Anabella Monzon 7 Elsa Monzon WS110 Professor Dr.

Elizabeth Swearingen Sep29, 2012

Sexism in the Media is not only subliminal like in Disney Films, but it is also directly conveyed. The roles of gender defined by main stream society in media projection follow the Patriarchal archetype culture, methods of choice in anarchic societies were sent by the Spanish Monarchy to colonize the New World, patterned male dominance virility averting virtue These social cannons of behavior, or stipulation of norm, that were highly bias, discriminative and alienating were brought from the Old Continent, Europe and they had rained there through the Inquisition and Dark middle ages. When Columbus came, he brought more than slaves, diseases, rotten ships and outcasts. He also carried a derogatory system of values of dominance and submission that were established by men who Conquest as despotic rulers their domain, which was everything around their way, which became their house hold. These included women, children and the oppressed. Christianity was established with an iron fist and torture by creed phonetics that accounted to the crown in connotations of theology. Anyone that did not believe in the hegemony they practiced was eliminated as evil savage. Superstition and dogma ruled this Continent with the intrepid hand of iron, clawed in the power of warriors full of deceit and tall horses. Social cannons of repression continued to rule into this century and manifested slavery of black people and oppression of women elderly and children. They were all who seen as

Anabella Monzon 7 disposable objects for the owners pleasure and victims of usage. In South and Central America colonialism gave birth to Imperialism and wars have been continuously fought to preserve riches and provincial power. In America today the Media continue to disseminate the values of dominance, masculinity, strength and sexual exploitation practiced always but the repressive systems of government that have ruled, seeking dominance over other nations and over other classes or social levels of society, including gender. Alienation continues to victimize women as the values the media propagates increase violence perpetrated on women by the opposite sex. Anyone that does not conform to these values is portrayed as outcast, or other. The problem of media indoctrination starts in childhood when boys are forced to develop and adopt the virile viral, masculine emblem of a senseless brutality that encompasses conflict resolution by force, physical strength should not be a synonym with brutality. Boys are taught to show no emotion and that to cry is being a Sissy. In the other hand women are taught that only physical beauty will empower them and earn them respect and success, if any is even seen by them Disney films express and keep in place a lot of these values. In all the cartoons, Cinderella, Snow White, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, the lion King, Pocahontas, Mulan etc, the gender roles are established and promoted for children consumption. Their minds and perceptions are warped to believe that real men are very muscular and physically strong. A clich is symbolized in the Disney Films that establishes a mode of norm. Heterosexual relationships, Gender indexical values are represented by Iconic princess in which women are weak, with exaggerated small waists and big breast. Women are small and delicate; they need to be saved by men and cannot be physically developed for work or combat as men.

Anabella Monzon 7 There is also prejudice shown in these films, since the characters that are not predominant, are portrayed as ugly and subservient. In Aladdin the religion of India and Islam is criticized, the turbans on the people are exaggerated as phallic symbols and they are mocked, they fall over and are ridiculed while practicing their rites. Besides teaching these race divisions, most of the characters all look white, even when they are supposed to be middle Eastern, Hispanic, or Chinese; they all have a beige whites color rather than a darker brown like media is idolizing white color of skin as a superior race, teaching these two children of all nationalities that being white is most desirable, which is bad socialization aptitude and dynamics. The dominance value is entrenched in their young malleable minds. In the Lion King when the Lion refuses to fight he is seen as a coward and vanished from the rest of the group. These would tell children that no one will want them unless they fight. The graphic communication means: the denial to fight is an unbearable weakness and the desire to be violent to defend you and yours is a desired quality to develop. These films do not teach compromise or conflict resolution that are operational skills a child needs to foster for engaging in learning. I got the impression that the Disney heroes characters fight for their women as objects. For example, the main barrel chested strong arm heroes, view women heroines as possessions. I interpret that because they are always picking them up and placing them where they want them, like they have control of them, and the subjected women have no will of their own. There are also a lot of fights between these heroes and their counter parts in the scenes, the hero is always beautiful and right, the villain is always ugly, fat, stupid and wrong. These is projecting the idea of a superior race, while the rest of the population that does not fit these characteristics are outsiders and do not belong, the question arises are the OTHERS human?

