In the media, female celebrities are exploited and sometimes exploit themselves on purpose. Commonly seen on newspapers, TV, music, movies, commercial, etc. are the 20-30 age range. These role models are involved in selling products, acting, singing, and hosting TV shows. Or, older female celebrities put makeup on to make themselves look younger; producers also use lighting techniques and digital enhancements to make stars look better as well. On the male side, lots of younger entertainers have come out recently and have always been much loved in the entertainment business, so it seems about the same. older personalities in entertainment match with older people, but some projects call for one old and one young person to be a pair. This often happens in movies mostly because it is required for the role(s) or the younger lead dropped out because of conflicting schedules.
I think if there is a gender bias in hiring certain actors or singers for certain things, it's because of that person's tealent and not neccessarily with age. Of course, age is an important factor since the target audience in most cases is much younger than adults. Mostly, products that celebrities endorse are for younger teengage audiences so using someone who is around the same age makes sense. Also, companies want to make money, so they pick younger talented people to sell tickets. I honestly don't think it's that bad, since the entertainment industry is just that. It's about entertaining people, so they might as well use good looking people. This is aside from the fact that many of the films and songs made are actually quite creative and good quality works.
A lot of how the public judges celebrities, especialy female celebs, is based on all the negative dirt and propaganda that goes around in gossip rags. Men aren't put on such a heavy stigma after doing something that's socially scorned, like taking drugs or ging out n a heavy night of partying. it's considered normal and the public forgives more easily men than women in these types of cases. Media coverage in both cases is biased because the gossips magazines also want to make moeny, just like film or music companies, so they always try to find ways to spread or expose rumors about famous people. In a way, it's kind of not fair to them but it comes with the business, so they get used to it, I guess. A lot also has to do with maager and public expectations. Once there's pressure to do certain things by the manager or fans or the reporters say something and everyone believes it, then you're bound to believe and then act accordingly. That's why some celebrities actually get caught in the act of smoking marijuana or doing crazy antic, it's because the public wants and expects it so the celebrity does it. It's psychological conditioning except no one ever sees it! We tend to see what we want to see, so we assume it's the way that celebrities really are. Obviously, it's never really possible to know unless they directly say so what he or she is going through. the old saying comes back again, you can't judge a book by it's cover until you've read the book.
What we can really judge about female and male celebrities then, is the way they dress. sure, a certain degree is also chosen by designers, managers, and peope in charge of their image. Most of the clothes for women are revealing. They want to look sexy to attract fans and look good. if you think about though, which woman under that kind of pressure from almost everyone around them doesn't want to look good? Cameras are everyhere almost 24/7, so if I was one of them I'd definitely want to hide in a bunch of cool looking clothes and make up. Plus, they're famous and rich so their life road is smooth as long as they don't do anything too stupid. If you can make 10 million USD a year and have to deal with all these kinds of pressures, wouldn't it be worth it? Lots of people only look at celebrities superficially and don't take the time to see that most celebrities work very hard to achieve the status that they have and keep on going after they reach fame and fortune because they truly love what they do. How many people can say they're satisfied with their jobs?
2 comments:
Yeah I don't think anyone blames celebs exactly. If all you have to do to make 50 million a year is look hot, then I guess you're lucky. There's not much we can do about that.
What I worry about is teaching girls to view themselves as objects because they look up to women actresses who think of themselves as nothing but sexual objects (not all actresses for sure).
I would never give my daughter a barbie doll, for example, because I think barbie represents a body type that is unattainable for most girls and so encourages low self-esteem if they can't look like that. It also promotes shallow values, in my opinion. I intend to give my daughter books, or video games, or a chemistry set, and so on.
but doesn't giving your daughter books or a chemistry set also has a similar effect? well not the same, but it also shapes the way she will view herself. of course, i'm thinking about stereotypes so it isn't as black and white.
what if it's all a product and a social construction? like we make up that certain women view themselves as sex objects but they really aren't because you don't know what they're like in their personal lives. so what we think is true might not really be the case at all.
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