Blair West's Response to MissRepresentation Documentary

Having been greatly anticipating the documentary, I was interested to see how the film would live up to its reputation. I'll admit that I was completely riveted the entire time, and I know the issues discussed in the film will stay with me for a while. Every image, comment, and clip contributed to the moving message of the film, and I was truly impressed by the content. My first impression was, to be honest, that of embarrassment, for most of the television shows I watch and love were featured negatively in the documentary. Likewise, when they showed images of the narrator, my first thought was how pretty she was growing up. I was struck by my own thoughts, for, as the documentary illustrated, no matter how smart, athletic, or talented a woman is, it is her beauty that is first and most importantly noted (even by another girl, like myself). In thinking about politicians such as Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton, who have been respectively labeled as a ditz and a bitch, the message came across clearly that woman are judged on their appearance; likewise, their worth and success is often defined by their outer appearance. I will never forget my 11th grade US History class, when my male professor told us that much of the reason Obama was elected over McCain was due to his youth and handsome face. He remarked on how ridiculously unfair this was, how a man's qualification and competence could be based on his looks. I wondered if he would ever stop to consider that such discrimination exists in the lives of women every day.
In contrast with the dangerous sexualization of women is the harsh criticism women face next to men. In politics, in the workforce, and in the classroom, men and women have different expectations of appropriate behavior. Even on a college campus, for example, if a girl yells at her boyfriend, she is emotional and unstable; if a boy yells at his girlfriend, he is exerting his masculinity. In court, an argumentative woman is annoying, a similar man is 'a pistol.'
The documentary challenged us to pay attention to the ways in which we perpetuate sexism, and how such issues affect our every day lives. I'll admit I love the television show 'Sex and the City,' and I admired the character Samantha (discussed negatively in the documentary) and her power as a women. She often lets loose and sleeps around, and, while I never explicitly think to mimic her actions, she is subtly becoming an ideal for me and the millions of other women who watch the TV show. As a result, the film alluded to the fact that media influence is subtle, and while we don't flip through magazines and think 'I should be skinner,' or, 'I should be more masculine,' these issues creep into our lives.