Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Media Influences on Children

Women have many pressures in life that we are constantly worrying about. One of our major concerns is our weight.  The saddest part of this statement is that it starts at such a young age.
            Young girls are becoming more and more exposed to the images of the “ideal woman”.  Studies show that 53% of American girls are unhappy with their bodies by the age of 13. There are toys, magazines, shows, and many more ways little girls are being trained. A great example of this is the “children’s doll”, Bratz.
            These little girls’ dolls are meant to be simply an expression of the child’s creativity. But when children play they are exploring the world around them.  That is how they learn and these dolls are sending the wrong message. They are “fashion conscious” dolls. They tell the little girls that what they should be concerned about is fashion and boys and make-up. A plain dolls leaves more room for creativity without leading them.
Amie Newman, our average mother, has expressed her concern about these dolls by quoting an article out of the Washington Post.

"Ten year old girls can slide their low-cut jeans over "eye-candy" panties.  French maid costumes, garter belt included, are available in pre-teen sizes.  Barbie now comes in a "bling-bling" style, replete with halter top and go-go boots."  


There is something inherently wrong with allowing young girls to be exposed to this kind of imagery at such a vital stage in their self-development and although manufacturers may claim that these dolls are made for girls 7 and up, Bratz sells padded training bras for 6-year-old girls. These girls are barely out of kindergarten and are already being told they are not good enough.
Women need to break out of the self-deprecating habit. Not just for themselves, but for all the little girls fallowing in their footsteps. Don’t let your little girls be raised by someone else’s point of view. Break the cycle of unhappy women. 

http://www.007b.com/body_image_breasts_puberty.php 
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2007/02/27/we-hate-bratz 
http://parenting.families.com/blog/padded-bras-for-6-year-olds 

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Type too loud? Then and now- The power of silence is on mute.


Vogue, circa 1960's
 This 1960’s June Harlequin Vogue cover is a “whisper” in comparison to modern day advertising.  Hard selling as we know it today is a contributor to self-consciousness amongst women.  Beauty in the eye of the beholder is much more complicated in a typographic dominating world.  Being told what to think, and how to feel comes in waves, morphing from season to season and with social economic factors.
Absence of text allows for the mind to wander and for art direction to drive connotations. Yet present day magazines have text yelling from stands, about fashion, diet, makeup, telling us what to and what not to wear. 
February 2010 Vogue
The underlying denotation of “picture perfect” women with in-season style, perfected skin and nails, and the in your face eye contact from the model which screams confidence is simply this- we are not good enough.  Now add on the copy.  Can we look at the person next to us with the same zealous affirmation and radiate that we are just as "badass"?  If we’re not already thinking it, text shouts out the sexiest new haircuts, wrinkle fighters, and my personal favourite, the X amount of INSIDER TIPS.  Insider tips make you feel V.I.P., as to give the reader exclusive insider scoop of how to look, feel, and be beautiful.  At times they do have good tips.  Yet as a driver for sales, which I admit I’ve fallen guilty for, Insider tips are just another way to project how the common everyday person is NOT a part of the world portrayed through magazines.  
The point being this- images and text in present magazine circulation are all connotations of woman’s unawareness of how to be BEAUTIFUL.  62 percent of women feel pressured from magazines and TV to have a more attractive body. We are influenced to believe that we don’t know, based on what is shown to us, and driven to fulfill our social and ego needs.    What makes magazine houses annual revenues soar in fact make the everyday women seep. What is made to be current cultural appeals are far more dangerous than we realize.
Good Advertising