Stereotypes of Women
She’s blond so she must be dumb. She is not dressed very feminine so she must be a man-hating lesbian. He is fat so he must be lazy. He has fashion sense so he must be gay. He is wearing a turban so he must be a terrorist. These are just a few of the many stereotypes that are portrayed by the media. A stereotype is a thought that may be adopted about specific types of individuals or certain ways of doing things, that are not accurate mirror of the real world. Stereotypes in many cases allow us to ‘fill in the blanks’ and make our own opinion.
These stereotypes often lead to unfair discrimination and mistreatment when the stereotype is disliked. From history to the modern day, women are often seen as incapable compared to men. Women are objects of sex pressure in the media. Women make better nurturers, so they should stay home while the husbands are employed. All of these reluctant stereotypes reduce the dignity of a woman’s identity and pride. Many societal impressions are given to women; such as career roles and the way they are presented in the media, all express invalid facts.
Women are generally seen as fragile individuals. Society believes that a woman have no self-confidence and needs support from some independent source, like a husband. Like in an old Heinz advertisement with a woman holding a ketchup bottle looking shocked, and with a caption “You mean a woman can open it?” Women are represented as being less capable, particularly with even slightly physical tasks, than men, however that grocery shopping and food preparation are a woman’s duties. This is represented by the remark ‘You mean a woman can open it?’ regarding a new easy cap for a brand of ketchup. It also implies that with this new cap that woman can ‘easily-without a knife blade, bottle opener, or even a husband!’ to open the bottle. Also because of stereotypes, it’s difficult for women when it comes to occupations. They receive lower pay for the same work, fewer promotions, and fewer opportunities for advancement at work compared to men. Women sports is also something that doesn’t get much publicity, you don’t hear anyone taking about the women’s hockey team only the men’s. This is because people feel that women aren’t and never will be as good as them.
Women in advertisements are seen as house wives. They clean, cook, and take care of the children, this has been going on since the early 60’s maybe even before. In the Swiffer Duster, Swiffer WetJet and many more commercial women are cleaning the house and the men of the house are nowhere to be seen. In Folgers commercial the husband complains about how the wife made distasteful coffee. Then she is introduced to Folgers Mountain Grown Coffee, and when the husband tries it he is pleased with her. Also in most baby commercials like Pampers Baby-Dry, You’re Doing OK, Mom! | JOHNSON’S® Baby Commercial, Nice Work | JOHNSON’S® Baby Commercial – HEAD-TO-TOE® Wash; the mother is breeding the baby and again where are the men? Not only that but the advertisement is designed for the mothers and not the fathers; because mothers are seen as nurturing while the fathers are not. Even little girls are bring stereotyped. Girls have to be clean, wear dresses, and play with dolls and teapots. Not all little girls like to be that way, but are anyways because of stereotypes; and if girls and women are the opposite of what they are stereotyped as then they will be discriminated.
In advertisements women are known or looked at for their sexual appeal. Advertisements show parts of a women’s body to sexualize it. Advertisements that are sexual are found to be more active, causing women to believe they need to look and act like the models in the ads. Some products are the same quality but the sexier brand will always sell more (Victoria’s Secret). In Burger Kings Big Package suggests that the woman is talking about the size of a man’s man hood. This advertisement reflects that you will like their burger because of the size of the burger. Also in this advertisement by Burger King shows that a woman with a great body can enjoy a big burger. The media learns that sex sells… especially when women are involved. They continue to sexualize women more and more to boost ranges, sales, viewings, etc. Because society is surrounded by such media, we become desensitized to it. We begin to think women are supposed to please men, have large breasts and thin bodies, and unhealthy, are supposed to be sex objects. It’s becoming more normal and less of a big deal to society. Despite what the media may be portraying, women are strong, successful, and beautiful just the way they are.
