Imagine walking up a flight of stairs while everyone else is walking down. Think of the people walking down as the influence of media, and you, walking up, your personal opinions not being swayed by the media. Would you turn and follow the rest of the people down or would you continue going up? Personal opinions are often altered by something that is read or seen in the media. There are certain stereotypes toward beauty, abuse, and gender, throughout the media having a big influence on society’s perception of these topics.

Gender stereotypes, especially toward women, have been going on for centuries. The female gender is perceived as the weak, subservient gender. For example, boys never consider girls to be as strong as them and are always bragging about their muscles. If a girl were to beat a boy in an arm wrestling match, the surrounding boys would probably ridicule the boy who lost the fight because he was beaten by a girl. This shows females are supposed to be weak and small, unable to do anything for themselves, which is the exact opposite of males. Males are the big, strong protectors who power over the female gender. Men are afraid to seem weaker than women because anything observed that is less than the societal norms might be perceived as feminine. “Men are embarrassed to admit and openly tell someone else that he is the victim of abuse at the hands of his female partner.” Media only presents society with what they feel is necessary, this can lead to only showing one side of the story.

Society today mentions the subject of abuse often. When mentioned, abuse usually focusses on males abusing females. Most of the time women are perceived as the victims when in reality women abuse men just as much as men abuse women. A social experiment called “The Domestic Violence Experiment,” performed by MoeAndET, records the reactions of bystanders as they witness public abuse, and was posted to their Youtube channel. The video shows a man hitting a women and the surrounding witnesses springing into action to stop the abuse. However, when the tables turn and the woman is the one abusing the man the reactions of the people change drastically. Not only do the witnesses ignore the abuse, they encourage it and join in. “Over 40% of victims of severe physical violence are men.” The abuse of men goes unrecognized day after day. Due to strong feminism and the rise of women's rights, men are suffering. Society is too blind to recognize that men are now in the position women were fighting to overcome, and still a gender rises above another.

It is known women are objectified and have been for years, yet males are also being objectified. There are standards held against both women and men. One of those major standards being beauty. “The message being sent to women is: ‘You must look like this. You must act like this. You must dress like this. If you want to attract a man or achieve level of relational 'success' with a man, you need to follow these rules.’” All over the media one sees the “picture perfect” images of males and females with the perfect body, face, and personality. Every time you open a magazine you see women and men, with ideal smiles and blemish free, luminescent skin. Beauty is a standard that has been set so high. Is it even possible to live up to that standard and be beautiful? "Men have suffered through something women have had to endure for centuries: the idealized, airbrushed ideal of the male body, complete with almost rippling abs and a well-endowed groin area." There is a big uproar about the standard of beauty held for women. The ones often overlooked are the standards put on men.

The media effortlessly influences society. It can manipulate whatever ideal it is trying to promote and make it one sided. Society should comprise non-stereotypical, non-bias opinions. There should be no “standard,” and no “picture perfect,” body. All forms of beauty and sexuality would be within societal norms. There could be an acceptance of natural appearance with no standards to be met. A society without slandered citizens, having less rights than others. Men and women should be equal and both share the same struggles. Stereotypes toward beauty, abuse, and gender are all illusions of the so called “truth,” that the media has created. Continue up the stairs and keep creating your own individualized thoughts.

Cited Sources
"How Do Images of Beauty Affect Society?" Opposing Viewpoints In Context. N.p., n.d. Web.

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By Eb|2012-02-12T09:19:16+00:00February 12th, 2012|Research, Uncategorized|Comments Off on CDC Study: More Men than Women Victims of Partner Abuse. "CDC Study: More Men than Women Victims of Partner Abuse." SAVE Stop Abusive and Violent Environments. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2016. .

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Extreme Domestic Abuse in Public. N.p., n.d. Web. .