Rosie Webber

Response

Killing Us Softly IV

Cordonnier

3/11/2016

Killing Us Softly IV

In the documentary film Killing Us Softly IV, Jean Kilbourne asks us to take a closer look

at our media and how it portrays women. Kilbourne believes that this portrayal has a complete

negative effect on women and young girls around the world, and requires change. I completely

agree with Kilbourne, and I thank her for taking the time to really put together this case.

I always knew that the portrayal of women in the media was bad. The unrealistic

expectations that the media has placed on women is staggering, and calls for major reform.

However, there were so many other elements to the sexism and corruption in the media that I

was completely unaware of. The media tells us women that the most important thing about us is

how we look, and our ability to please a man. Almost every single photo you see in an ad has

been Photoshopped, often heavily, to create even more unattainable standards for women.

Additionally, women of color are made to feel as though they are only beautiful if they come

closer to the “white ideal” – light skin, straighter hair, and Caucasian features.

Additionally, most personal to me, is the obsession with thinness in the media. There are

such extreme expectations of women to be extremely tall and thin, a body type only a small

percentage of the population actually has naturally. It makes women who are not extremely thin

or tall feel as though they cannot be beautiful, and will not be attractive to men. It is such a

shame that we are teaching our children these lessons. We need to begin portraying real women,

of all shapes, sizes, and races, in the media. We live in a diverse and unique world, and the media

can only benefit by including all of us.