Women Through The Prism Of Media
It was long thought since centuries ago, that women are less capable than men. Hence, it has been adapted into society's perspective that women have to be serving men rather than to be an equal partner to them. Women are also not allowed to voice out their opinions as it is perceived by the men that women don't possess the capability to think logically as women are more emotional based. Women in today’s day and age face more discrimination and misogyny. 52% of the world’s population are female however, most of the position of power and prestige which are occupied by men rather than women. We have seen women in workplaces not treated as colleagues but instead as sex objects or wives. Men don’t see women in their workplace as a human being with feelings. We have always seen women as handlers of children and housewife who only takes care of the house and her family.
Women are as competent as men in most department with the exception of manual labor, hence they should be treated as equals but there is still gap between both sexes. For example, if a man and a woman were to work a full year with the same position, the man would be paid higher than woman. Women are also less likely to receive any promotions even though they deserve it. A quote that hits the nail on the head was said by Nigerian Nobel Peace Laurate Wangari Maathai that simple goes, “The higher you go, the fewer they are”. This means the higher you go in the cooperate world the fewer women they are in power or in office.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people." We must not forget that even if we are just watching from a far, we still could be an accessory to discrimination. In simpler words, women face discrimination in workplace as well and we should stop that from happening when we see it. Most women are expected to quit their jobs to handle the challenge that is parenthood. This is not only seen in Malaysia but also seen all over the world in countries like Brazil, The United Kingdom, India and Turkey.
Women are normally portrayed by the media as being the lesser sex, being pushed to second place whenever needed. This only leads to women feeling that they are only as good as their husband, father, boyfriend or brother will allow them to be and that they are better than them or as good as they are. Seeking permission only leads to women succeeding at a slower pace in many aspects of life. For example, if a wife wanted to go out for dinner with some friends or even family members, she would most likely have to ask her husband for permission before leaving, whereas a husband does not ask permission but just informs his wife he is going out with a few friends. This gives the husband power to control his wife, this patriarchy, was mostly established in ancient times when the strongest fighter in the village was by default the leader of their village.
This patriarchal system had to withstand the test of time because men are in general stronger than women are. This system is no longer effective in a modern world where everything from fighting wars to taking a can of mackerels off the top shelf is done with the assistance of a machine and not humans anymore. The patriarchy was a good system at the time. In the final analysis, women have been forced into being subordinates in a patriarchal family and as such are being discouraged from pursuing their own life passions and wants. Such repression has been proven to lead to depression, in extreme cases some people might even take they own life. Women are subconsciously told by the media to find most of their value in the amount of attention they receive from men.
Many women, including Hollywood celebrities, find that their worth is only as good as what they are told by other men. This does not necessarily mean their husband or closest male friends, this also means the strangers at the bar, the cashier in the supermarket and the salesman at the exhibition. A short sentence for example, “You look like you could benefit from lipstick” from a random salesman or person can damage a woman’s self- esteem. She would feel that she has to put a mask on her face whenever she steps out of her house, even if that meant going to a nearby shop or even for a drive. She feels that she has to be a whole different human being for the society to accept her.
The media tells women that they are only as good as how sexy or attractive they are. This message puts a huge pressure on women to look good and to be depended for compliments from everyone and anyone. Such competition for empty compliments is not only encouraging men to think that they have some type power over women but also is very unhealthy for the mind of a woman. This is shown in Miss Representation when the news anchors made Paris Hilton walking down a street as the main story. In short, the media is subtly telling women that their value as a person comes from their ability to attract attention from others, as opposed to self-confidence.
In conclusion, the media is sending messages through advertising and its programmes that will lead to women being denied the same opportunities that are succeed by men, being raised to be servants to men and needing the attention of other men to determine their self-value. This is very dangerous for not only Malaysia but also the world as if half the population is shunned and discriminated against, the world can only progress at half capacity. This could lead to lack of advancements in every field.
