How we failed the media

This year is coming to a close and, as we move toward a new year, we reflect on the one that was. Musical montages, news reviews and obituaries of those we lost this year attempt to condense one year of life into a digestible snapshot.

One such attempt was a video titled “How the Media Failed Women in 2013.”

The video began with several examples of ways in which women have made strides toward changing their public perception. Quickly, though, the feeling changes. New examples show the sexualization of women, challenges to their intellect and gross examples of misogynistic portrayals throughout the media.

The problem is, I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do with that information. It becomes clear that there are images that demonstrate themes that anyone who respects women and their diversely significant roles in society can’t possibly support.

It isn’t, though, the media that has failed women. It’s media consumers.

We love to blame the media for our intake. In truth, though, it isn’t the media that tells us how to feel or how to act, but the other way around. We, as people, create the
media.

We have an incredible selective memory. We constantly acknowledge that media is a business and that money is the primary focus.

We shouldn’t be surprised when the most lucrative media portrayals are also the ones that make us the most uncomfortable.

A perfect example of this is the song “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke. The song, which was featured in the video mentioned above, discusses themes that should enrage women (and men for that matter), should be taken off the radio and should be the shame of the artists who contributed. Instead, it broke the record for longest tenure atop the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop chart with 16 weeks, as well as being nominated for a Grammy for Record of the Year.  

We can’t expect change after we say we are so upset by the way our media portrays women if we continue to purchase the songs that so thoroughly destroy what feminism and its proponents help to create.

The sad reality is that sex still sells, as much as we wish that it wouldn’t.

Commercials that show the most skin get the most attention, songs and videos with the most sexualized themes still get the most downloads, and the celebrities that flaunt their bodies still get the boldest headlines.

We most definitely have a problem. The way the media portrays women is unacceptable and desperately needs to change. To do that, though, we cannot continue to blame “the media” as a corporate institution.

There are clearly three groups involved: the producers, the product and the consumers.

This video attempts to blame the product, but the reality is that the producers and consumers are the ones who are in need of reevaluation. Without contributions from both, the cycle will only continue.

­— azoot@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Austin Zoot on Twitter @austinzoot12.