Yes, Media’s Portrayal of Young Women in the Workplace Do Have an Effect on Young Women
The conversation of women’s portrayal in both society and media often pivots upon a discussion that most would choose to shy away from. This discussion, you ask, is one of gender equality, which some men would bash with an anguished cry of “Feminism!”, and another group of metaphorical men to mutter cursings in agreement.
Women are objectified constantly and that is a fact. Young girls have to grow up seeing different types of women portrayed on screen, developing this idea that all are expected to be like the kind they see on TV or in movies. The headless women that garnish a male-dominated comedy film or whatnot, the promiscuous girls that play with men, the rarity of a woman in an authority position faulted by the manner they got to their place or their either cold or mentally unstable personas: these are what girls grow up seeing, and this does not cover all of it.
When the television, book, movie series revolves around women, it is typically the same story. The summaries typically prove it, too. “Average girl”, “Normal girl”, “with big dreams” — yet all these women are held back by financial issues, restricting people in their lives, etc.
The problem is not that girls are growing up with this idea that there will always be something limiting them from their ambitions. It is that girls are not exhibited enough with success of achieving their goals. Movies also often hypersexualize women in the workplace than in reality, which gives young girls the wrong idea.
New Girl’s Jessica Day: Her passion is children and teaching yet for most of the show, despite its comedic play into the show itself, she remains focused on brief romances, some could say relatably emotional, at times, but male viewers would view this as troublesome and “typical”.
The Office’s Jan Levinson (formally Gould): Her role throughout the show experiences a rocky path as she is introduced as a mere cold, no-nonsense corporate manager, who somehow falls for Michael Scott, despite their incompatibility. She is feared, not only because of her high positions at Dunder Mifflin and the White Pages (two different companies), but because of her absolute merciless, cold, “crazy” attitude.
Maid in Manhattan’s Marisa Ventura: Despite her role as a maid, Marisa desires more, like a role in management, which is put into jeopardy when she falls for senatorial candidate, Chris, and she is essentially forced to choose between her job as a maid, remain in the routine of maintaing her life with her son or to keep living a double life. However, after she is exposed and her son somehow fixes everything, she ends up with him and in control of a hospitality business. Her desire to continue with the risky affair costed her her job, her son (due to the disapproval of her mom), and even her relationship with her friends and Chris.
This is a very minimal collection of women’s portrayal in media, however, these executed roles fuel the stereotypes that women are subconsciously assigned to. In television and movies, women are basically given two choices: their careers or a love life, which are both scarce for them, in general. While the paths to success for these girls in their careers are flawed, we need to provide more outlets of women healthily dominating their ambitions.
