Group 1

English 115
John Kubler
9 December 2014
Female Empowerment
Conflicting and conservative ideas has led to the way modern society views women as
merely sexual objects and nothing more. For decades, women have been accused of being sluts,
whores, and skanks for dressing the way they desire to dress. If one looked at celebrities in
todays generation, those celebrities would also be labeled as sluts, whores, and skanks.
Therefore, Group 1 decided to choose the topic of female empowerment. Therefore, the title of
our Project Media is Female Empowerment. Andres Rodriguez took on the role of Director,
Kimberly Rosas De Almeida took on the role of Editor, Dean Paniza took on the role of Graphic
Designer, and Sharon Truong took on the role of Web Master.
We would like to oppose the way modern society portrays women when they are sexually
expressing themselves. The way they dress does not express their sexual desires, but it expresses
how much power they have and how much control they could have over someone. When a
celebrity exploits their body on stage, it does not mean that, that is not who they really are every
single minute of the day. Women have the right to wear what they want without being judged or
labeled. Some may say that a hyper-sexualized society is not positive, but we should take in
consideration that a womans outfit should not represent who she is as a person, it is just a part of
who she is. This can be portrayed in the articles, Female Chauvinist Pigs by the feminist, Ariel
Levy and What Is Sexual Empowerment A Multidimensional and Process-Oriented Approach
to Adolescent Girls by Dr. Zoe Peterson. Others may think that the way females dress does

express the way they are sexually and personally. This can be explained in the articles Media,
Empowerment and the Sexualization of Culture Debates by Rosalind Gill and Beyond
Empowerment? Sexuality in a Sexist World by Nicola Gavey.
As humans, we are taught to be competitive and that is what one of the girls, Anne, from
Female Chauvinist Pigs is trying to explain in terms of hyper-sexuality when she states, but I
wanted guys to want me, to want to hook up with me, I guesseven though I didnt want to
hook up with them. I always wanted all the guys to think I was the hottest (Levy 152). It depicts
how being hyper-sexualized can be a good way to be competitive and how a girl can show her
physical assets and feel confident and empowered from it. Women should not be ashamed of
what they wear because their attire just shows how confident they truly are. Thats one reason
why female artists are so inspirational to young girls, because they are fierce and comfortable in
their own skin. My group does not see a negative portrayal when women dress the way they
dress. Their fashion should be uplifting and motivational to themselves and everyone around
them in our hyper-sexualized society.
In a political sense, we see how schools pay money to teach children not to have sex. In
the same article, Female Chauvinist Pigs it also states, We are pouring an enormous amount
of money into abstinence-only education that is, sexual education that promotes virginity and
discredits or disregards contraception despite the fact that not a single study has shown this
approach works (Levy 156). Why does the traditional belief have to be forced upon a child or
an adolescent? Who has the right to say what or how a child should think about their own
sexuality? These types of abstinence-only education just confuses them on the way they think. If
anything, it should be left to the parents to tell them how to express themselves sexually when
they reach the mature age to do so.

To some people it might be too extreme that teenagers are exposing so much skin. It
might seem true at times because some girls go a little over board. In the article, Media,
Empowerment and the Sexualization of Culture Debates it states another reason
empowerment is so problematic, it seems to me, is because the notion has become
commodified used to sell everything from washing powder to cosmetic surgery. In that aspect, I
do believe that females are pulled in to buy beauty products. These big named companies
shouldnt tell females what they have to buy, but the choice whether or not to buy these products
belongs to the females. The females are the ones making the decisions, the companies are just
promoting their products. In the end, females have the power over their own bodies and they get
to choose what to do with it, or how they treat themselves.
The traditional beliefs of living in a hyper-sexualized society come from our conservative
majority and they believe the hyper-sexualization of culture will push our society in a negative
direction. In Nicola Gaveys article Beyond Empowerment? Sexuality in a Sexist World
readers are provided with a different perspective on what empowerment may mean. Gavey
states, claims to individual empowerment should not lead us to abandon critique when it looks
like the cultural conditions of possibility for that feeling of empowerment are counter to the
promotion of empowerment (towards diverse and equitable opportunities and rewards) for all
girls and women (Gavey 723). When one woman is feeling sexually empowered as an
individual, her feelings should not disregard promotion of empowerment for all girls and women
who have a different definition of what empowerment is to them. Gavey offers a valid point of
view, but readers should take note that everyone has their own meaning to empowerment so
others should not deny anothers opinion simply because it is not their own.

