"Miss Representation" Brad Wires

The documentary "Miss Representation" was a real eye-opener for me. With our busy lives its not often we take the time to step back and analyze the media and its biased, destructive nature. After all the strides women have made for equal rights and equal opportunity, its hard to believe that in the 21st century, and especially in a country of enlightenment, women still have as many struggles as they do. We are a society that is disciplined by the media. Whether we are willing to accept it or not, its a fact that is proven in the statistics. All the statistics in "Miss Representation" were shocking to me but for time sake I'll only address a few. These statistics are representative of cause and effect. First, some statistics for cause. US advertisers spent $235.6 billion in 2009. That's a shocking amount spent but what's more shocking is the messages portrayed in these advertisements. American teenagers consume 10 hours and 45 minutes of media a day. Teens are already influenced at school but then almost 11 hours of influential media is added on top of that. This is too much media period in my opinion, but again what's more disturbing is the content and messages projected towards American teens. The media companies and politics are dominated by men. Now for the effects. 53% of 13 year old girls are unhappy with their bodies, with that number increasing to 78% by age 17. 65% of women and girls have an eating disorder. Rates of depression among girls and women have doubled between 2000 and 2010. US women spend $12,000 to $15,000 a year on beauty products and salon services. Women make up 51% of the US population yet comprise only 17% of Congress. In 2008 women earned $0.77 for every $1.00 men earned. Only 16% of protagonists in films are female. The list goes on but is it really necessary to keep listing all the effects? Well, yes and no. The effects can be useful since they tend to be more effective then yelling, "THE MEDIA'S TO BLAME". The effects can ultimately guide society towards the issues that need the most scrutiny, the causes. Women still have a long road towards equality but I believe that change and growth in our society is inevitable. Maybe not in my lifetime but I still remain optimistic.