Andrea Abbott Blog 3: "Feminism"

The documentary, “Miss Representation,” inspired me to become a Feminist. From the comments and concerns among the women representatives, it seems essential for females to fight together to gain more power. One observer commented that men may vote for women in elections but often it’s the women having trouble voting for their own sex. In we cannot respect and believe in ourselves then no one will.

Some statistics that shocked me were that we make 77 cents for every 1 dollar men earn. Also, the power leaders meant to defend our “freedoms” and “equality” only represent 6% of the country (they’re mostly white middle-aged males). Merely 54 women have been a part of congress as opposed to 2,319 men. And, much of the reason that females are still unequal is because the media’s telling us how to look and act. Surrounded by endless amounts of advertisements, shows and movies about weight and beauty we’re socialized into thinking that’s all we should care about. About 71% of girls between 20 and 30 make up our media, while leaving out the majority of females in the country. Only a few play the protagonists in movies, however it’s usually in “chick flicks” and centered on a male. We never see movies about a woman on a journey searching for power such as in “Lord of the Rings” or “Star Wars”. I can’t think of a legitimate excuse as to why the majority of females are fine with this, except that maybe growing up this way, it has become a norm.

The TV show “Girls,” challenges American culture by displaying “average” looking women facing every day dilemmas. Instead of the typical model having sex in a scene, the director herself, Lena Dunham shows the world that ordinary women are intimate as well and should not be ashamed. Dunham wants to portray real life so that females can once and for all be satisfied with who they are, instead of striving for more. For me, the show really demonstrates how to be yourself and feel judged free. Hopefully over time, more productions and advertisements will follow in the “Girls” footsteps so that women everywhere may finally feel accepted and equal to men.

 In my opinion, if this documentary were shown continuously throughout grade schools across the nation, females may fight harder for their freedoms. Towards the end of the video Gandhi wrote, “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” which I believe sums up it up best.