Women are much more than man, housewives, and sex objects. They don’t need any man to complete them or to help them become successful, they are independent. Women have real lives like their career, and they can be just as strong as men, they have proved this by starting to go into what was expected once of only men to achieve, jobs that require physical labour, like sports and hardware. Society gets this image of women being sex objects and this information is given to them by the media. Advertisers think that degrading a women’s identity will make them more successful, and they are right because it does make them successful they get more attention than someone who doesn’t do that. In the end it’s our, the society’s fault that we listen, believe, and act upon these stereotypes. Since the 1900s women have been showing that they are much more then what they are perceived as and they continue to work hard for that stereotypical image to vanish
Real Definition of Courage
There are various definitions of courage. Some people will say that courage is being able to face their fears. Others say that courage is a person with a strong heart. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, courage is “when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what” (Ch. Pg. ). Courage plays a major role in To Kill a Mockingbird; the story of two young children growing up in a cruel society infected with racism, sexism, and prejudice. The author Harper Lee presents true courage as standing up for what one believes in even when it means risking something precious or even when you know that you don’t have a chance in winning.
Atticus Finch is an example “real courage” and demonstrates it several times throughout the novel. He shows them mainly in the long period of time during Tom Robinson’s case. It first started when Atticus took the case. He went against his own town, Maycomb, a generally prejudice town, in order to defend Tom. He understood that taking the case would make him an object of mockery and that no one would forgive him for believing in a black man’s word over a white man’s. Even his own sister expresses disapproval of his decision, practically telling him he was bringing disgrace on the family. But, no matter how much his reputation suffered, he did not change his mind.
Standing up for his morals and ethics was more important then what people thought about him. Atticus’s strong sense of morality and justice motivates him to defend Tom Robinson with determination, and giving it his all. He shows this when he says, “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try and won.” (Ch. Pg. 101). He wants the people of Maycomb to hear the truth about Tom, “That boy may go to the chair, but he’s not going till the truth’s told.” (Chapter 15, Page 146) Atticus later shows bravery when he went to the jailhouse to protect Tom from a mob. Without thinking twice he rushed to Tom’s aid. He went willingly; knowing that if a mob did form he would be greatly outnumbered and would easily be beaten. Still, he put Tom’s life after his own welfare.
Mrs. Dubose is a minor character but has a highly significant impact within the book as a whole; she embodies many themes such as integrity and injustice. Though she was a morphine addict, she did not fear death, but challenged death through her perseverance to leave this world free of addiction. It was only after Mrs. Dubose’s passing did the people she affected become aware of her courage. She surprised those around her, who found it far too easy to pass her off as a sick, old lady. Mrs. Dubose displays integrity by standing up for her beliefs. She has self-appointed herself as the “manners police”, according to the standards she was raised with.
The way she was raised children were expected to respect their parents and other elders. Mrs. Dubose makes a point to call the kids on it whenever they are acting out of line according to her values. She yells at Scout telling her she should be “wearing a dress and camisoles!” ( ). Mrs. Dubose also believes that Atticus is wrong for defending a black man. She believes this because she is a product of her environment. In those days black people were considered bad. Because she had been around for so long, she was not able to accept the new values that the Finch family has embraced. She remained strong in spirit and belief.
Jem represents the idea of bravery throughout the novel; his definition of bravery changes over time. This goes beyond the fact that Jem is growing up throughout the novel; the transformation that occurs has more to do with experience. At the start of the novel, Jem’s idea of bravery is simply touching the side of the Radley’s house, and then only because “In all his life, Jem had never declined a dare.” ( ) This changes as the story progresses, Jem learns about bravery from Atticus facing a mad dog, from Mrs. Dubose’s fight with addiction. Jem’s most courageous act is when a mob confronts Atticus at the jail, determined to kill not only Tom but also Atticus, if necessary. Jem refuses to obey his father for the first time in his life. Scout explains, “In the midst of this strange assembly, Atticus stood trying to make Jem mind him. ‘I ain’t going,’ was his steady answer.” ( ) Scout recognizes that Jem is exhibiting great courage..
