records will sell at a faster rate. The video promotes the message that drugs and alcohol make the process of falling or being in love better. This is NOT true at all. Drugs and alcohol bring nothing but negativity into a person's life. I think that if the women who fought for female equality viewed this music video they would be ashamed of the image Rhianna is portraying women. Although she does leave her love interest towards the end of the video, she remains with him in their volatile relationship for the majority of the video. This promotes the idea that women are weak and depend on man to keep them content with life even the relationship is not healthy for both individuals.    

Does the name not say it all?

Guess is known for their provocative campaign ads, where skin is shown more often than the actual products. I thought this ad campaign featured for fall 2011 would be a perfect example of how women are sexually exploited in advertisement with mass media. The woman in the ad almost appear naked due to the fact that the top she has on is nude color and exposes a large amount of cleavage. If you look closely you can almost see the outline of her breast and the product is specifically placed right next to her breast. This is NOT by accident. The saying, "sex sells" is true in every aspect within the promotion of a product. The main focus of ad is to promote the message that "sexy" women wear Guess perfume. The manner in which she is looking at the camera must also be taken into consideration as well. Her eyes are very enticing and seductive in a way. Her mouth is also slightly open which would promote a sexual meaning. If a man came across this ad he wouldn't be interested in the product but rather at the features of the woman. Guess could be considered the top promoter of the phrase, "sex sells".   

Are we focusing on J.Lo being the woman of the year or her breast?

The December 2011 issue of Glamour magazine feautres Jennifer Lopez as their cover. The first thing I noticed about the cover of the magazine was not that Jennifer Lopez was the topic of interest, but how large her breast look. If a person were to pick up an issue of this magazine the first thing to catch their attention would be her breasts. Although she is covered from the waist down , her tight skirt forms the curves of her body. This picture screams SEX! The heavy makeup, wild hair, and seductive look add to this sexual connottation as well. The sexual expolit of the female body is clearly represented in this cover. Although the magazine often focuses on giving sex advice to middle aged women, the headlines of the articles in the issue should be grabbing the reader's attention. Not how big J.lo's breast are and how her skinny waist compliments her curves.

On a side note the pictures that appear the cover of amagzines and ads as well are air brushed. This allows for the person to appear as "perfect" meaning their body, skine,etc.

Gossip Girls......enough said

I cannot lie I watch the television series, "Gossip Girl" religiously. It wasn't until I began to take my Media and Ethics class that I began to notice that the images Blair and Serena were portraying of high school girls wasn't the most appropriate. Dressed in their short, preppy skirts, gossiping about who slept with who, and sleeping with different guys every night the females on the series provided an image that is far too often seen in catholic private all girl schools. I wonder if guys perceive catholic school girls as being "easy" because of television shows as this one. The message being given off in this television show is negative and does not respect women in any way. Men already have the perception that women gossip all the time and have nothing better to do than share each others business. Not every female enjoys gossiping about each others lives. It also something not alot of women are proud of doing as well.

I think that television shows such as " Gossip Girl" allow for women to be viewed as individuals are interested in money, sex, and consumed with the lives of others. The fact that men base their perception of women off of television shows such as this one is disappointing. Rather than displaying the intelligence that Blair and Serena have in order attended such a prestigious school, showing less clothing and sleeping with various men will get the ratings the producers want.    

Bella: "love struck teen" or "just another case of 16 and pregnant"

The romance between humans, vampires, and werewolves was first introduced to mainstream media in 2005. Since then not only have teen aged girls become obsessed with the series but a more mature audience has joined this vampire craze as well. My main focus is not how, "Twilight" became a vampire/romance craze but how the female statue was portrayed. The reason why I titled this entry,  Bella: "love struck teen" or "just another case of 16 and pregnant", is because a teenage girl in love with a vampire having a baby isn't the perfect message for the various pre-teens and teenagers who watch the series of films. I'm pretty sure Bella did not just wake up one day and by miracle she became pregnant. The physical act of sex is never shown during the film, but its pretty obvious that the baby just didn't fall from the sky.

Bella's character almost makes women seem desperate in a sense when it comes to falling in love with two men. It also a bit sleazy as well. Not only does Bella go off with Edward's character in the first series of the film, but in the second she is seen falling in love with Jacob's character. I had to ask myself, do men see women in this way when it comes to romance? Do we really seem that desperate? Sleazy? Helpless? I would like to think that men view a majority of women as strong and powerful individuals who do not lose their self respect over two love interests. If Bella was a teenage girl in a normal high school setting during this situation I know she would be labeled a slut. And Edward and Jacob would not be judged upon their actions at all. I could never understand this concept of blaming one but not the other. In the following third series of the film I hope to see Bella representing women as the strong, independent individuals that are in today's society.

Let's get the female perspective, shall we?

Often at times I find myself disappointed at the way females are portrayed in movies, music videos, television shows, advertisements, and musical lyrics. The images I often find myself coming across are those of women with hardly any clothing on, posing in sexual positions, referred to sluts, hoes, or bitches, and are often viewed as sexual objects. There is more to the female physic than her body. Women throughout history have worked hard to gain the respect of men and be viewed as strong, powerful, and intelligent individuals.

I would like to voice the female perspective and opinion on the current images being portrayed in today's media. My goal is to open the minds of my readers and allow for them to see first hand how negatively females are portrayed in today's media.