I watch The Hills- MTV's hit reality show featuring Lauren Conrad and her friends. Yes, I realize how ridiculous this show is and as a good media student I try to analyze it. So here goes...
Thinking about The Hills and how women are represented I see that WHOA the show really enforces many ideas that are often present in the media. Such as: women must be attractive meaning they wear clothes that are in style, have their make-up done, and are in shape or skinny (aka no flab)- to name a few. Also, they must be pursued by men and must have an active social
life. Afterall, if you are not attracting men then there must be something wrong with you, right?
In class, we read about the creation of Cosmo and how the image of the Cosmo woman has evolved over the years. I like to think that the portrayal of women in the media is improving, but honestly, I don't know if it is. Tons of teenage girls watch The Hills and probably look at Lauren, Whitney, Audrina, and friends and try to imitate them. I know, that brings us back to the classic question- Does the media reflect reality or does reality reflect the media? In other words, what came first? The chicken or the egg.
I obviously like The Hills since I watch it, but it is important for me to recognize as a viewer that women are displayed in a very limited manner. And that it is ok if I don't wear trendy clothes and look picture perfect 24-7. It is ok if I don't go out to clubs 3 or 4 nights a week. In fact, it is ok if I don't date. You might be saying "Yeah. Duh.", but I feel like there is a lot of pressure to live up to these standards of what a twenty-something woman is.
image from www.teenvogue.com/
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