DENIED
Various studies have proved how females have been physically wounded, mercilessly murdered and emotionally wrecked by their sexualisation in media. Hence it is essential that a proper check and balance in maintained while putting up a poster, uploading a video or shooting a film.
Living in a culture governed strongly by audiovisuals, it is possible that the methods involved with these aural and optic communications have been internalised. Hollywood movie Shallow Hal states “Inner beauty to be the easiest thing in the world to see when you‘re looking for it… The brain sees what the heart wants it to feel.” Everything known about beauty is programmed. TV, magazines, movies. They‘re all imposing what‘s beautiful and what isn‘t. No matter how superficially challenging the physical, emotional and spiritual barriers are experienced in the road to what the media or society calls beauty may be, women have been chasing them. Every female has a different perspective of justifying this stereotypical attitude. The consistency observed in the reinforcement and following of the international beauty standards has led to discontentment, physical dissatisfaction, depression and eating disorders this attitude is what one might call self objectification. As discussed above the audiences tend to copy and follow what media presents to them. Defining beauty, success, ideal body, dating, romance and sex all in the terms of media. The negative portrayal of women in media has its alarmingly devastating impacts on society, and if not addressed they will keep on expanding.
Objectification can be defined as an attitude or behavior pattern that treats a living person as a
thing or a commodity that can be used, with a minimal or in many cases no regard of that person possessing a personality may it be emotional or intellectual. This attitude is commonly adopted at a societal i-e a larger level, but in some cases it can be individualised. Media here plays an important role in encouraging women towards self objectification on one hand and negatively portraying it on the other. The question of sexuality leading to self objectification is what harms women mostly. So in many cases it is a woman versus a woman, justifying the negativity around. The debate here is not how the unequal objectified portrayal effect women but how it affects the world. Many different kinds of social problems arise from this behavior as it paves the way for women to accentuate the inequality prevailing. These social problems range from eating disorders, low self esteem, depression, lack of motivation to crimes such as sexual assault, harassment and other bias against women. The propagation of this unrealistic image of women is further fueled up harmful and overrated media practices. The invasion of objectified images of women has occurred at the same time when we see women gaining power in the society and this is a negative attitude and will surely backlash females from becoming if not too powerful at least equally powerful as men.
The relation between sexual and self objectification is our cause of concern. Unfortunately since ages women have been treated as a nonliving entity and men have assumed the role of the objectifier. The world we live in is surrounded by objectification, treating the suppressed and docile in a ruthless manner. Talking about women when their bodies are a feast for men a mere source of pleasure. The question here is that who is to be blamed, the women who act as wanted or the media which projects women reinforcing the demeaning attitude against them. The alarming issue these days is the unchecked media and how it is consumed by the children, teenagers and young adults, as it trains them to perceive women around them as a thing. In the case of young boys they develop an attitude to look down upon the girls around them since childhood and when grown up it is so fixated that almost impossible to be undone. A lack of control and low self esteem is a repercussion of sexual objectification that leads to self objectification. A direct harm is sexual victimisation and subjecting a submissive attitude towards sexual humiliation.
Objectification of women comes from centuries of social programming, not nature. Educating females about self objectification and redefining the freedom of expression. Liberation is a word that is misused by the media, hence in order to draw out positive conclusions women have to be trained to judge themselves. Community campaigns for media management i-e seminars, tutorials in institutions, messages in print and electronic media. This is the most important point as to improvement of the society in general and women in specific are concerned. Women in media specially advertisements are portrayed as show piece hence if in the advert the female models are replaced with accomplished women such as sportspersons, human right activists, directors, writers, doctors etc the trends can surely take a new turn. Pemra should take specific action against media practices that demean women. In the context women themselves have to be aware of the problem and they should be the one reporting and fighting against it. Professional ethics training can be defined as educating the media personals ‘about the unethical practices in media and there hazards. Parent and family education, in other words community awareness programs in which parents and siblings are guided as to educate their children may it be male or female to respect each other. Not encouraging attitudes or practices that place the female child in a lower position. In order to make an unbiased society women have to safeguard their rights. Most importantly women in media have to be aware of their objectification being educated, sane and bold enough to identify, notify and rectify the mal practices. Designing curriculum that is free of gender bias may it be language or stereotypical attitudes towards women. This means to replace texts that reinforce female stereotypes with those that present females as equally intelligent and accomplished beings.
Education is the key to success, encourage, allow and support your women to study, flourish and shine in life. Train them to be fighters! Various studies have proved how females have been physically wounded, mercilessly murdered and emotionally wrecked by their sexualisation in media. Hence it is essential that a proper check and balance in maintained while putting up a poster, uploading a video or shooting a film. More important is filtration of the comments and reviews as negative portrayal leads to highly dishonorable acts by very honorable beings. Women when portrayed as a commodity, a thing that can be traded and used for recreational purposes. This kind of thinking reinforces females as an object of desire for men around them. It is very important that women are presented as users of products by the media not a commodity itself.
The men in Pakistan have issues concerning female mobility and visibility, this kind of exposure of women might draw negative results. There is a difference between liberation and objectification. Mishandling liberty in the form of objectifying an individual especially women leads to a society full of crime, stress and frustration. It is women who have to be trained and
educated in a way that they learn to argue, resist and address the inequality towards them. Unfortunately the issue of objectification of women has been disregarded on the basis of religious captivation by the leftists. Hence here I will make myself clear that I am not at all against westernisation, liberation, equality and modernity. What needs to be vexed and eradicated is objectification against women and how media and society are enslaving them traditionally. It is high time for women to rise, think and choose for themselves. Therefore women have to choose to be modern, independent, and free and choose not to objectify themselves as a feast for the eyes of the beasts around. If a female cannot be accessed with respect, dignity and honor then ACCESS DENIED. Or living in a world where females are endowed as “specimens of physical beauty only” SELF OBJECTIFICATION DENIED.
What needs to be vexed and eradicated is objectification against women and how media and society are enslaving them traditionally. It is high time for women to rise, think and choose for themselves. Therefore women have to choose to be modern, independent, and free and choose not to objectify themselves as a feast for the eyes of the beasts around
