Summer Task 3
Discuss the role the media plays in shaping our views and opinions on any one group in our society. Is this representation positive or negative?

Within the media the stereotypical woman is being presented as a woman who has the perfect figure, the clearest skin and the silkiest hair; this is unrealistic and fake. This image is most popular in magazines like hello and the Cosmopolitan. These companies use photoshop to achieve this by changing someone who isn't seen as "perfect" into something that is an unrealistic expectation, these companies think that by using photoshop in this way they are in fact improving the rate of their sales and advertising their product in the best way possible but they actually destroy what little self confidence the female population has left. Overall this is a negative representation.
      Media theorist David Gauntlett argues that  "Popular media has a significant but not entirely straightforward relationship with peoples sense of gender and identity". This theory supports my idea because the media makes the advert appeal to the female audience by creating a relationship between the model and the audience which entices them and gets their attention.  Common conventions such as text or certain colours are used to do this. Red is often used in these adverts because the colour red denotes love and sex and makes the model hotter and more appealing to the male population. With the use of the colour red the audience sees a hotter, sexier version of themselves which allows them to experience their fantasy of being a better looking woman and someone who is more appealing to the male audiences.
      Also in these adverts women are being represented as objects which attract the male audience which links to Laura Mulveys theory the male gaze. For example in a car advert there would be both a car and a woman with the use of this technique the similarities between them are highlighted as being property or a males prize possession. Text is also used for example "OWN IT NOW" this isnt specifically directed at the car so could imply the woman is something to be brought. On the other hand using a woman in a revealing dress attracts the male audiences eye which in fact increases sales and the popularity of the company or product, therefore making it a positive aspect but sometimes has a negative impact.