'There are limited representations of women available in the media. Discuss.'

Representations of women in the media can appear as limited due to the way women are categorised. There are five main categories in newspapers and magazines that women normally fall under, these are: sex objects, wives and mothers, passive females, targets of scrutiny and the very few female journalists who get their voices heard amongst the majority rule of males. Lord Justice Brian Leveson criticised the representations of women in the media in his report into the standards of the press. In any newsagents male targeted magazines can be purchased with scantily-clad to nude women on the cover. These women are seen through what feminists would call the ‘male gaze’ and this is done to promote the magazine more successfully to men. Whereas magazines that have women as the key demographic may have a male or a female on the cover and never presented in the same way as they are in men's magazines. This representation places those women on the covers as sex objects and the objectification of women in the media has been an issue for decades. Another representation of women is that they are passive and almost 'helpless.' Recent images of television chef Nigella Lawson were published with her husband Charles Saatchi grabbing her by the neck. Nigella Lawson is presented as a helpless victim of a male and the press were empathetic towards her instantly with headlines gushing, 'Boiling point, Nigella grabbed by husband,' with more focus on Lawson's helplessness than Saatchi's aggression in the situation - note the absence of his name in the headline. Women are scrutinised so often in the media that it has become the norm to point out 'flaws' in them. Celebrities such as Adele and Keira Knightly have been criticised often by print publications regarding their weights. This constant captious attitude conditions people to respond to images of women with reckless discontent. Feminists would believe that we live in a patriarchy and we have become so used to socialisation that we follow whatever the media tells us whether it's sexist or not. Musical artists such as Beyoncé and Rihanna have been criticised in the past for their contradicting messages. They both say that women are equal to men and that women should also have their voices heard or even dominate the patriarchal society. Beyoncé often sings her famous 'Single Ladies' song which empowers women and protests that they don't need a husband or boyfriend to feel worthwhile. However Beyoncé’s new music tour is named the 'Mrs Carter tour' after her husband Jay-Z's real last name. The connotation of this being the name of her tour is that Jay-Z owns or dominates every aspect of her life. However, because of rapid waves of feminism in the past 100 years, female equality can be challenged in day to day life. It has become more socially ‘acceptable’ to speak up against gender inequality as famous feminists such as Andrea Dworkin and Germaine Greer have done. The message of feminism is still outnumbered by stereotypes and the crude objectification of women but it is still amongst the media.