Feminism and Digital Media

As I was editing the video for the last project, I thought about digital media and women. The woman of the 50’s was a wife/daughter who took her of her home, cooked meals, watched the children, engaged in crafts or artisanal hobbies, and created a warm home for those around her.

The woman of today is very different. Yes, there are women who stay at home and take care of their families, but do they enjoy it or do they whish they were doing something else instead of being stuck in the house?

Now, let’s remember that we are bombarded by media everywhere we go. Has digital media help change the role of women in society by preaching feminist trends and ideas? Are we unsatisfied women because we are not like that woman on TV whose world seems perfect?

I am not saying we should go back to the 50’s because as lovely as it seemed, there were many things that needed to change. I do agree with the motivations that started the feminist movement, it was not only the right thing to do but it was necessary. However, along the way, it seems like this movement has gone too far to the point where women are trying to break the traditional role of women at all costs and this is affecting society. And surely, digital media has helped with this process.

Digital media is a powerful tool that so often portrays feminism in an extreme way. And since we are so used to it, we take it as normal and acceptable, maybe even as something positive. I guess we could say this is one of the ways in which Digital Media is bad for us as a society even though we may be momentarily blind to the effects.

Many shows on TV show the prefect woman as the boss, the career person, sexually promiscuous, demanding, harsh and controlling. On the other hand, guys are portrayed as weak, complete idiots, and utilized by women.

I believe that men and women are equally worth and valuable, and thus, should enjoy the same rights, protections, etc. However, that does not mean that we are equal, because we are NOT. We are to complement each other and that means differences in roles. We often criticize the traditional role of women: stay home, clean, cook, and take care of the kids, and we seem to look at the role of men as an ideal. Why is that?

For decades, it is like if women were trying to prove that they are as capable as men. Capabilities should not be in question, and what if women were not as capable as men? Would that mean that they are not as valuable? Certainly not. And what kind of capabilities are we taking into account? My husband is capable of doing things I am not capable of and I am capable of doing things he is not, and that is perfectly ok.

Ironically, I believe that in an attempt to destroy the traditional role of women, the feminist ideas are also destroying the role of men. While women are becoming less nurturing and motherly, men are becoming weaker and less fatherly. For instance, there are many families, where the man is the player in the background, the immature character, the woman is the boss in the house, and the children will more likely listen to the mother than to the father. The truth is that deep inside women do not really like weak men, so eventually they get sick of their husbands. It is a vicious cycle.

The truth is that most of women do not hold extreme beliefs about feminism, they just want to have the opportunity to choose what works best for them. But there is a heavy pressure out there, which reaches us through the different forms of media, telling us we are to be more extreme. This pressure is shaping our brains and the brains of the young girls who tomorrow will be mothers.