awareness

Last week, people went up to the front of the class to present what they found writing their awareness paper. Unfortunately, I was unable to so that is what I will be writing about in this last blog. I did a media critique comparing two different magazines. Mine was a bit different from others because I used two Sports Illustrated magazines, just different editions. One was a regular sports illustrated whereas the other was the swim suit edition. My findings really opened up my eyes to the way people in general view females. Just by the pictures alone, you could tell a difference. The swim suit edition showed Brooklyn Decker posing half nude for the camera on the cover of the magazine. The other one showed Phil Mickelson clinching the master's in the latest golf tournament. Just in these two pictures, you can get a good sense of how gender is socially constructed in our society today. Men are seen as a dominating figure. We love action and are respected because of what we can do and our accomplishments. Women are objectified and are valued first for their beauty and sex appeal. As you look inside the magazine, you see this even more evident. In the magazine with Phil Mickelson on the cover, they designated an area for the "top 16 goalies" that will be participating in the Stanley Cup. They were talked about in terms of their skill level and previous accolades. In the swim suit edition, there was another list but this time of the top gorgeous women. They were not talked about in terms of their character, skill, or intelligence. Instead, they were again objectified and talked about in terms of their beauty and sex appeal. I always knew women were objectified, but to see it for myself doing this awareness assignment truly opened my eyes to how women are really viewed.

Ephraim Gatdula

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