Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Miscellaneous Self Image and Feminism Self Image and Feminism Media, in its largest sense, hypothetically is one small page in the large "book of life". However, nineteenth century society has based an entire chapter of their lives on what happens in every medium used for communication. Through the creation of radio and of television in the late 1940's, and the modernization of newspapers and magazines, specifically, American culture has devoted themselves to a mass communications lifestyle in which they base most of their well being upon. Cynical as this theory may seem, the representation of the young and popular everyday seen on television and in magazines, prevails over a more realistic view of life. "When I open Vogue, for example, I am simultaneously infuriated and seduced, grateful to escape temporarily into a narcissistic paradise where I'm the center of the universe, outraged that completely unattainable standards of wealth and beauty exclude me and most women I know from the promised land. And this doesn't only happen when I'm reading Vogue ,...Special K ads make most of us hide our thighs in shame. On the one hand, on the other hand-that's not just me-that's what it means to be a woman in America." Any number of modern day magazines and television advertisements can conclude the same theory. A perfect example of the narcissistic behavior Douglas talks about on television today is a nighttime soap opera on Fox Network, Ally McBeal. This show, after gathering my own conclusions from viewing it, represents a sexy, love-crazed, fantasized woman, who cannot develop a normal life because of the absence of a husband/boyfriend. "Fox TV's Ally McBeal centers on a female attorney who works with her former boyfriend, who is now married to another attorney in the firm. Despite the prestigious job, Ally is emotionally confused and man-hungry."2 This "lost" woman also happens to belong to an auspicious law firm. This is the true irony of television in itself. We have managed to keep the same Donna Reed character by giving her the modernistic feel of a feminist who has a successful career. rs ago. Just as in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mary Richards, the main character, was one of the first in the decade to see some sort of mother on television foregoing. However, the "feminism" was still withheld. "As the show progressed into the mid- and late 1970's, the Mary Richards charaes." According to Media EthicsWomen, Men and Media project, that reports how women are underrepresented; in twenty front page stories, 15 percent of the sources were women, 35 percent of front-page stories and 26 percent of opinion pieces were written by women. These figures and numbers are appalling compared to the number of magazines and television shows that are targeted toward women. Many magazines aim for what they think women have and always will be interested. One example, Astoria Magazine, advertises "articles, recipes, shopping, environment, food, and fashf to have articles including information about "horoscopes, fashion, beauty and sex tips". On the opposite side of thisze health, sports, and finance. This is not to say all magazines portray the same images. However, the majority of the popular women's magazines do relay this quality of "service magazines" or "providing advice to women in a large spectrum". Men's magaz, 'Don't Hate Me Because I Am Thin'. The American Vogue, had a photo spread on supermodel Kate Moss, all 100 pounds on a 5'7" frame. Mademoiselle offered a piece on whether friends make you fat. Self had an ar Everything about these magazine articles and television shows, aght or too obvious for most, and considered overbearing for others. However, th Bibliography: Douglas, Susan J., Where the Girls Are, Growing Up Female with the Mass Media, New York: Times Books, Random House,1995, p.9. 2 Turow, Joseph, Media Today, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997 Jones, Gerard, Honey, I'm Home, New York: Grove Press, 1992, p.194. 4 Christians, Clifford G., Mark Fackler, Kathy Brittain Mckee and Kim B. Rotzoil, Media Ethics, New York: Longman Inc., 1997, p.63. 5 Lycos.com, taken from an overview of women and magazines. www.lycos.com. 6 Turow, Joseph, p.146. 7 Christians, Clifford G., p.178. 8 Douglas, Susan J., p. 162. Word Count: 598
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