Body Objectification of Women in Media

 

BODY OBJECTIFICATION OF WOMEN IN MEDIA

Media is a major reality of our society. Everyone yet influences through it. Media is a preeminent component of popular culture, has the power to depict and then influence the image of a particular topic, institution or profession. All type of portrayal is important for understanding the past easily and people of all ages and identities to see themselves reflected from it, but the representation of women is very important. In the past, women showed submissive, house-bound woman interested in her domestic household works. But in the modern society it has become totally opposite that of attractive object. The woman represents the stereotypically perfect body: flawless skin, thin, perfectly shaped, passive and seductive. The image evidently reinforces the idea of flawless skin and thin body as a main component of women body.

        It is argued that when young girls and women observe these objectified messages, they learn to be more concerned with observable body attributes rather than focusing on non-observable body attributes such as intellectual development/agency and internal bodily states. The model (Kareena Kapoor-a Bollywood actress) is a popular model in TV advertisement in Pakistan. Kareena Kapoor by wearing red lipstick objectifies the concept of woman and reinforces the belief that women use red lipstick for decades as a means of attracting men. It is argued that men spent longer fixating on the women wearing red lipstick.

        In most of the advertisements be it newspapers or television or magazines, the main ingredient is women, and these depict the picture of women as vulgar and cheap. These serials project a highly negative image of women which shows female objectification and focuses only that successful women are those who are sexually attractive and those only can gain achievement. Females were more frequently portrayed visually and as product users. women’s magazines have ten and one-half times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men’s magazines. Television and movies reinforce the importance of a thin body as a measure of a women’s worth. In recent reports over three-quarters of female characters in TV are underweight, and only one in twenty are above average in size. Overweight actresses tend to receive negative comments from male characters about their bodies. Exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies can be linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls. Twenty years ago, the average model weighed 8 percent less than the average woman, but today’s models weight is 23 percent less than the average women.  The messages that the media sends to women about thinness, dieting, and beauty tells “ordinary” women that they are always in need of adjustment, and that the female body is an object to be perfected. The English press also providing snaps of hot babes’ photo gallery of party-mania in multi star hotels. Even the photos of sports stars are also provided in a manner that depicts their body attraction. Mostly in Pakistani media are shown with white complexion as a beauty standard that does not relate to our country as the majority of Pakistani girl’s own brown skin color from their parents inherently. The most dangerous scenario is that these kind of portrayal is only demanded which objectify the women’s body. Like LUX is promoting a softness and fairness of body.

        The Slogan of the LUX is "LUX makes your wish comes true". Such portrayal of women is developing a concept of attractive body. It is having been naturalized that every woman wishes to have soft and flawless skin not for themselves but for others. And film makers are distributing a message of flawless and soft skin is a reason of female’s confidence.  Such portrayal does not only sell products but normalize soft and flawless skin as an ideal cultural standard towards which all women aspire to complete their own identity as women.

        Idealization thinness and a symmetrical body shape as standard of feminine beauty. The rise of mass media has re-conceptualized the body and its relationship to culture. As TV ads idealized everything about a woman they have also idealized a thin, smart, and perfectly symmetrical body shape. Television and movies reinforce the importance of a thin body as a measure of a woman's worth. The same woman or girl, after using a shampoo, is shown as confident, more attractive. Idealization of white complexion as a marker of femininity beauty: women represents in Fair and Lovely, Skin White, Golden Pearl beauty cream, Dove Prickle, Dove Cleaning Milk, Face Fresh that emphasizes and idealize white complexion as a standard of feminine beauty.

        Women with brown and black complexion are often portrayed gross, crude, and rejected. This kind of portrayal communicate a very strong message to females have to achieve fair and white complexion for their acceptance in the society. The portrayal of females shows that they are objects to be looked at and evaluated on the basis of their appearance. When a woman’s body is separate from her as an individual, then she will essentially have viewed as a physical object of the male gaze. It was seemed that uneducated people invested their money and time to produce film and their mainly focused was on the output in the form of huge profit and publicity. They exploit women and use their body as a source of attractiveness to increase their ratings of the film within the competition with other producers. Now a day’s public is more interested on visual representation and reflects through it. It was dire need to highlight the discrimination against women within films as a form of body objectification that was hidden behind the screen so that’s why bullets of canon were towards the film makers and the producers who are responsible for every type of depiction of the girls that is important in shaping the minds of the viewers. Mostly such people were less educated that were blindly following the others culture as a name of modern trends. It is the necessity of the media industry to welcome the educated and young people to be part in the films production as well as gender specialist who will approve the gender equality. When all people will try to do this then no one will demand from public side for the appealing body of the women rather they will demand creativity and productiveness when the way of strong and moral messaging will be starting in the media.