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Femininity In Film

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“I don't know why femininity should be associated with weakness. Women should be free to express who they are without thinking, 'I need to act like a man, or I need to tone it down to be successful.' That's a very good way to keep women down” said Zooey Deschanel, an American actress. However, the main reason behind femininity’s association with weakness is due to society’s perception of the fundamentals of femininity. As a matter of fact, the main contributory influence to the unhealthy perception is due to the exposure of media. An example of popular medium of media is films. Films violate the fundamentals of femininity by portraying women negatively as sex objects and stereotypically as weak and passive, and traditional housewife roles. In the first place, films objectify the qualities of being a woman negatively as sex objects. According to Merriam-Webster, a sex object is defined as someone who is thought of only as being sexually attractive or desirable. Likewise, women in films are often exploited as sex objects especially in pornographic films. For example, Sora Aoi who is a …show more content…

All in all, the negative portrayal of women in film as sex symbols and unhealthy stereotypes disrespects the significance of femininity. Women being glorified as sex symbols simply objectify women as tools. Stereotyping women with weak and passive roles identify women as dependant and helpless beings. At the same time, stereotyping women with traditional housewife role is irrelevant and discriminating in today’s culture. All things considered, films are definitely one of the main influential factors of violating the fundamentals of femininity. However, negative depictions in films are produced today as there is a demand for it. Above all, to abolish these unhealthy deceptions in films, society must educate each other as no women in these films are forced to undress or act in a stereotypical

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