Caitlin Ellison

Gender Equality in Schools Changing the Perception that Being a Girl is an Insult

Media Analysis Project

CT 807 Multicultural Education

University of Kansas
 Women have long been portrayed as the weaker sex. Throughout history, women have

been portrayed as weak, needing a mans protection, property, or incapable of coherent thought.

In todays society, women are either displayed as sex objects, or it is considered to be derogatory

to be a girl. A classic childhood favorite movie, The Sandlot, uses the statement You throw like

a girl! as the most effective insult between two adolescent baseball teams. Sadly, women and

girls have accepted this as the status quo.

The status quo is wrong. There is a growing need of healthy women and real women as

role models. The media is sold on using women as sex objects that is how they make money.

Television shows and movies need to have more strong female protagonists to help move past

being considered a sex object or as an insult. Fuller-sized women should become more

mainstream in advertisements, because not everyone is a size zero. This is again a direct

correlation to womens status as sex objects. This also helps for women to be more comfortable

with their body.

The impact television shows and movies have on young girls is astronomical. Because

the media values girls for their bodies, and not minds, there are fewer girls in science and math-

related fields. The only clothing available for girls is sexy. School age girls do not need to be

wearing belly-bearing shirts, or shorts so short that nothing is really covered, yet that is what

sells. With the added stress of clothing, todays culture has the viewpoint that a womans dress

dictates that rape is allowed, that it is the womans fault they are raped because they are dressed

too provocatively.

According to a study commissioned by Dove, 60% of girls are so concerned with the way

they look that they opt out of important activities. Girls relationship with the way they look

has an impact on their academic performance: girls who think they are overweight, regardless of
their actual weight, have lower grades, (Dove 2013). In my current class of 20 students, 11 are

girls. According to that study, half of my girls would not participate in any activity, because they

have a negative feeling about their body or self-confidence. And it doesnt stop there. The same

study showed that 17% of women claimed they would not go to a job interview and 8% stated

that they would miss work on days when they felt bad about the way they look. Nancy Etcoff,

Assistant Clinical Professor at Harvard Medical School argues, No young person should leave

school feeling that they cant participate fully in life because of the way that they think they

look.

Since the creation of televisions, women portrayal has stayed the same. Battles are being

waged against this portrayal one of the primary focuses of women in the media has been to

destroy the ideal of a perfect body type. However, it is an uphill battle. For example, take a look

at many family-centered films. Look at the outfits worn by Ariel in the Little Mermaid, Jasmine

in Aladdin, and Meg from Hercules. Overall, in family films, almost 30% of the female

characters are wearing sexy attire, compared to less than 10% of the male characters. How is

this acceptable, especially for the target audience school-age girls? At such a young age, it is

accepted that this is how women dress. Young women are being hyper-sexualized, and the media

is saying that everything is okay.

When not portrayed as a sex object, women in television are used as props for men. In

the Transformers movie, the first introduction of Megan Foxs character pans from the legs up to

the bottom, up to the belly, up to the chest, and then finally up to her face.

Television either portrays women as sex objects or as someone without a mind of their

own. It is considered highly untoward for an intelligent woman to be attractively displayed on

the screen. The Big Bang Theory, provides many examples of female portrayal. The character
Amy Farrah Fowler demonstrates how society views the unattractive educated woman. Socially

awkward, missing obvious social cues, a lust for romance fuels the stereotype that, as a highly

educated woman, has traded date time for lab time. In comparison, Bernadette is an attractive

educated woman. Her role, however, is simply a pretty prop to Howard, a sex-oriented male.

Lastly, Penny is referred to as the normal character, but is portrayed with a lack of motivation

and an emphasis on dressing well. In fact, Pennys character is often sexualized because of the

outfits worn, and is considered by many to be a nymph.

Next, television portrays female leaders as cold and callous. What few female

protagonists are out there are often asked to take on cold, masculine traits. Notably, Katniss

Everdeen from The Hunger Games and the Black Widow from The Avengers are callous, stoic,

yet still maintaining sex appeal, appear over-tough to be believable. Now the media is giving the

impression that women have to be hard and tough in order to be a leader so having femininity

is not going to get a position of leadership.

The objectification theory touts that exposure to sexually objectifying magazine images,

television, and music videos is associated with a greater self-objectification in young women.

Self-objectification can lead to negative outcomes, such as body shame and anxiety, which in

turn can lead to depression, sexual dysfunction, and eating disorders, (Pardouly et all, p. 447).

Because the media focuses on only womens physical appearance, the resulting image is highly

sexualized and in a subordinate position. Women compare themselves to whatever is in the

media, thus perpetuating the cycle.

Moving away from the media and into the classroom reveals parallel claims. Females in

the classroom are perceived differently than their male counterparts. For example, 1/3 of

students in grades 3-12 believe that People think that the most important thing for girls is to get
married and have children, (Banks and Banks, p. 110). This is demonstrated through almost

every television show running. A female character will not be by herself for too long before a

partner (typically male) arrives and now they are in a relationship.

In most school curriculum, men are seen as the dominating force of school textbooks.

Almost five times as many males are mentioned in social studies texts than women. Women are

mentioned in textbooks, but there is not much credence bestowed upon them. It is a mere

mention, and then continuing on the current path.