Women should be able to express their sexuality if that makes them feel empowered.
This is exemplified in Dr. Zoe D. Petersons "What Is Sexual Empowerment? A
Multidimensional and Process-Oriented Approach to Adolescent Girls Sexual Empowerment.
For example, Dr. Peterson argues, This approach requires that we do not dismiss girls own
subjective perceptions of empowerment even if they do not fit our ideal of empowered sexuality
(Peterson 312). Peterson reasonably asks society to not dismiss anyones perception of
empowerment if they do not match our own because no one has the same mind set and
individualism is inevitable. If everyone continues to judge others perspectives than we will
never reach change in todays gender-related double standards and womens issues.
While making our music video, a lot of ideas were just thrown on the table. The title of
the song is called Cant Hold Us Down so the first step was to find clips of women who are
standing up for themselves or that display some type of frustration. During my search for these
clips, I came upon two women speakers; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Amy Jo Goddard. I
decided to begin the video with some inspiring words from Chimamandas feminist speech.
While the audio of the speech played, I put images of celebrities in the background that are
considered hyper-sexualized in our modern society. This method was to demonstrate the
celebrities as performers; they are simply performing for their fans that does not necessarily
mean that they are objectifying themselves. Our music video then ends with images of the same
women but they are not working as a performers. The images show them in their daily life, at
charity places, and with their family. I purposely ended the video with these photos to allow the
viewers to see the difference between the celebritys career and their life. Their job as a
performer is only a part of their life but not all of it. As displayed in the video you can see that
they are more than just an act on stage.

The first few clips were of angry women, this was to accompany Christinas strong
worded verse So what am I not supposed to have an opinion. Should I be quiet just because I'm
a woman. Call me a bitch cos I speak what's on my mind. Guess it's easier for you to swallow if I
sat and smiled. Our modern society puts these standards on women, how they should dress and
act. If any women does not follow these standards they are looked down upon and they get called
negative labels like bitch, slut, and whore. These video clips are exemplifying that women are
ready to stand up and speak up for themselves. They are strong women that will not be held
down by others for their own opinions.
Another essential point of the video is gender-related double standards. Christina
Aguilera calls for action on this issue by saying, If you look back in history. It's a common
double standard of society. The guy gets all the glory the more he can score. While the girl can
do the same and yet you call her a whore. Christina provides a valid example by stating that
men are able to sleep around and show off their sexual experiences while women are looked
down upon as dirty and they are called sluts if they do the same. For this verse, I included clips
of both male and female artist dancing provocatively. The female artist Rihanna is grinding (or
sexually dancing) on top of a male fan on stage, society would see this as Rihanna objectifying
herself. What society fails to notice is there are many male artists who do the same on stage. The
clips of the male artists are Chris Brown, Usher, and Trey Songz. They are doing the exact same
thing as Rhianna, but will not be criticized for their sexual expression.
Before the video ends, I also included a video of Amy Jo Goddards speech on sexuality.
This speech was included to encourage women to feel comfortable in their own skin. Whether
they have sweatpants on or a mini skirt, it is their own choice. They may express their sexualtiy
in whichever way they choose. Women should not feel uncomfortable about their body and

