Miss Representation

Miss Representation was a very interesting and informative documentary about gender discrimination. For me personally, it allowed me to think of the way the media has perhaps altered my outlook on certain things. It also made me more aware of the ways women are discriminated against in the workplace. Whether in politics or in the film industry, women often have less opportunities than men. However, women are just as capable of doing all of the same jobs. More often then not, men do not want to change what they think has worked for so many years. They do not see how hiring and working with women may actually positively impact them.

Women and especially young girls are overly sexualized in the media in both news programs and reality tv. Young people are so influenced by what they see and hear that what they see in movies and tv shows could easily change of what they think of the world. This film made me notice that I have almost become numb to this treatment of women in the media. No one thinks how much of an impact the media truly does have on his or her life. After reading the article in US Catholic, I also became aware of how careful parents have to be in order to protect their children from these negative effects. They have to make sure they do not give their sons an unrealistic expectation of women and make sure that their daughters do not feel all of the immense pressure to be like the celebrities they see on tv and in magazines. It is important for women to not be so hard on themselves and their appearances, but this is often difficult because of the world we live in where almost all ads are photoshopped and everyone wants to be the most attractive.

I think the role of gender in the workplace will be more prevalent in some fields more than others, and I feel like the gender inequality will be subtle. If there is different treatment if men and women, one may not notice it right away, but later realize it. I also think that women may have to work harder to prove themselves and demonstrate that they can do whatever the job may be. However, I feel that the inequality could be getting better, but it hard to say when it will ever disappear. Going to the amount has made me more aware of the power of women around the world and how important it is to be confident in myself and my talents.