How to Deal With the Media’s Portrayal of Women

It’s hard to escape the media’s portrayal of the perfect woman.  It can be seen everywhere from the cover of our favorite magazines to the movies to billboards advertising just about anything.  It’s easy to see why women and girls strive to be like these women.  Women are revered for measuring up to the standards of attractiveness that the media has set, and those who are convinced that they miss the mark often feel inadequate.

In reality, the women that the media puts the spotlight on set an unrealistic standard.  A great many of these women have plastic surgery and other procedures to attain their “perfect” look.  And even then they are not as perfect as you might think.  During movie and television show filming and photo shoots, they always have a stylist on hand to make sure every hair is in place.  Cameras are placed at the most flattering angle possible, and any flaws that show through all of the smoke and mirrors are airbrushed into oblivion.

The media’s portrayal of the average woman is somewhat more conflicted.  Once depicted as mothers and housewives with little substance, today’s female movie and sitcom characters are often at the other end of the extreme.  They are still matriarchs and domestic engineers, but they also often have full-time careers and multiple interests outside the home.  Think of them as “supermoms” or “superwives.”

Nobody’s Perfect and Average Is Subjective

It’s easy to get caught up in the traits that the media assigns to women, and to be too hard on ourselves if we do not possess those traits.  But we can’t base our lives on what the media chooses to promote as attractive.  A look at our female family members, friends and acquaintances will tell us that every woman is special in her own unique way.  We must realize that we are no exception.

It is also very important to realize that we don’t have to have it all.  It’s great that women are now free to have careers and interests that have nothing to do with home, but it’s important that we not expect too much of ourselves.  Having a career, family, and other interests is possible, but you must understand that if you do this you will have to make sacrifices somewhere.

We can’t allow the images the media puts forth to dictate how we run our lives.  We can keep our sanity and set a good example for other women and girls by being unabashedly proud of our individuality.  We do not have to have plastic surgery, eat an unhealthy diet to be at the perfect weight, or do what everyone else thinks we should do with our lives.  By being true to ourselves, we can help change the perception of what represents the average woman.