Women and girls are also treated differently in school than males. Males tend to

dominate the classroom conversations. They also receive more teacher attention, positive as well

as negative, than females. Female students are more likely to receive less instructional time,

less help, and less positive and negative attention, (Banks and Banks, p. 115).

As a teacher, I was previously unaware of the bias in my classroom. I teach three

sections of Writing and Science/Social Studies to 60 third grade students. In all three sections,

boys are the bigger contributors to significant misbehaviors than are girls. I was not cognizant

that I was targeting these students. I was aware of the fact, however, that the conversations were

male-dominated. To help with this, I created Popsicle sticks identified with a student number.

This has helped eliminate only a few students responding students may not answer again until

all of the sticks have been pulled. Now, though I am more aware, I am still targeting certain

students, predominately male, for significant misbehaviors. I charted these behaviors, and found

that no females were displaying these behaviors, so I do not feel that the girls are getting away

with more than the boys. I have found that I am more conscientious of addressing behaviors,

regardless of male or female status.

 Because I am more aware of how male and female students are treated in the classroom, I

am more prepared to change my interactions with them. I am also more prepped for handling

girls self-esteem concerns in the classroom. According the NYC Girls Project, Girls as young

as six or seven are struggling with body image and self-esteem, (2016). Fortunately, there are

many programs available to help combat low self-esteem in young girls. These programs are

designed for girls/women, but some can be applied for working with boys.

Programs currently in existence to help combat low self-esteem in school-age girls are

becoming more prevalent. These programs include Girls on the Run, the Empowerment Project,

Dove Self-Esteem, and the NYC Girls Project. Girls on the Run is designed in two programs for

girls in third through eighth grade. Through running and self-reflection, girls participate in three

parts of a curriculum: understanding ones self, relationships and teamwork, and positive

connections to shape the world. This program helps increase self-esteem by promoting healthy

choices.

The Empowerment Project is a female-only film crew who documented 17 positive and

powerful women leaders. While the video must be requested for viewing, this documentary

showcases real women who are not sticking to gender-traditional roles, and are successful in

their chosen fields. Dove Self-Esteem Project can be done in school or youth activities. Their

objective is to help everyone support young people in becoming more body-confident. The NYC

Girls Project is the first program put on by a major city to help combat self-esteem and body

image. One of the sister agencies partnered with NYC Girls Project is the Geena Davis Insitute

on Gender in Media. This agency is reputed to be the Only research-based organization

working with the media to improve gender balance, reduce stereotyping and create diverse

female characters in entertainment targeting children 11 and under, (Geena Davis Institute,
2016). There are several educational videos aimed at dispelling gender stereotypes that have

been aired on PBS

There are several organizations aimed at reducing the way women are portrayed, both in

media and out. Many of these programs provide free resources and materials for teachers and

educators. Paula Kerger, President and CEO of PBS stated, Its so important that young girls

have examples of women on-screen who are smart, resilient, and inspiring, so that they can grow

up to reach their full potential. It is imperative that the portrayal of women as sex objects is

eliminated; otherwise the cycle will never change. As Geena Davis, founder of the Geena Davis

Institute on Gender in Media stated in her short presentation, Makers, 80% of media

consumed worldwide is made in the United Statesits the one area of gender disparity that we

could fix overnight. If not now, when? When will women and young girls finally say enough is

enough and stand for true equality? It doesnt matter how many times it is said that boys and

girls are equal if it is not seen, then it doesnt mean anything. If it doesnt mean anything, then

it is not really happening.

Resources

A girl should feel free to be herself. (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2016, from

http://selfesteem.dove.us/

Fardouly, J., Diedrichs, P. C., Vartanian, L. R., & Halliwell, E. (2015). The Mediating Role of

Appearance Comparisons in the Relationship between Media Usage and Self-

Objectification in Young Women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 39(4), 447-457.

http://pwq.sagepub.com.www2.lib.ku.edu/content/39/4/447.full.pdf+html

Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media - See Jane. (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2016, from

http://seejane.org/

Gerding, A., & Signorielli, N. (2014). Gender roles in tween television programming: A content

analysis of two genres. Sex Roles, 70(1-2), 43-56.

Moshman, S. (Director), & Cook, D. M. (Producer). (n.d.). The empowerment project [Video

file]. Retrieved from http://www.empowermentproject.com/

NYC Girls Project. (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2016, from

http://www.nyc.gov/html/girls/html/home/home.shtml

"Portrayal of women in the media propagates sexism." UWIRE Text 9 Oct. 2014: 1. Expanded

Academic ASAP. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.

http://go.galegroup.com.www2.lib.ku.edu/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T004&resultListType=R

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&userGroupName=ksstate_ukans&inPS=true
Simpson, C. C., Kwitowski, M., Boutte, R., Gow, R. W., & Mazzeo, S. E. (2016). Messages

about appearance, food, weight and exercise in tween television. Eating Behaviors, 23,

70-75.

Teaching Resources | Dove Confident Me: Five session programme. (n.d.). Retrieved September

19, 2016, from http://selfesteem.dove.us/Articles/Written/Dove-Confident-Me-five-session-

resources.aspx