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Introduction
The media is a vital tool in influencing society toward adopting specific values. The content propagated by these forms of media tends to directly impact the people on how they perceive society and, therefore, adopt behavior related to their perceptions. However, the critical role of the media in society has been largely exploited to cultivate a culture of gender inequality and stereotypic values that aim to belittle a specific gender and exalt the other. The film Killing Us Softly IV by Jean Kilbourne examines how the media continues to reinforce gender discrimination by objectifying women through ads (Kilbourne, 2010). This paper analyzes how Kilbourne uses the film to justify the critical role that the media plays in promoting gender inequality and its impact on society. The film portrays how society is easily influenced by the media and is quick to set unrealistic standards propagated by the media’s content against women thus negatively impacting them physically and emotionally.
Killing Us Softly IV
The media has influenced society to confine women to particular physical and emotional attributes that they must adhere to. According to Kilbourne, advertisements portray ideal women with a certain form of beauty, such as being thin and light-skinned with no blemishes (Kilbourne, 2010). Models who appear in most ads are presented with perfect beauty that has been enhanced by cosmetics and computer editing to make them appealing to society. Kilbourne argues that women who do not conform to these popular beliefs propagated by the media tend to be perceived negatively, which lowers their self-esteem, making them sensitive and insecure with their appearance (Kilbourne, 2010). These unrealistic expectations have forced women to indulge in unhealthy practices such as eating disorders to achieve the perfection demanded by society. Therefore, women have been objectified to satisfy the beliefs of the community rather than people who deserve to be proud of their physical and emotional orientation.
Objectifying women has promoted gender inequality by lowering their dignity and cultivating gender violence. The film analyzes various advertisements aired by the media that equate women to certain products such as alcohol and cars that men popularly consume (Kilbourne, 2010). Such ads tend to lower the worth of women and their human dignity making men believe they have total control over women and can easily manipulate them to their advantage. As a result, this perception has made it easier for society to normalize gender-based violence against women. Furthermore, this stereotypical belief makes it difficult for women to raise their concerns because they are viewed as weak and insignificant to raise critical societal issues. According to the film, men are considered superior, making their opinions matter more than that of women (Kilbourne, 2010). Therefore, women continue to be disregarded and subjected to various forms of injustice because the values being portrayed by the media to society disqualify them from receiving justice.
Additionally, the media has influenced gender inequality by portraying men as strong, masculine, and dominating while women are portrayed as thin, short, and youthful. Kilbourne argues these differences are meant to create the belief that men are naturally dominating while women are meant to be submissive (Kilbourne, 2010). Therefore, society tends to glorify men and demean women, thus contributing to gender-based violence where men feel they have the right to control women and women have to please men and submit themselves for exploitation. She argues that tolerating such notions often impacts the way children perceive society as they grow (Kilbourne, 2010). Young girls exposed to such beliefs grow up knowing that they do not have equal rights to their male counterparts, while young boys realize they are meant to dominate their female counterparts. It, therefore, becomes difficult to eliminate gender inequality because it is deeply rooted in people’s mindsets, which they developed in their early childhood stages.
By objectifying women, the media has promoted sexual violence by portraying women as sex objects meant to satisfy men’s cravings. Most of the ads displayed in the film present women dressed erotically with most of their body parts uncovered (Kilbourne, 2010). Other ads depict women with seductive postures to appeal to men sexually. Besides, other media content, such as pornography, has further disregarded women by objectifying them as sex toys to be used by men. Therefore, women have often been subjected to sexual violence such as rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage, and sexual torture, which aim to disregard the right of women to consent to sexual activities. The media has normalized sexual violence against women, thus making the victims reluctant to seek justice for fear of being judged harshly by society. Moreover, sexual stereotypic beliefs presented by the media tend to infringe on women’s rights over their bodies (Kilbourne, 2010). Practices such as forced pregnancy or abortion show that women do not have control over their bodies. On the contrary, men have been protected by the media, where they are often presented with dignity and respect that is not accorded to women.
The failure to address the biased media content continues to subject women to untold pressure and mental suffering, especially when they fail to meet society’s standards depicted in the media. Kilbourne acknowledges that media influence on society is increasingly becoming powerful, which worsens the situation of gender inequality and objectification of women (Kilbourne, 2010). The advertisements in the contemporary media encourage more practices that are demeaning to women. As a result, normalizing absurd perceptions of women is growing at an alarming rate. This has forced young girls to worry about their physical appearance at a significantly tender age. According to the film, children are growing up with the pressure of attaining the perfect body and beauty that is portrayed by the media for them to qualify to be proper women (Kilbourne, 2010). This belief has seen women spend an enormous amount of money and time trying to achieve unrealistic perfection. When they fail in their quest, most of them suffer from low self-esteem and depression.
Understanding the media’s role in influencing society’s culture is vital to address the stereotypical values meant to objectify women and demean them. The community requires media literacy to ensure that the content that people consume conforms to values of equality, respect, and dignity for humanity. There is an urgent need to reevaluate the values that the media is selling to its consumers through ads and other productions and correct the biased views perpetrated against women. Creating awareness of the gender-bias values that the media presents in society will enlighten women on their rights and transform the mindset of society to perceive all genders equally, and reduce gender-based injustices.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Jean Kilbourne’s film Killing Us Softly IV portrays how the media easily influences society to adopt stereotypical values against women, thus subjecting them to untold emotional and physical suffering. Embracing prejudiced values has significantly promoted gender inequality by lowering women’s dignity and glorifying men’s superiority. Therefore, women have been forced to live according to the unrealistic standards created by society. However, this problem can be addressed effectively by reviewing the content of the media to ensure it promotes equality.
Reference
Kilbourne, J. (2010). Killing Us Softly IV [Film]. Cambridge Documentary Films, Inc.
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