Women Representation in the Media

Over the last couple of weeks, allegations against American film producer Harvey Weinstein for sexual abuse and harassment have skyrocketed as more and more women come forward with stories about the experiences they had while dealing with Harvey. So far, 93 women, ranging from well known actresses and faces of Hollywood, have come forward and I wouldn’t be surprised if that number continues to rise as others come forward.

Rape culture: the normalization or blaming victims of sexual assault, abuse, and harassment, is still a major issue in today’s society. One that affects all women regardless of status, career, or way of life. Young girls are taught how to defend themselves and prepare for the worst, since the worst has happened to 117,238 girls in Canada in 2016. However, we have to remember all we are doing in making sure the assault doesn’t happen to us, but to the other girl instead. We should be educating our boys and trying to change rape culture in our society. Learning how to stop the issue is much more effective than trying to educate those it is affecting. 

 

One of the main debates behind the Weinstein scandal is the idea that some of these allegations are from years ago. The issue with this argument is a lack of understanding within society. Women don’t want to come forward, or don’t feel they can come forward, as it can put at risk their careers, reliability and how they are seen in the public eye.

 Women need to have evidence for the sexual assault/harassment, and even when they do, will most likely be brushed off to the side. Victims are not taken seriously OR are put in a place where they have to prove their credibility in order to be listened to.

Women in Hollywood have faced an extremely biased world for years. Most of the world’s beloved actresses have a story or two about the trials they have had to overcome because they are not taken as seriously as their male counterparts. As society evolves and women are valued more, the representation we see for powerful female leads are still few and far between. In the years 2015-2016, females accounted for 31%-41% of major characters on screen depending on how many females were part of the directing and casting crew. 93% of films are directed by men. 88% of box office hits feature a male in a leading role. (You can watch a cheesy but effective video where it is all broken down here )

Image result for women in leadership charts film

 

The best part? Since 1998 these numbers haven’t gotten much better. We have taken leaps and bounds as a society and yet female representation has improved by a small fraction to where is should be, or has actually decreased from the original numbers. 

We have seen a dramatic increase in male co-stars beginning to take a stand in regards to sexist questions asked by the media. Society is also growing immensely and because of this I want to make it clear, I’m not blaming men as the root of the issue in Hollywood and in society.

Where are the strong female role models representing young girls? Simply put, those strong female characters on screen and in other forms of the media are lacking, making it hard for girls to see examples of how they are supposed to stand up for themselves and present themselves in order to be an effective leader.

 

By evening out the female leads in the media, it will make it easier for the world to see that females have a say in how the world works too, thus reducing the ideas of rape culture present in society and bringing forward a new generation of individuals who not only know the lasting consequences of acting out and performing these horrible things on females, but also instilling the ability to get to the bottom of the issue and changing the way women are seen in society.

 

Sources:

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/171003/dq171003a-eng.htm

Statistics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=173&v=SuHAMpg9FwQhttp://

www.wavaw.ca/what-is-rape-culture/

Harvey Weinstein now has 93 accusers, 13 of them alleging rape

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img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2015-01/15/15/enhanced/webdr06/enhanced-27129-1421353301-3.jpg?downsize=715:*&output-format=auto&output-quality=autohttp://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/11/25/237DEFD700000578-2848658-image-25_1416920341248.jpg

Possessed Elmo

One thing you should know about me, I am the easiest person to scare. My friends know that if they move to fast or talk to loud I will flinch. Keep that in mind as you read this short anecdote from my life and remember that when I am scared I have a nasty habit of over exaggerating everything. Yet, this is how I remember it so that it how I will tell the story. With the closest version of my truth as possible.

 

One day after school last week, I decided to go downstairs to the deep freeze in the basement and get some ice cream cake (I know, I was excited too). Now, my family is currently in the process of painting the room that holds all of our random belongings we forgot that we had. This means that things I didn’t know we still had are beginning to resurface and be moved down into the basement.

Tickle Me Elmo, one of my favourite toys growing up. Granted, Elmo itself can be very scary when he is turned into a robot that laughs when you push him in the right spots. No one in my house has played with Elmo in a very long time. So naturally, we took out the batteries.

Alright back to the ice cream cake. I was walking down the stairs to get to the freezer and see Elmo sitting on a table with a bunch of other random things. I was immediately warmed with memories of my childhood when I played with my siblings and Elmo on the kitchen floor.

I turned my back to open the door to the pantry/ freezer, and all of a sudden I hear Elmo LAUGHING and doubling over so he ends up on the ground.

Naturally, I did the only thing I could think to do; kick Elmo in the face so he gets as far away from me as humanly possible, abandon the idea of getting cake, and sprint up the stairs, slamming the door behind me.

Now let me tell you, I have never ran up those stairs so fast and I doubt I ever will again. My mom went downstairs to find Elmo since she heard me screaming and was very concerned that I had hurt Elmo when I flying karate kicked him across the room.

She found Elmo, confirmed that he had no batteries in him, and since then my family thinks that I’m insane. I know the truth. Tickle Me Elmo was possessed and out to kill me. No one can tell me otherwise.

Image result for evil Elmo

Image: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8juI0e5PMV0/hqdefault.jpg

Little Sister

Dear little sister;

I hope this isn’t the end for your hope. I know right now you are not so happy, you’re holding onto this line of truth so hard your fingers might shatter, and your body give way to the merciless current below.

Little sister I know your dreams are broken. You were deceived by the line we call the horizon, tricked to believe the things we can’t calculate instead of the things we can. But in spite of the fragments of dreams I hope you still find something to embrace.

My dearest sister I wish for you the gift of knowing where your own knowing ends. That you will one day be able to marry your ideals with the truth. I wish for you the mercury sight to see your deepest desires through a fog the rest of us know as doubt. I wish you might one day blur the line between your wishes and reality, letting the two overlap and inspire each other to become one.

My little sister, I know people are scary. And I know some of them have big mouths and sharp teeth that could destroy you in minutes. But I also know how deeply you feel the need to be with them. I wish one day you will find the courage to walk up to them with flashing lighthouses and no more fear in your voice.

My sister I wish for you the things I can no longer wish for myself. A desire to stay undeceived. An ability to know where not to be and when. The gift of being able to gracefully accept not knowing the answer to a question. The blessing of having something to hold onto no matter how bad things get. The opportunity to see the oceans in the depth most can’t begin to comprehend. A thirst for knowing what is beyond our planets.

My little sister. I wish for you the final knowledge that no matter what you do or how far away you push me, I will always be here for you. I will always love you. And I know right now you might not believe me. Those people are scary. I know they haunt your dreams and hide in the shadows of your closet, but they won’t always be there. I won’t always have to wake you up when you’re screaming in the middle of the night, sitting with you till morning. Maybe we learn how to deal with our demons, or maybe they just get tired and leave, but I promise they will go away.

My amazing little sister. Please don’t lose the light in your eyes. Make new dreams. Find something to hold onto in order to keep safe from the rapids below.

Love,

Your sister

 

 

Picture: https://pixabay.com/en/silhouette-city-skyline-night-stars-1211407/