BEYOND APPEARANCES: CLAIMING OUR VALUE AS WOMEN IN A SUPERFICIAL SOCIETY
LIFE SPA EVENT IN SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
Inspired by Jennifer Siebel Newsom's documentary Miss Representation, on June 24, LIFE Spa (a project of WFWP San Francisco Bay Area) held a discussion on the consequences of media portrayals of women. The presentation by Philaine Seher and Ann Helen Monnesland interspersed facts and figures with clips from the documentary, highlighting the damaging portrayal of women in the media and prompting the question, "What can we do about it?"
Some of the presentation's main points included:
The media portrayal of women is shallow, as the women shown are inevitably young and beautiful.
The media's consistent message is that value comes from appearance.
This message is internalized, leading to negative consequences, including increased depression, eating disorders, etc. among women.
One consequence is lower political efficacy for women. In a vicious cycle, as young women feel their voices do not matter and that they are only good based on their looks, they refrain from engaging in activities to change this portrayal or pursue leadership positions, perpetuating the misrepresentation of women in the media and girls' attempts to adapt to the limited and damaging models they see.
Many participants found the material presented to be shocking, especially the clips of news reporters and radio hosts trivializing female political leaders by reducing them to their appearance, regardless of the political views propounded by these leaders. While most expressed awareness of the sexualization of women in advertisements, movies, and music videos, many have become inured to such representations, accepting them as par for the course.
After critically examining the reality of the media portrayal of women, and understanding some of its consequences, discussion turned to the issue of "What can we do?" In small groups and as a whole, participants brainstormed both small, everyday steps and larger actions women could take to change the message girls receive from the media or to diminish the power of such a limited and limiting portrayal. Such action steps ranged from simply complimenting another woman on something other than just her appearance to writing to political representatives, and bringing the Miss Representation curriculum to schools. Participants left with concrete actions they could take to counter the damaging consequences of the media's misrepresentation of women.
LIFE Spa's June 24 event marked the end of the program's 2011-12 cycle. After a summer break, LIFE Spa will recommence in the fall.