Feminism and TV

(I was not in class for this week)

I think one of the greatest changes personally for me was my view and understanding of feminism since freshman year. I feel like I've always sort of known the issues that surround women, but like the Feminine Mystique stated, it was a problem without a name. I didn't really know why my mom felt uncomfortable about me wearing a dress on public transportation to graduation, I couldn't understand what made me so vulnerable in her eyes. Which was strange, because I think I sort of picked up on her fears and worries, because I would always watch people in my car, and if someone made eye contact with me I'd move cars and so on and so forth.

I think it's really interesting though, how feminism has evolved. I feel like people's views on feminism get skewed at that point. I know my mom hates it when I say I'm a feminist, and I think that has a lot to do with the time she grew up in. I think in a lot of people's minds females should have been happy with the vote, and being able to get jobs I suppose, and that asking for more would be selfish and dangerous because how utopiarian are we willing to let our image of the future become. And to be honest, I think that it would be nice for people to wear whatever and be free to express themselves and not have their bodies be sexualized or objectified, but also, I feel like we need to recognize that sex sells. Pretty girls in short dresses for some perfume sells, like how vitamin water made its way into the mainstream market with bikkini ladies on golf courses. And it's not just one isolated image. If it were then it wouldn't be an issue. The problem is that all these ads and tv shows are portraying women in certian confining roles and men in others. (Also still kinda salkty about the era but it's whatever)The issue is that people are profiting and capitalizing on the sexualization of female bodies. Entire markets revolve around that need. I'm not trying to blame our problems today on marketing, because for whatever reason, even thought all of that is considered beautiful, a girl is being a slut if she decides to wear something similar in real life. It's just fascinating that that sort of dissonance can exist, because we have to reconcile that gap somehow, and maybe that's how it all works.