OWN’s latest documentary did not only awaken me, it shook me to my core.   “Miss Representation” shined a light on a dark secret in our culture.  Although most women grow up knowing that the images we see would never be obtainable, there is another message of inadequacy and powerlessness that sits at the media’s underbelly.  The message that a woman’s worth and value are dependent on her looks and how men viewed her.  This consistent message appears to be mindfully crafted and embedded throughout the media. 

“We have no obligation to make history. We have no obligation to make art. We have no obligation to make a statement. To make money is our only objective.”- Michael Fisher, Former CEO, The Walt Disney Co.

With an average of little less than 11 hours of media exposure a day for teens, the media is shaping our society and dictating our culture.   Magazines photo shopped to abnormality, movies portraying women negatively, sexualization to the point where little else defines young girls, reality shows degrading women and political commentary that tears women apart for everything but their politics….how did all of this happen?

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any- Alice Walker

By 17 years of age, 78% of women feel bad about their bodies.  Something tells me that it is very likely that as they grow older the number only continues to climb.    It doesn’t help that women are consistently portrayed as catty and bitchy towards each other.   Raised to strive to be the prettiest or most desired, women often find themselves competing with each other for their own self-esteem.  Advertising has helped to foster this image.  Advertising is built on anxiety.  For men, it is all about the need for power and the insecurities locked around that, whereas for women, it is all about the insecurities of feeling beautiful or being good enough just the way you are.  Advertising is a HUGE industry.  In 2009, US advertisers spent $235.6 billion dollars…every penny spent with a clear message.  To put this in perspective, 80% of the countries in the world have a GDP less than this amount.  Yet, advertisers spend the money because it works. 

You can’t be what you can’t see – Marian Wright Edelman

Although women and girls make up 51% of the population, less than 20% of news stories include us…we only make up 17% of Congress…and only the women in their 20’s and 30’s are even represented in movies and on television.   In psychology they refer to that as symbolic annihilation.   There were so many shocking statistics that I found myself pausing and calling people from around the house to come bear witness.   I sat in what I believed was shock but now realize was an awakening.   

“If you’re not in the media, you’re not in the history books. That is how history is made.” – Carol Jenkins

If history is told within the stories we share, then women aren’t being represented properly.  Men make up over 94% of all television and radio stations.  They hold 97% of all positions of clout in telecommunications, entertainment, publishing and advertising.  They comprise 84% of all writers, directors, cinematographers, producers, and editors.  To top it off….all of those movies we go to see….93% of them are directed by men and 90% of them are written by men.  So that explains why I haven’t seen a good movie in a long time.  Only 10% of them are written by women who can relate to me.  Instead, men write women as they want to see them.  The sad thing is that they typically write us one of two ways….either searching for love or bitchy.  Many of the roles today are so much less complex than they were in the 20’s, 30’s or even the 40’s.  Instead we are trained to think that Lara Croft is liberating.  BUT in truth those characters are all selling the same thing – sex.  We have just become props in summer flicks and music videos.  Young celebrity girls have started releasing sex tapes in order to boost their popularity.  What does that say about our culture?  The mentality reminds me of women who strip.  In interviews I have heard them talk about having power and feeling in charge, but the truth is – there is no power in being used.

With magazines adding a ton of makeup, airbrushing all the imperfections out and then digitally altering the images, it is clear that they feel no personal responsibility to create a healthier world.  Some believe it is there way of trying to tip the power.  By taking power away from women in pop culture, they feel less emasculated.  All of this because of the image set forth by advertisers on what a man should be.  The old timers in Hollywood have always worked from the premise that women will watch stories about men, but men won’t watch stories about women.  I think that is insulting to men.  They aren’t giving us what ”the people” want, they are giving us want the media companies and advertisers want…what sells and makes them the most regardless of the message.

The message is all wrong.  It should be tell our young girls that their power doesn’t come from your sexuality.  It should show men a complex woman that is more than just eye-candy.  Be real with what we feed them.  Instead men create reality shows degrading and stereotyping women, tabloid papers and magazines point to anorexic women asking if they see a baby bump, and the media perpetuates the image throughout all media outlets.  Their distorted message is clear.  I think it is important to note that not all men think this way.  Many of them see the issues but feel as helpless as many of us do.  There was a moment when Paul Haggis, an Academy Award Winning producer and writer, said something that was so simple and yet so honest.  “These studio chiefs who have, or people like myself, writer, producers, or directors, we see the world in a certain way and we don’t really challenge that often and so we just replicate the world that we grew up in without really asking why we’re doing it.”  This is precisely why women need to be writing their OWN stories!

Be the change you wish to see in the world- Mahatma Gandhi

In the 2010 election, many of us saw women for the first time in position to become the President of the United States.   However they were tortured in the media and we all allowed it to happen.  It was relentless – commentaries on the way they dressed, the inquisitions about breast implants and plastic surgery, whether or not they were “hot” or “doable”, and even the degrading name calling.  As the documentary played back clips from various news sources such as Fox, I was appalled.  Women were called morons, hags, bitches, moody, fat, ugly, and skanks.  I have NEVER heard a man in politics being referred to in such a manner.  I felt sick about our media and the message it was sending.  I knew that there had been countless times that I turned on the news to find women dressed like they were going clubbing or working at Hooters.   Rarely leading a good story, they served as treats to male viewers.  You see…if you dehumanize and humiliate women in politics, then people begin to think they don’t belong there.  By trivializing their message and focusing on their appearance, they lessen their power.   No politician should have to put up with justifying how they earned a job, which will take care of the children and whether PMS will affect their performance.

The more women are objectified, the less likely they are to run for office or even vote.  That is scary.  Cuba, China, Iraq and Afghanistan have more women in government than we do.  Because of the image society places upon women, we are being held back.  I am sure that isn’t a coincidence.  We have 86% of the purchasing power, yet most television advertising is geared towards men from 18 to 34 years old. 

Over the past decades there has been an out-cry from the Surgeon General, the National Institute of Mental Health, the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, the Center for Disease Control, the FCC, and Congress, about the concern of violence and the correlation to the rise of violence, especially against women.  Despite the pleas, there has been no policy change.  Some argue that is due to the fact law makers are in the back pockets of the media.  I hate to say it, but I believe it.    

There was so much more to this documentary….all so very important.  But here are a few of my thoughts I am left with:

• It is important to live your life with honor.
• There is no power in being used.
• Tabloid news is cheap and dirty- why do new companies want to keep our attention off what is really happening in the world- are they trying to hide something? 
• By dividing women, they create a lot of infighting not allowing us to focus on what is truly important.
• Boys and girls deserve to grow up in a REAL world.  Women need to embrace sisterhood and change the world for all of our children. 
• We all have the responsibility to stand up and say something.
• The media is not a guage by which anyone should judge themselves. 

After I finished the documentary for the second time with my family, we sat in conversation for quite some time.  As with many of the OWN documentaries, “Miss Representation” sparked a whole new conversation.  Once again, the choices have been spot-on and completely relevant.  Thanks OWN!