Oppression Through Underrepresentation

All media perpetuates certain messages about men and women and this are reflected in the
daily lives of the individuals. All forms of media help in communication of images of the
sexes which can easily permeate the society (Heuer et al., 2011). Women are heavily
underrepresented in the prime-time television which is heavily watched. In the United States.,
there are three times the number of women represented in the prime-time slots. Overall
women represent only 16% of all the news casters (Pollard, 2019). It is such
underrepresentation which affects the editorials as there are not enough women in positions
of influence to change the perceptions. The roles which have been given to women are those
that involve children programming. This is a subtle indication that women are good with
children which is a notion perpetuated in some of the societies. As a result, women
oppression continues and the media helps to perpetuate such incidents. When the media
continues representing an aspect of the society even one which is aimed at gender oppression,
the society views it as normal and will not alter their ways for the better (Mendes et al.,
2018). Therefore, it is easy for the media to amplify stereotypes whether knowingly or not for
the bad of the society.

There are cases where the media representation of American life has been off and this has
been taken as the truth. The image of a slender and pretty woman has been pushed down the
society so much so that each woman aspires to have such look (Popa & Gavrililu, 2014). This
notion is perpetuated by men who view women in a sexual manner. Any woman who does
not fit in this category is viewed as undesirable and may see their opportunities reduced.
Women in the media are required to be of particular size and this has been taken as the right
way and behaviour which women should pursue. This is a form of gender oppression as men
are not held to a similar standard. The relations between the genders are therefore, based on
what the males want and women looking to fit in such an environment have to change
themselves (Heuer et al., 2011). Such communication is also seen in the representation of
minorities. Women from the minority groups are even more oppressed and the stereotypes
which persist in society are amplified in media through film or in reporting. The black
women in the United States are viewed as loud and this is shown in the films which increases
the stereotypes that exist in the society. African-American women appear rarely in the media
and in most of the cases they do not appear in a positive light (Popa & Gavrililu, 2014). This
means that they have a new level of oppression which is deeper than the one which is placed
on all women in society. Because their voice is suppressed and not presented in the media,
there is little chance for them to remove the notions as the media does not give them the
opportunity to present a counter narrative (Rakow, 2016). The portrayal of minority women
in stereotypical roles continues to alienate them as they lack the capacity to change the
society feeling about them. If the media gave all genders and groups enough airtime, the
respect would also penetrate into the general society because the media is a true reflection of
the society (Rowley, 2008). They can be agents of change and direct the society in a new path
of gender relations by simply altering the messaging (Silverstein et al., 2020). The roles given
to the different genders can help liberate or to continue the gender oppression which has been
in existence in society for generations.

The media continues to portray both men and women in stereotypical way which limit the
perceptions of the possibilities which they can achieve. For example, black men in the United
States are portrayed as being lazy, unlawful and unable to handle authority. As a result, it is
hard for them to get chances or occupy certain positions because hiring authorities will hang
on to the existing stereotypes. This means that a whole group or section of the population is
placed in a certain category which affects their ability to advance. There are cases where
women have called the police because they felt threatened by black men even when it was not
the case. In 2020, a woman lost he job for calling the police on a black man who was not
harming her in any way.

Through camera footage, the woman behaved in a hysterical manner as if she was under
attack which was not the case so as to dupe the police into acting or arresting the man (Segel-
Evans, 2019). If the black man did not have the camera, it would have been hard for him to
convince the police of his innocence. Such cases indicate the way the stereotypes which
persist in the media portrayal of black men has on the society. The lady felt that the police
could easily side with her because she is a white female who is vulnerable in the hands of a
black savage. In the past, there have been cartoons which depict black men in a way as if
they’re violating powerless white women. Even when the relations are based on love, the
media portrayed the lady as being oppressed and unable to remove themselves from a savage
creature. It is such images which remain in the minds of the society and which continue to
affect the gender relations. Any action to tell a different side of the story or providing the
society with unbiased information would lead to an improvement in the race relations. The
feeling that one is threatened by the existence of others is because the media has maintained
such depictions and made the society to fear a section of the society. The gender of an
individual will mean they remain suspects just because they have been depicted in a
particular way (Silverstein et al. 2020). Therefore, the gender representations can oppress
members of black community both male and female. This affects relations with all genders
from the other races and societies.