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The Forum > Article Comments > Desperately seeking role models of intelligence, wit and independence > Comments

Desperately seeking role models of intelligence, wit and independence : Comments

By Lisa O'Brien, published 17/10/2008

In a society as image-conscious as ours it is hard to convince young women there is more to life than beauty.

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A good article. The clock has been turned back re magazines, advertising, etc, re their portrayal of women. If men were depicted as sexualised, skinny waifs with nothing between the ears, there would be hell to pay.

It's no wonder that some young women feel they 'live on another planet' - the Planet of the Strange - as they are taught in schools to be ambitious and intelligent, yet they have to sit in bus shelters or train stations and be confornted with scantily clad women suggestively eating a chocolate bar.

Mixed messages or what? Sure sex sells but it's the lowest common denominator in advertising. When the creative director or copywriters can't think of a clever idea, they throw in a semi-naked woman.

There have been som great female journos: Wendt probably being one of the best (male or female). Maybe Lisa, you'll start to redress the imbalance.
Posted by Cheryl, Friday, 17 October 2008 11:45:06 AM
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I was surprised to see the model used by the Victoria Racing Club to promote the Caulfield Cup in the suburban Melbourne papers. The model appears to be 16 years old which is appealing to the race goer demographic. It has become fashionable for girls in year 11 and year 12 to attend the Caulfield Cup. Of course the Monday morning editions of The Age and The Herald Sun will thunder about the number of underage drinkers who vomited champagne all over the place.

The Victoria Racing Club will tsk, tsk while planning their next years marketing campaign.

Sadly our society has a wide gap between public opinion and public sentiment. An example of Public Opinion - yeaterday The Australian mourned the injustice done to the battler family in Lithgow taking home $140,000 per year who have a home mortgage and investment property mortgage. Public Sentiment - half the adults in Australia live on less than $28,000 per year.

Our media celebrate the success of those who are good looking, earn good money and everyone else is invisible. People who do not conform to the ideal body image can't find clothes and shoes that are big enough to fit.
Posted by billie, Friday, 17 October 2008 12:00:57 PM
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Yes I agree, there are some efforts in the doll industry in providing more "real" type dolls for girls.
Posted by Father for Women's Rights, Friday, 17 October 2008 12:09:42 PM
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The objectification of women continues unabated instead of a reduction in semi-clad teens, young men are also being bombarded with equally vacuous and unattainable images:

http://mycareer.com.au/promotions/salary-2008/Salary08_Hotties_Colin.gif

This is from an ad for MyCareer.com.

Imagine you are 18 years old, unemployed, bad case of acne and just an average sort of person. Thumbs down MyCareer.
Posted by Fractelle, Friday, 17 October 2008 12:36:46 PM
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Why should the state interfere with the pleasure the rest of us get from attractive faces and bodies? If you don't like what you see on TV, turn it off and read a book.

In any event, all the well-meaning legislation in the world won't make the public watch fashion shows with fat middle-aged models, or ads in which drab second-hand cars putter noisily through dreary suburban streets full of boring badly dressed people. We are hard-wired to seek out and enjoy depictions of slim, elegant people and attractive things, and no advertiser or TV executive who tries to buck the trend is going to stay in their job very long.

I wonder how much of our taxes will be spent on this futile attempt to avert the inevitable?
Posted by Jon J, Friday, 17 October 2008 1:29:01 PM
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As long as there is a market for the images and stories that are the subject of complaint, nothing will change. It is foolish to blame men when it is so obviously women who buy the offending magazines and watch the model shows on TV.

I don't know any mother who would ever let her husband buy clothes for their daughters, yet much of the clothing worn by girls accents their budding sexuality. We can argue that those are the only clothes available but the rags trade like any business reacts quickly to buyer refusal.

It is time for women to drop the excuses and take responsibility for their choices. What stops anyone from climbing out of a rut? Why blame others or the system when the answer lies within? Honestly, how many paparazzi would there be if only men were interested in celebrities? How many fathers would buy those slimy magazines for their daughters? Ever heard men being interested in fashion? Men laugh at the excesses of fashion and are shocked by the feeble, emaciated skeletons that are models.

I notice that Sarah Palin always attracts bile, direct or indirect, on this forum but she seems to take responsibility for her choices and she is successful, so why sledge her continually? In many ways she is a good role model and like most of us, she is not perfect - which is a good thing for any girl (or boy) to recognise and accept.

It is easy and comfortable to be a victim because one always has an 'out' for staying in a rut and for the less attractive consequences of our own choices. Maybe that is the problem.
Posted by Cornflower, Friday, 17 October 2008 1:48:39 PM
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