sexuality but they should embrace it. The women in the video clips towards the end are also no
longer angry, but happy. They are dancing and doing what they please. This demonstrates the
feminist movement for change. Society may always have these standards on women, but if
women choose to break free from all the standards and just be true to themselves, then that is one
step closer to change.
For our visual and textual explanation of our original music video, I integrated pictures
from the music video itself, which was Cant Hold Us Down, performed by Christina
Aguilera. I also took 6 lines of lyrics from the song and provided an explanation on how they
relate to the photos and the short clips that we incorporated in the music video. Group 1s 6
subtopics are: Hyper-sexualization, objectification, empowerment, inequality, double standards,
and breaking free from traditional views. Group 1 used hyper-sexualization to depict the
dilemma of women being ostracized because of the way they sexually express themselves today.
The sub-claim objectification was found in the lines: This is for my girls all around the world
who've come across a man who don't respect your worth thinking all women should be seen, not
heard. It establishes that men only respect women because of their figure. In the lyric: Letting
them know we're gonna stand our ground lift your hands high and wave them proud take a deep
breath and say it loud never can, never will, can't hold us down, empowerment can be extracted
from this because it reveals that women will not back down no matter what judgments the
society throws at them. These women are fighting for what their rights to be sexual individuals.
For the subtopic of inequality, I used Deborah Tannens article, Sex, Lies, and
Converstation; Why is it so hard for Men and Women to Talk to each Other to show one reason
why women like to share their opinions and expressing themselves verbally using the quote:
Call me a bitch cuz I speak what's on my mind guess it's easier for you to swallow if I sat and

smiled. In a relationship, a woman would tell you the truth and most men are not ready or
willing to hear criticisms about themselves or areas they need to improve on because they are too
prideful. They would rather walk away than solve the problem. On the other hand, women have
patience when men are explaining or ranting in a relationship.
Furthermore, gender-related double standards played a huge role in this project; it
covered how men get all the glory the more [they] can score while the [girls] can do the same
and yet [they are called whores]. I used Annes competitiveness from Ariel Levys Feminist
Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture to reveal that women who show more
skin and expose their body parts are no different to the men who expose their body to attract
females and receive praises from other people and this was Annes claim when she says: I want
guys to want me, to want to hook up with men, even though I did not want to hook up with them.
I always wanted guys to think I was the hottest (Levy 152). Lastly, Crawford and Unger
clarifies Christina Aguileras statement: I don't understand why it's okay the guy can get away
with it and the girl gets named all my ladies come together more and make a change by stating
the tradition that boys [have] to sow their wild oats, but girls [are] warned that a future
husband wont buy the cow if he can get the milk for free should be broken to solve the double
standard we have in modern society. It might not be appealing in the eyes of society for a woman
to be involved in multiple intimate relationships but it is her right and choice to do what she
desires to with her body. She controls her own body, she is doing this for herself.
The template I used can be associated with women because of the feminine design. The
colors I used were mostly brown, green, red, and blue, which I think blended well with the
template. In addition, I strongly believe that the colors I have chosen are very pleasing and
refreshing to the eye. The shapes I used were callouts and used regular boxes to put the quotes

and explanations in. Also, I added 3D effects on most of them to get different angles, depth, and
texture. Moreover, I used circles and banners on the third page just to avoid repetitiveness. As a
first time designer of a graphic brochure, I consider my work well designed. It might be a little
over-crowded by texts, especially on the second and third page because there were no rooms for
illustrations and a little hard to read because of the size of the fonts; but overall, it is readable and
I consider it visually interesting because of the images, effects, variations of shapes, and
organization of the whole brochure.
Our project also contained a website that explained our groups argument on female
empowerment. On the landing page of my website, I used a black and white picture of a topless
Megan Fox lying down. In this image, the talented actress Megan Fox is showing off her body,
more specifically the tattoos on her back. She has the agency to express herself like that, which I
found very empowering. I also laid out several explicit images of women in entertainment, media
advertising, and fashion. These iconic stars are exposing their sexuality to the public, they are
working to promote sexual power in their photoshoots. These women are all breaking the
boundaries of traditional Western culture. I also have an anchor button to an external survey
monkey poll for interactivity with the audience.
On the background page, I have provided a slideshow of women using sexualization as
personal empowerment. Each photo contains a woman who is participating in the raunch culture.
Some of them are stripped down and some of them are just showing some skin, nevertheless they
are a part of a big feminist movement. Women sexually express themselves through the way they
dress in fashion. In addition, I have included two videos on the debate of whether sexualization
of women is empowering or degrading. On one side, New York Times bestselling author, Janet
Mock supports Beyonc Knowles feminist views. She explains how sexualization can be

