representations of women in media

the explore how representations of women are used in the media. I will review these representations to find how they are used and misused in an effort to hurt women. According to Tom Reichert, author of The Erotic History of Advertising, "The advertising industry is often blamed for societal ills ranging in the sharp increases in the incidents of anorexia and breast implants to the perpetuation of economic and social inequality". I believe they are blamed justly. Advertising may not create the societal ideal or social norm, but they use those images in a way that perpetuates certain stereotypes and social roles. The advertising industry creates a need and then tries to fulfill it. When it comes to sexual images in advertising, they are used in a fashion that many believe have limited women's freedoms. According to Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth, "More women have more money and power and scope and legal recognition than we had ever had before; but in terms of how we feel about ourselves physically, we may actually be worse off than our unliberated grandmothers".

According to Naomi Wolf (1991), the "Beauty Myth" is a political weapon used in a backlash against feminism. She goes onto say that the reason the beauty myth is so important is because it is the last of many norms about femininity (like norms of motherhood, and marriage that do not continue on today). The beauty myth draws women into its web, promising them happiness if they strive toward physical perfection. Wolf believes that this has bound the women that the second wave of feminism had liberated.