Top Ten Things the Media Gets WRONG about Women

10. You’ve been stranded on an island for months, why is your hair perfect?

On television shows like Lost, which is about people stranded on a mysterious island, the flawless Evangeline Lilly remains the object of affection for the fellow male survivors. While the show does a great job of making sure her shirt has the designated dirt and sweat stains, her hair is always in those “perfectly imperfect” waves and she rarely looks undesirable. On TV it’s clear that beauty is more valued than plausibility.

9. That’s not how I wash my car.

Why does every task done by an attractive girl in a commercial, TV show, or movie, require a bikini and a wind fan? If women were all really like the girls on these platforms of media, it would imply that with everything we do, we’re seeking male attention. Ask around, I doubt many women feel sexy washing their car…cars are really dirty.

8. Nobody airbrushes me every morning.

Unless you’re Gisele Bundchen or part of the Kardashian clan, you do not have a glamour posse who works to beautify you every morning…because you’re normal. But no matter how we fight it, we live in the age of Photoshop and airbrushing, a time where natural beauty is undervalued in the media world. Thus creating these unrealistic expectations for how women really look.

Recently on an episode of The Bachelor, a contestant named Carly threw fellow contestant, Brit, under the bus by telling the cameras that she actually puts make-up on before she goes to bed just incase dreamy bachelor, farmer Chris himself, were to come over unannounced. She did this because of her underlying insecurity that the man she supposedly wants to marry, would see what she actually looks like, and I blame you media.

7. I don’t eat cheeseburgers like that…

I really don’t need the pressure to feel sexy while I eat, thank you Charlotte McKinney. McKinney is the new…ahem, face of Carl’s Jr. burger restaurant. She appeared in the scandalous 2014 Super Bowl commercial which kicked off their #EatLikeYouMeanIt, all-natural burger campaign, but mostly it just showed off an almost-naked McKinney seductively eating a burger in a bikini. The reality is, a burger is the last thing most women want to eat while wearing a bikini and I don’t know about you, but I mostly never make-out with my food. Maybe that’s just me.

6. We’re not all trying to lose weight all of the time!

There’s no question that the media preys off women’s insecurities. First they show you a picture of Jessica Alba, then they blast you with weight loss ads and the latest diet trends directly targeted toward women. Even with the constant talk about “positive body image” and “loving your body,” can’t we just have a break from relentlessly worrying about the way we look?

5. Are you selling those jeans or that girl? I’m confused.

Advertising has almost always used female sexuality to help sell products, but it has become so conspicuous with sex that it’s sometimes hard to tell what in fact the advertisers are trying to sell. If you want to sell jeans, apparently the only way to do that is to have a topless girl wearing them. But are we really that transparent? I personally think more of the male sex, and thoroughly believe they can make an educated assessment of a product they want to purchase and will buy it regardless of the naked girl on the billboard.

4. Those typical “cookie cutter” roles.

The matron, the girl next door, the dumb blonde, the temptress, the wallflower, the nerd that they discover is beautiful as soon as she takes her glasses off: these are all the “cookie cutter” roles that are made for women on TV and in film. These roles help propagate the idea that as women we must perfectly fit into one of them. But mostly what these roles do, is assume that we are predictable, that one aspect of our lives can define our entire being.

3. For a woman to be a successful athlete, she doesn’t also have to be hot.

Every day, various men of the professional sports world receive recognition for their athletic abilities, regardless of what they look like. But in today’s society, I can’t help but notice that female athletes receive more accreditation based on their athletic abilities coupled with how attractive they are. Seriously, Google, “images of famous female athletes” and you’ll be taken to a page of only the most beautiful athletes. Since when has beauty played a fundamental role in sports? Oh that’s right, it doesn’t.

When someone is talented, their talent should never then be reduced to their looks just because they also happen to be attractive. This idea can translate to TV and film as well, where the female super hero/vigilante/detective fights crime in a leather suit and stilettos while their male counterparts are dressed in practical, protective armor—because apparently for women, you can’t be kick-ass, unless you’re hot and kick-ass.

2. We’re not all waiting to be rescued.

Almost every romantic comedy that has been made revolves around a woman and her search for the perfect guy. The characters, obstacles, and goals may slightly vary, but it all comes down to the same thing: the search for love and the perfect man. Contrary to popular thought, that is not the goal for every woman. Women often seek success from other parts of their life, whether it is career, health, or happiness. I promise you, we have more to worry about.

1. Pretty Little 30-year-old women playing high school girls.

What ever happened to TV shows like Dawson’s Creek where teenaged characters we’re actually played by teenagers? That seems like an antiquated idea in this generation where actors who are 29, like Troian Bellisario who plays Spencer Hastings on ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars, portray 17-year-old girls. Is it really that hard to believe, with such influences, that 15-year-old girls are acting like they’re 30?

When I watch shows like this now as a 23-year-old, I ask myself, “was I supposed to be wearing heels every day to school?” No, most definitely not. Then I think about how people actually dressed in my high school, and there were a lot more pajama pants being worn then designer heels. The truth is these misleading shows can make young girls feel underdeveloped and wondering why they don’t look like 25-year-old Lucy Hale.