Womanhood: It ain’t all about bouncing breasts and jiggling booties

February 2, 2010 at 4:06 PM | Posted in As A Man, Don't be a Dummy, Please don't be "that girl", Please don't be "that guy", Seriously?, Soapbox in the Raw | 5 Comments

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Steven Chew Jr. You can read the Chronicles of Chew here.

As a man, you are conveniently served a buffet of sexually explicit images of women on television. Just 30 minutes of music video enjoyment provides more breast and thighs than a bucket at KFC. These images in music videos, film, and magazines give any man enough to satiate a lustful sexual appetite. But is there ever a time to step back and think about how these images affect the female gender?…Um…. No… – Is the response you might get from some men in regards to the question and topic.
As men let’s face it – we all have a mother, maybe a sister, and might experience the joy of having a daughter someday, so what separates the women in our lives from the negative images of women in the media today? -Nothing.

Now, let’s really think about these images. The video hoe, the nympho, the man hungry bimbo, the ditz, the hysterical and powerless female roles in movies and television shows all were created and reinforced by the male’s sexual domination in everyday society. All of these images can have a negative influence on the way women might view themselves. Several young women, who are discovering their “womanhood” or “role in society”, might view these images and mistake them as truth or may feel they cannot transcend the images of what the media depicts them as. It is important to make a conscious effort to teach young women that they are more than these unsubstantial, vapid images and to direct them towards more positive, multi-dimensional female role models.

In today’s media, there are more positive representations of women than ever before. The women of “The View”, Oprah, Katie Couric and Michelle Obama just to name a few, show the female image in a powerful and positive light. It is important to uphold these images of women, instead of focusing on the many negative images –because negative and sexual images of women will NEVER completely disappear in the media. Yeah, I said it.

What can improve is the amount and frequency of these images being shown and that is up to the audience to reject. Women and men are equal. We have negative and positive connotations associated with us. We are both sexual creatures. We both are seen in the media. Are there more degrading images and stereotypes associated with women more so than men in the media? – Yes! But, it’s important to understand that the “video hoe” can exist (in a more TASTEFUL way maybe)-but the intelligent and sophisticated woman should exist and flourish as well! It’s all about variety. A variety of representations within the media help to diminish stereotypes, and simply reinforce humanity.

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Related: Maybe if you got with with a mature woman instead of just the one who had the fattest ass you wouldn’t be going thru the drama