Keshav Sharma Blog Post #3

In the documentary Miss Representation, the filmmakers depicted the inequality between men and women in American society through various examples taken from the media. The documentary primarily emphasizes that women in media are portrayed as nothing more than “tools” to satisfy the interests of men rather than as knowledgeable and equally important individuals. It also asserts that even when women make progress in areas such as politics, they are rarely taken seriously and are instead criticized by the media for their appearance.

One fact I found interesting was that the United States is ranked 90^th in the world in terms of women in national legislatures. Judging from the way the media views women in the United States as compared to other countries around the world, this statistic really isn’t surprising. In most countries around the world, women are treated with more respect by the media and are thus able to achieve higher levels of power and respect. Whereas in the U.S. women in politics are talked about for the clothes they wear or the hairstyles they sport, in other countries they are typically talked about for their political contributions. I know that in my home country of India, women have made great strides in the field of politics. In fact, the most talked about person in Indian politics is a woman, Sonia Gandhi, the leader of one of the major political parties in the Indian Parliament. Rather than the media criticizing her appearance, they instead talk about her political viewpoints and other meaningful professional facts.

Another interesting point mentioned in the documentary was the statement that women only represent 3% of Fortune 500 CEOs. Though this assertion may be true, I believe that it actually has no relevance to the issues presented in the documentary. It seemed as if the creators of this documentary were actually presenting their own opinions on the matter rather than the common feminist viewpoint. Women may only represent 3% of this list because the men in the list were simply better at handling the companies than women. Even a feminist could not argue that such a statement represents gender discrimination. Some of the most influential companies in the world (PepsiCo, HP, Lockheed Martin, Yahoo) are currently led by female leaders, however, their positions were not due to a desire to overcome typical gender stereotypes but due to their ability to perform at levels similar to men on the list.