How has gendered media influenced your consumption? In what ways have you conformed and/or resisted gendered media? (i.e. dolls, movies, reality television, name brands, etc.
Media and consumerism has influence my life in many ways. When
I was a child, I remember my brother and I were big fans of Disney movies and
Disney cartoons. Every Saturday and Sunday morning we watched Disney movies and
cartoons. One of our all-time favorite movies was the Lion King, Pocahontas, and
Aladdin. For us, Disney became a fantasy, a magical world that we
brought to life. What I mean by that is that my brother and I pretended to be Disney characters. He always
wanted to be the hero; the problem was that I also wanted to play the hero too.
This was the beginning of a revolution; I did not want to play
the role of a princess. According to the article “Gendered Media: The Influence
of Media on Views of Gender,” Female characters are portrayed to devote their
primary energies to improving their appearances and taking care of homes and
people (Woods 2). Unconsciously I wanted to be strong, powerful and be the hero. I wanted to feel empowered and not clean, cook or serve anyone.
When I started elementary school, I traded my Barbie’s for cars,
stuffed animals and video games. I was a bit of a "tomboy" and enjoyed playing with the boys. Once I started high school, I
became interested in makeup, boys, fashion and Victoria secret products. Every
girl in high school owned Victoria secret’s body spray, lotion and underwear. Back then, girls who used Victoria Secret products were considered
popular, trendy and cool. But how did I suddenly start to buy all these products? Thanks to fashion magazines, TV advertisements/shows and commercials, the love for
consumerism began. Magazines such as Seventeen, Teen Vogue, Cosmo and Elle influenced
my sense of style and encouraged me to consume their products. Reality television shows such as American Next Top Model, Project runway, MTV and BET also encouraged me to purchase beauty/fashion products and inspired my love for fashion and beauty products.
