The Media, Real Women and Gender Oppression
This week’s prompt was a difficult one for me because I did not feel that I knew as much about the real lives women as I could. So I enlisted the aid of an expert, my wife. Truthfully, I was surprised in the conversation that we had because my wife made me aware of not only her knowledge of the topic, but also that women’s representation was clearly something that she is passionate about.
The first piece of knowledge my wife shared with me was the desire for some celebrity couples to build and raise their families in almost total secrecy until the children reached older ages. For example, Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake went through lengths to protect their first child from the cameras for almost the first year or so of his life. Pictures uploaded to social media would not fully capture the baby’s body and face, but rather parts such as hands or feet. This type of consciousness on the part the celebrities, in my mind, shows a desire to be real. Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are not alone in this desire to lead very private lives either. I wonder, can this type of behavior be attributed to the rise of social media? These are people that live under the spot light, but want to be just as regular as any person who does not make an onscreen living. It is funny to see them living this type of lifestyle because the media has done such tremendous job of market to teens through social media because of people like Jessica and Justin.
A second piece of information my wife shared with me during our discussion was the actress Sophia Bush, who plays an intelligence detective on Fox’s Chicago PD, is not only strong on the screen, but also in real life. Sophia Bush is an active advocate for the advancement of women into positions of power and respect. Her social media presence uplifts women and puts positive light to the struggles women face.
My third and final takeaway for talking with my wife about women’s roles in TV and our society is that she is very interested in the public conversation of women’s depiction in our society. I realized that all those times I would complain about my wife’s insistence of hours of social media usage are for more that stalking the lives of her friends and interests. The idea that my wife is making herself more educated and attaching on to powerful women who are providing a vessel to improve the lives of women is wonderfully inspiring.
The first piece of knowledge my wife shared with me was the desire for some celebrity couples to build and raise their families in almost total secrecy until the children reached older ages. For example, Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake went through lengths to protect their first child from the cameras for almost the first year or so of his life. Pictures uploaded to social media would not fully capture the baby’s body and face, but rather parts such as hands or feet. This type of consciousness on the part the celebrities, in my mind, shows a desire to be real. Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are not alone in this desire to lead very private lives either. I wonder, can this type of behavior be attributed to the rise of social media? These are people that live under the spot light, but want to be just as regular as any person who does not make an onscreen living. It is funny to see them living this type of lifestyle because the media has done such tremendous job of market to teens through social media because of people like Jessica and Justin.
A second piece of information my wife shared with me during our discussion was the actress Sophia Bush, who plays an intelligence detective on Fox’s Chicago PD, is not only strong on the screen, but also in real life. Sophia Bush is an active advocate for the advancement of women into positions of power and respect. Her social media presence uplifts women and puts positive light to the struggles women face.
My third and final takeaway for talking with my wife about women’s roles in TV and our society is that she is very interested in the public conversation of women’s depiction in our society. I realized that all those times I would complain about my wife’s insistence of hours of social media usage are for more that stalking the lives of her friends and interests. The idea that my wife is making herself more educated and attaching on to powerful women who are providing a vessel to improve the lives of women is wonderfully inspiring.
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