With the very first breath taken upon entering this world, we as humans are immediately affected by our surroundings. Therefore these surroundings prove to influence and determine who we are destined to become. As we mature within our environments we learn what is expected of us and mold ourselves in order to meet those expectations. This process is also known as socialization. Among the many things influenced by socialization our understanding of gender roles is one of the most predominant. However, there are many different agents that urge us to park-take in the specific gender roles, set up by society, that depend on our biological sex. One of the most of prevalent agents of socialization today includes media advertisements such as pictures in magazines as well as commercials and even television shows. As we go about our daily lives we are bombarded not only by ads that endorse different products but also by ads that endorse society’s ideals of gender roles. Furthermore, these media images act as symbols that project a certain cultural expectation. Through the social interpretation of these different types of media and advertisements as well as through our interactions with the world around us, we are able to distinguish who people are and what behavior society demands of them. These demands, also known as norms, govern our roles in day-to-day life and especially guide roles associated with what it means to be “male” or “female”. However, media, created by the fashion industry in particular, has become extremely controversial in recent years, especially in the way that women are represented. Since the portrayal of women in fashion media has become so endemic, its cultural significance and the ideas this type of media portrays unequivocally impacts not only how a woman is viewed by society by also how she comes to view herself.
The fashion industry, with most of its media featuring female models, has undoubtedly come to create a widely acknowledged yet unrealistic idea of how the perfect woman should look and act; this archetype created by the fashion world implies that a woman should be tall, thin, beautiful and flawless. Since these messages are so prevalent, not only females but also males have generalized this image of women made by the fashion industry to represent woman in society as a whole. The “female fashion icon” has now come to epitomize the idea of a perfect woman to females in regards to what they should strive to look like as well as to males in regards to what is considered an attractive and appealing woman.
However, this has created a widespread problem. Because this image of woman is so unrealistic, it has created all sorts of problems for women, including low self-esteem, eating disorders, depression and so many more. Furthermore, no one is perfect and beauty comes in all different shapes and sizes. the average woman in society has come to However, no woman is perfect not even the models seen on the covers of magazines.
This idea is no better explained than by the film entitled Killing Us Softly, produced by Jean Kilbourne as well as by the scholarly article written by Donna Eder entitled On Becoming Female: Lessons Learned in School. These two resources delineate and criticize the ways in which fashion media has had a negative affect on the women of our society. Eder, in her article, points out how today girls are “continually faced with media messages that emphasize the importance of using makeup and fashionable attire to enhance their attractiveness and sexuality” (Eder p.178).
For my final project I want to further explore the ways in which the fashion industry has had a negative effect upon society.
The fashion industry, with most of its media featuring female models, has undoubtedly come to create a widely acknowledged yet unrealistic idea of how the perfect woman should look and act; this archetype created by the fashion world implies that a woman should be tall, thin, beautiful and flawless. Since these messages are so prevalent, not only females but also males have generalized this image of women made by the fashion industry to represent woman in society as a whole. The “female fashion icon” has now come to epitomize the idea of a perfect woman to females in regards to what they should strive to look like as well as to males in regards to what is considered an attractive and appealing woman.
However, this has created a widespread problem. Because this image of woman is so unrealistic, it has created all sorts of problems for women, including low self-esteem, eating disorders, depression and so many more. Furthermore, no one is perfect and beauty comes in all different shapes and sizes. the average woman in society has come to However, no woman is perfect not even the models seen on the covers of magazines.
This idea is no better explained than by the film entitled Killing Us Softly, produced by Jean Kilbourne as well as by the scholarly article written by Donna Eder entitled On Becoming Female: Lessons Learned in School. These two resources delineate and criticize the ways in which fashion media has had a negative affect on the women of our society. Eder, in her article, points out how today girls are “continually faced with media messages that emphasize the importance of using makeup and fashionable attire to enhance their attractiveness and sexuality” (Eder p.178).
For my final project I want to further explore the ways in which the fashion industry has had a negative effect upon society.