General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: LUV capitalism!!! Study shows hyper-sexualization of women by the media has increased 10 fold... [View all]BlancheSplanchnik
(20,219 posts)I must admit, I like those shows, some of them anyway...I suppose that's highly hypocritical of me.....but some of them are usually very well written and genuinely suspenseful........
Anyway, aside from that bit of self-disclosure......
Yes. I think that showing females as the de facto victim reinforces a blase attitude towards violence against women, general contempt towards us, and an expectation that females are victimizable, that females are less human. Actually, imagery or text that automatically conflates objecthod with femaleness, and victimhood with femaleness are far more numerous than just TV crime shows. For one example that I saw recently, I went into a store that is sponsored by the local organization that supports developmentally disabled adults and children. The walls featured many photos of kids and adults who benefit from their enrichment programs. I found it interesting that of approx. 20 photos, all except one were of disabled girls gazing winsomely into the camera. Not doing anything, merely sitting passively, guaged to pull our heartstrings. The one picture of a young man with Down's Syndrome showed him not looking into the camera, but at his hand as he played guitar, obviously enjoying himself and his sense of pride in accomplishment.
Quite a difference, eh? I see this dichotomy all the time---girls/women shown as passive objects, nothing intererstnig or engaging about them EXCEPT their cuteness/winsomeness/prettiness/sad victimhood playing on our emotions. Compare to imagery of boys/men, who are shown as persons. Guys involved, active, engaged...to be viewed and admired as impactful human beings.
Marginalizing women in this way implants a notion that we are fair game for projections of aggression. Look at so-called gender neutral discussion boards, particularly ones popular with teen to twenty year olds. The hatred directed against girls is very noticeable. Popular memes exhibit a typical contempt and singular sexualization for anything female as well---look at UrbanDictionary.com for examples of what I mean.