empowering, as an independent woman who is comfortable and confident of her own body.
However, in the opposing side, the Girl Talk! video demonstrates six young middle school
girls discussing the topic of how hyper-sexualization in society degrades women. There is clearly
a generation gap, Janet Mock believes that the young teenagers view sexuality differently
because they are not as mature as older independent women. They would not understand how
empowering it is to expose your body.
For my cartoon, I titled it Being Comfortable in Your Own Skin, because it displays
two happy women that look confident in themselves. The caption in the cartoon is, When I am
in my body, I am my own best friend. In relation to sexual expression, women flaunt their
bodies because they feel empowered in their own skin. Lastly, I made a short survey on female
empowerment to get a grip of how the audience views sexual expression. This interactivity will
allow me to understand which gender, which age group, and what their view is on hypersexualization, whether they think it is empowering or degrading.
Next on the statistics page, I have an infographic on feminist activism, which shows how
active women are fighting for their rights now compared to 1970. Now, women are much more
involved in feminist activism than ever before. I believe hyper-sexualization has much to do with
this because women are out there promoting sexuality and using the power that comes from their
confidence in doing so. I have also included an infographic on the consequences of the oversexualization of women to show the opposing side of this. I have another sexualization quiz on
this page, it is an external link. It quickly quizzes the audience to see if they know their fun facts
and definitions of sexualization. My last infographic is on the sexualization of fashion. The
percentages show that stores are being more open to sexualization. 25% of their clothes are
sexualizing now. As a whole, we are breaking free from the traditional views.

On my analysis page, I focused my writing on the rise of the raunch. I included a sexy
image of the Pussycat Dolls. In my writing, I have included hyperlinks to articles that support my
viewpoint. There is also a video of Madonna defending her agency to sexuality in an interview.
She also talks about the double standards that there are in society. I also touched on the genderrelated double standard of sexual expression. I used a quote to compare and contrast Miley Cyrus
and Nick Jonas on their sexual expression and how modern society accepts Nick Jonas but is
disgusted by Miley Cyrus.
For the conclusion page, I included a link to my groups re-edited music video on
Christina Aguileras song Cant Hold Us Down. I also provided the lyrics to the song and I
wrote about my groups views and how we think sexual expression is empowering. In the song,
Cant Hold Us Down, Christina Aguilera promotes female empowerment and takes a stand on
the gender-related double standards in our hyper-sexualized society.
In this collaborative media project, each member used different online methods to
persuade the audience that the sexualization of females is empowering in our hyper-sexualized
society.
Group 1 opposed the traditional Western culture on how society views women as degrading
when they are sexually expressing themselves. We believe that women participating in the
raunch culture have the right to wear whatever fashion they want without being judged or
labeled. It is their own choice to do what they want with their body. In addition, women have the
right to perform their sexuality. However, there is a gender-related double standard when it
comes to sexual expression. Our modern society is quick to judge and criticize on women for
their sexual experiences, meanwhile men can get away with expressing their sexual experiences.
As a whole, our society need to end this unfair treatment by coming together and accepting

everyone for expressing their own sexuality. As result, our hyper-sexualized society can benefit
from breaking free of tradition because this change will increase our cultural maturity and regain
a more tolerant and healthy appreciation of sexual experiences if we work together and promote
sexuality in our society, regardless of the gender differences.

Works Cited
Aguilera, Christina, Lil' Kim, and Redman. Can't Hold Us Down. RCA, 2002. CD.
Gavey, Nicola. "Beyond Empowerment? Sexuality in a Sexist World." Sex Roles 66.
11-12 (2012): 718-24. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
Levy, Ariel. "Female Chauvinist Pigs." (n.d.): n. pag. Www.ariellevy.net. Aug. 2005. Web.
Peterson, Zoe D. "What Is Sexual Empowerment? A Multidimensional and ProcessOriented Approach to Adolescent Girls Sexual Empowerment." (2009): n. pag. Web. 25
Oct. 2014.