Miss Representation is a documentary that focuses on what it is like to be a woman in today’s society. Every day, women deal with sexism and are treated as if they are unequal by men. The documentary starts with a quote that states, “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” This quote speaks measures about how women are put down in society so they are made to believe that they do not have the power to become anything close to a man in society. One of the biggest issues that is tearing down women is the media. Media displays unrealistic body images and sets standards for women to have a thin waist, big breasts, and a large buttox. This affects many women’s mental health and young girls as well. Miss Representation reveals statistics that state:
“53% of teenage girls don’t like their bodies and that number increased to 78% by age 17, 65% of women and girls have an eating disorder, 17 percent engage in cutting and self-injuring behavior, rates of depression among girls and women have doubled between 2000 and 2010, and the number of cosmetic surgicial procedures performed on youth under 19 tripled from 1997-2007.”
Unfortunately, these statistics keep rising, and it will not stop unless men can learn to respect women as much as they respect themselves and other men. Even powerful women in our country are sexualized. For example, Sarah Palin was introduced on national television and after saying her full name and position she was running for, they announced her clothing size. When Hilary Clinton was running for president, there were flyers where the title was “bitch” because she had power and the men were scared. During the election with Hilary Clinton, men were screaming “Iron my shirt”. Many American men also admitted that they have masturbated to Sarah Palin. It is awful that even powerful women figures are still sexualized by men. Feminist Film Studies by Janet McCabe relates to this when she states,
“The image of the woman has … been a site of gendered discourse, drawn from the specific social-cultural experience of women and shared by women, which negotiates a space within, and sometimes resists, patriarchal domination. At the same time new definitions of gender and sexuality circulated by the women’s movement contest the value and meaning of the female image, struggling for different, female recognitions and identifications” (48).
This quote goes to show that the image of women constantly changes but females are struggling still to be recognized as equal as men. Miss Representation also states that “1 and 4 girls experience teen dating violence, 1 in 4 women are abused by their significant others, 1 in 6 women are survivors of rape or attempted rape, and 15% of rape survivors are under 12.” Males, who live in women for 9 months and literally come out of them, treat women this way and it is sickening. As a woman, it is unlikely I go somewhere in public by myself and feel safe. Knowing that I am always on edge, especially on a college campus, is unfair. Men have instilled this in women and it is just getting worse. Many women are at a lost cause and just deal with the sexism they receive, but that is not enough. Males need to be educated from early on that women are equal to men although we have different bodies. Also learning about these statistics shown above will spread awareness and make it known that women are in danger because of men, even though women are the ones who bring people into this world. As a future teacher, I plan on educating my students about the mistreatment of women and how this can be turned around.
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