It’s inescapable, it’s everywhere, (click) the t. v, (click) magazines, (click) public transport, (click) music, (click) sports, (click) games and (click) most devastatingly it has penetrated the minds of our generation. (click) Behind every great man, there’s a great woman. If you agree with this, think to yourself, why are we behind the men? Why does being a great woman have anything to do with having and supporting a male companion? This attitude is very popular, yet it is (click) the subtle lie of the era.
My fellow friends, I stand here in front of as a young women, soon to be exposed to the real world. click) I don’t want gen z, to be victims to the trend of undermining the value of us women and furthermore using us to be candy’s for men’s eyes. This hypocritical depiction of women is because of the sickening greed of the commercial industries for money. We are seen as the inferior race and as a chain effect it is idealising you and me as nothing more than plastic toys. (Click) Yes, 65% of Australian women playing sports is amazing, but the sporting industry is manipulating this achievement into another way of making money through sexualisation.
Furthermore, the advertising industry is setting the standards of measuring our worth through sexual usefulness. But most shockingly, it is the music industry that is to be blamed for the demeaning of women. The sporting industry hinders the true talents of women and furthermore degrades our self-worth. 68% of girls play sports, between the ages of 9-11 years, or the “finding your identity period”. (Click) So when mini netball skirts that fly up with every move, are their uniform, what messaging are they getting? (click)
Young girls nowadays are bombarded with pictures that only ighlight ‘sexiness’ of sports women. (click) Women’s beach volleyball is more popular than most mainstream sports such as cycling, hockey and basketball. In 1999 the International Volleyball Federation regulated uniforms standards, but they were accused of selling the player’s looks rather than their talents. Hence the FIVB, allowed anything as long as it looks clean and professional. Yet, still women’s sports are covering nothing except their capabilities. The first image is from a 1980’s professional volleyball team, and the second from the 2012 Olympics, and certainly the bikinis drew the crowd.
In fact 90% of the audience were men between the ages of 16-54, hence proving the impact that the appalling mistreatment of women’s bodies, has on men’s perception of us as pleasure objects. The degrading of women can also be blamed on the media’s repulsive exemplification. (click) The advertising industry with over 900 000 brands to sell, targets children because as research has shown, they are cognitively and psychologically vulnerable. (click) Children are exposed to over 5000 ads daily, all compacted with societal expectations of perfection’.
After flicking through 2 girls magazines, there were 5 topics on sex and 4 about fashion, out of 14. (click) It contained topics like these, (CLICK). All these topics are related to getting a guy. (click) Unlike boys magazines which are more empowering. This shows, how we are told that our aim or life, revolves around attracting guys, even from an young age. These articles are read by over 78% of young girls, who furthermore, are relying on magazines to tell them about who they are supposed to be. (click) Thus this is having a detrimental effect on gen z’s journey of self-discovery.
These magazines are even at our school contradicting what we’re told, to be empowered young women. Girls are sold into this lie, making them victims to the media’s scandal. (click) Here’s a woman, with her mouth open, fingers grazing her skin and staring seductively. The text reads, you know you’re not her first, but do you really care? This was an advertisement for selling BMW used cars. (click) Advertisement images are supposed to make the consumers feel happy; however along with that, it’s reinforcing the deceptive representation of women as objects.
Unfortunately this ideology has been well implanted into the music industry, with a many girls habitually promoting the objectification of themselves. The typically accepted theme of shredding women into mere sexual toys, is currently the defining element of music. (click) The hit song ‘I Won’ by Kanye West and Future is one example of this. The video shows ‘sexy’ women clinging onto men, doing hypersexualised poses. To further add to this deplorable idea, they made a game. The objective being to ‘hit’ barely clothed, women with gold chains.
If the players hit them, they turn into golden trophies. This not only emphasises the crisis of objectification, but furthermore, portrays to men and young boys how women are theirs to violate. 168 000 people liked this video, thus proving our inability to think critically (click) However many other songs sexualised women, including Steal my girl, Wiggle, All about the bass, Burnin it down, Red, Summer, Hello Kitty, This is how we do, Shake it off and many, many more. History has never changed; we are still living in an era where “women should know their stand. (click)
In 1945, for the end of WW2, a nurse was kissed by random sailor, because he thought that she was pretty, but no one objected. They just watched and grinned. This picture then became the symbol of romance. But the woman looks powerless under his greedy grip. Is restraining and forcefully kissing a girl romantic or a sexual assault? (click) How can you stand to be beaten, bashed and broken, and call that guy your boyfriend? How are we meant to embrace our individuality when our worth grinded into lifeless object?
The only way to stop this so called ‘norm’ is by us taking a stance (click). Being a woman shouldn’t be seen as someone only living to serve pleasure for men. We don’t need to have to prove our capabilities by having a man. We don’t need to be the backbone of a great man, to call ourselves great. No matter what the sports, media, and music industry tries to sell, we should know better than to buy into the idea. It is time that we break the silence on the subtle lie, before our worth diminishes into a plastic toy.