Imagine a world without women. There would be no life at all. Planet Earth would be an empty place. There would be no such thing as a human being. We should feel lucky that women exist. Without women, there would be no future. However, why are women being degraded in society? Why is the media coming up with the “perfect woman”? Many women detest the fact that women have to deal with gender inequality every single day and are being stereotyped. Women are being stereotyped for political, commercial and ideological interests.
Some major stereotypes of women in the media today are women are weak, women are meant to stay home and in the kitchen, and women can never be as good as men. Through many forms of media, women are thought of as weak and helpless. For example, in an anime called Naruto Shippuden, there is a scene where Gaara of the Desert is revived by a village Elder. In that scene, upon Gaara’s revival, the female ninja of the village start fangirling over him. While running towards Gaara, they push Naruto Uzumaki, out of the way.
When Naruto falls on the ground, Gaara’s brother, Kankuro of the Desert, come up to Naruto and says, “The girls who drool over the cool, elite guys are always the weakest ones” (Naruto Shippuden Episode 31 English Subbed). Here, Kankuro is basically saying that the girls who have a crush on someone strong and good-looking are always the weakest people. Little does he realize that he is calling his sister, Temari of the Desert, who is really strong, weak as well. This is due to the fact that Temari has a crush on Naruto’s friend, Shikamaru Nara.
Women are shown as weak when some sort of force is used against them. In 2013, a United Nation Youth Assembly was held, where Malala Yousafzai was invited to give a speech. In her speech, she said, “Millions have been injured. They thought the bullets would silence us. They wanted us to fear” (Malala Yousafzai – United Nation Youth Assembly Speech). Malala knows that the Taliban wants to weaken the power of girls and women. She knows that the Taliban wants the female population to be the stereotypical female population.
Another form of media that is indirectly calling women weak is the Dolce and Gabbana advertisement. In the Dolce and Gabbana advertisement, the woman is being pinned to the ground by a man, and she is surrounded by three more (DOLCE & GABBANA AD. Advertising in Society). This shows that women are weak because they have no voice against men. They have to do whatever is asked of them. Male domination is very apparent because the women on the floor is surrounded by a group of half dressed men, who are all looking down at her.
This also shows that since men are dominating women, it is okay to do anything with her, including gang rapes. Technically speaking, this makes gang rapes okay to occur. Stay at home women are also stereotypes of the “perfect women” the world wants to see. The thought of stay at home women has crawled into our everyday lives, so much so that it has become really subtle and unnoticeable. For example, in a Batman comic, Batman and Robin are responding to a distress call. Batman’s wife, Kathy, tells the Dynamic Duo to wait for a few minutes, so she could put on her costume.
However, Batman tells Kathy “One crime fighter in the family is enough! A wife’s place is in the home! ” (Sexist Batman). Since Batman is a hero to many young males, they may think that keeping their spouses inside the house at all times will make them successful. Hence, the men of the house will start keeping the women inside that house and not expose them to the outside world. What would happen in many cases is that if a child is hungry, he would go tell someone. This person, his dad, for example, would tell him to go tell his mom.
When, and if, the child says that his mom is not in the kitchen, his dad is most likely to say, “She’s WHAT?! ” (Sexist Jokes About Women). In today’s media, corporations make it seem that over the years, men have evolved. However, there is a picture that shows that even though men have evolved over the years, and have become successful, women have not. In the picture, the women are shown scrubbing the floor (Funny Men & Women). This is saying that women are meant to stay home and do the household chores, such as cleaning and cooking, while the men of the house go to work, and enjoy themselves.
Women that are stereotyped are not thought of positively. There is a meme that says “They say a woman’s work is never done. Maybe that’s why they get paid less” (Week 5: Sexism Today). A woman’s work is never done because they go to the office for 8 hours, come home, cook food for the family, and clean the house. Every minute of their day, women have things to do. Rarely do they ever get time for themselves. In fact, women should be paid more than men because technically speaking, women work a lot more than men. Many times, society feels that women shouldn’t drive in cars.
According to The Week UK, women in Saudi Arabia aren’t allowed to drive because it is, apparently, prohibited by religious beliefs (Eleven Things Women in Saudi Arabia Cannot Do). In fact, there is a joke where a man calls his wife and tells her to be careful while driving because there is a car going the opposite way on the highway. The wife then tells him, “Someone?? These rascals are in hundreds!! “(Best Jokes on Women). This is depicting the fact that women do not know how to drive, and that it is dangerous letting them try driving.
In many instances, women are treated like trash and as if they do not exist. There is a meme that explains why beer is valued more than a woman. One reason that is given as to why beer is better than a woman is “You can have more than one beer and not feel guilty. ” (Why Beer Is Better Than Women). This is saying that men are not satisfied with who they have as their partner, so they want more. When men have more than one partner, they start feeling guilty. This is also saying that oftentimes, men only accept women for not their looks, but for sexual intercourse.
Being weak, staying at home and not as good as men are some of the numerous stereotypes females have to deal with. There are many more stereotypes of women that need to be dealt with. Everyone in society has become so used to stereotypes that it is hard to determine what is a stereotype and what is not. Everyone needs to speak up against stereotypes, and gender inequality, to make this society a better place to live. People like Hillary Clinton, Malala Yousafzai, Emma Watson and Queen Rania of Jordan have done, and are doing, their best to speak up for women’s rights. Now, it is our turn.