Tune In Tuesday.

Advertising. We see it everywhere, every day. I'm sure you can look around you at this very moment and see at least four advertisements within your vicinity. We walk through life with advertisements following us from street corner to street corner, from building to building. We see pepsi ads, and coupon fliers, we walk to our cars to find ads shoddily stuffed under our windshield wipers. We surf the web only to see our content surrounded by rectangular boxes telling us how to get the newest technology, the latest diet fad or the next such and such that will make our lives worth living! Being bombarded with advertisement everyday seems to desensitize us from it in a way. We see so many ads on a regular basis that many times, we just stop noticing, stop thinking about it and shut down to it. Until something shocking comes along, that is.
Companies advertise to their target audiences, to those that 'need' what they've got. Women are widely objectified within marketing stratagems. Everyone knows the phrase "sex sells", and companies are not afraid to utilize that phrase to its fullest. Jean Kilbourne is an innovative and groundbreaking author, filmographer, and feminist speaker that has changed the way that many look at advertising. In her 'Killing Us Softly' documentaries as well as her books: Too Sexy Too Soon, and Can't Buy My Love Kilbourne takes a look at the way that women are portrayed in the media and how it affects societal perceptions and public health. I recommend that anyone interested would watch the Killing Us Softly documentaries. Kilbourne provides an interesting and astounding view into the 'art' and destruction of advertising in the U.S.

What is Equal?

Gender Equality in the media... Does it exist?In recent years, Women have come to represent around 50% of the workforce. Women have become somewhat equal in the jobs that they attain. As years pass, the pay gap between men and women seems to become smaller and more equalled. If this is so, then why are women so unrepresented in the media?  According to MediaMatters: "news networks marginally increased the representation of minorities on their broadcasts - but subsequently relegated women and people of color “to the back of the cable news room,”. In another interesting observation we find that On shows airing between 4 pm and midnight on cable news networks CNBC, CNN, CNN Headline News, MSNBC, and Fox News, there are 35 hosts and cohosts: 29 are men and 6 are women. All 35 are white. What does this say about our sources for news, entertainment and societal standards? It seems that the sources that greatly influence young adults continue to project a biased standard for not only those working in the media, but those partaking in it. By not having women and minorities as prominent figures in the programs and field, we are pigeon-holing them into the closed mind perceptions that have become an issue to the body image, social and gender roles of our society.

What's Love Got to Do With It?

If you have been surfing the web, thumbing through the pages of a magazine, or flipping through TV channels, you are most likely aware of the portrayal of women in the media. According to a study at Colorado State University :

"The average U.S. woman is 5’4” and weighs 140 pounds whereas the average U.S. model is 5’11” and weighs 117 pounds."

Not only are the women pegged as "super-models" quickly wasting away, but it seems that our self love and confidence is also quickly disappearing. Whether we are men, or women we see the impression that the media has placed upon our body images. As women we are told that we are not thin enough, or not curvaceous enough, while men are told to be fit toned and tan. We are told that to become 'okay' we need to buy things, buy improvements to rid us of our 'flaws'. In a time when media exposure surrounds every step of our days, it is no surprise that  one out of every four college aged women has an eating disorder. We are bombarded with images of 'perfection'. You may be asking yourself... "What's love got to do with it"? Well, in the words of Miss Turner, "What's love, but a second hand emotion?" You've got to love yourself before you really truly feel it first hand. You've got to stop, take a look around, and see that the images surrounding you are not the standard that you will fall victim to. Love yourself. You're Beautiful, You're worth it!

Watch it - Wednesdays.

This video has some astounding statistics. Think about it. What is a 'woman' to you? What makes you special? What makes you REAL?