Anabella Monzon 7 almost makes you feel like being outside the category is evil. Then what is next? The elimination of the unfit? it makes me wonder Disney films are using media to imply that unless you conform to certain normalized esthetics, established by the representation in the productions, you do not belong in triumph but in docility and servitude. These films are suggestive of an ethical coded in society, being old and different is not okay. These stereotypes of conformism would annihilate a person that is bisexual. I can say these values are promoting class and gender prejudice and alienation, as well as feeding the supremacy of fascists ideas; giving birth to outcasts, gangs and wars. When people are labeled as other, seen as different, they break away from society in such a way that violence and crime is the only result, because is perceived as the only alternative. Seems to me as James Hull says in the reading Hegemony is an asymmetrical interdependence meaning is not balanced, separate is not equal, it was never meant to be. It is a way to pretend and brain wash people by media, to have them think they are gaining by being oppressed, so they can support the dominance of the systems ideology. Lulls quote hegemony as being dominance and subordination in the field of relations structured by power (Hall 1985), in other words she is talking about conformism. This word is not a poetic infrastructure, is main stream America today selling rhetorical graphic lies by the Media. Even though there were treaties written by Karl Marx and also Friedrich Engels about a century ago, society continues to exploit the poor working class. Under wages and minimal health insurance, .no jobs, cuts to Education and indoctrination of the masses to become companies commodities. The norm or the usual, like: Wall Mart and Disneyland help Hegemony ideologies keep the signs, connotation and mythical interpretations that allow semiotics to be undisturbed. In a society, as long as there is not a breakdown of communication,

Anabella Monzon 7 between the central Government that controls and dominates power, the media and the consumer, the structures and dominance is guaranteed. These gender class and social symbols allows us to be indoctrinated by media daily so we do not break away from mainstream ideology., We accept concepts that are not for our best interest because the media normalizes us and brainwashes us since we were young, suiting in front of Disney movies that seem to be teaching us good cultural values, or so our parents thought. Media is mostly controlled by men and that keeps the patriarchal values in control of the rest of the population Disney films have monopolized not only the media but also the market, leaving all the young children princess wanting a crown, but the story does not always end as a happy ever after. . The interpretation of the role of women is a sexist stereotype that inhibits girls and boys from developing healthy relations between one another, one that does not include dominance. In Milan for example, there is a scene when they are tailoring a dress on her and very innocently the women that are tailoring are singing a song in good taste, a simple little waist, hard working will bring Honor to the family. They are no innuendoes but a well planned symbolic agenda! So I ask myself what does having a little small tied wait has to do with bringing honor to the family? What does this mean? really?. To me it means that if you do not have a small waist, no one will want to marry, and is important to bring honor to the family because they will get money for you, they are selling you, and thats why they want to bind your feet and your waist. I also notice that all Disney princess art wearing a lot of makeup, is Disney getting paid by advertisement to sell make up? Or are they selling an image that keeps you subservient to looks and therefore subservient to men. To a society ruled by men. Do you have to look like they want you to please them, to become a commodity four the family? To get a job?

Anabella Monzon 7 Since I was little my own father started alienating me to become a lady, available resource in a social panorama, like an object that is commercial. A bad one at that! Women are seen as doing cleaning and cooking jobs in the films. We should not underestimate how much physical reinforces play a role in demented underlying patriarchal assumptions of gender. Society wants theories that are verifiable to become scientific proof. Physical differences between the sexes in performances of activity are compared. If we can proof men are superior in strength the result is the belief they are superior to women period. They will use biological proof to deduct mental and other type of capacity. Mental supremacy of men if disseminated in films to children forms wrong social order conceptions. The problem presents itself, then that we have underestimated the influence3 of these Disney and other media that adopts same mythology to entertain children. It is not harmless and innocent is well directed. So how can we stop the damage, how can we make parents and the public aware of these hidden dangers in media exposure and how we change the ratings of media ,how do we produce media that is counter hegemony?, how do we influence other?, how we influence our circles of endeavor in College in life and do we care?. It is also worth in closing, exposing that also in Sports physical male supremacy is featured. Supremacy of men over women in Disney films gets translated into supremacy of men in all media, we need to be consciously aware of this fact and share it with one another if we are to change the way we live to achieve freedom and equality as Feminist. The depiction emblems of Patriarchal dominance need to be denounced. Media should promote equality in sex gender and ethnicity. Social class order in America needs to change to promote a semiotic ideology of emancipation from sexual dominance and liberation from Patriarchal hierarchy.

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Citation It's Not About the Game: Don Imus, Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Media. Detail Only AvailableBy: Cooky, Cheryl; Wachs, Faye L.; Messner, Michael; Dworkin, Shari L. Sociology of Sport Journal. Jun2010, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p139-159. 21p. 4 Charts. Subjects: MASSmedia& sports; SPORTS -- Sociological aspects; AFRICAN American women athletes; RACISM in sports; BASKETBALL for women; IMUS, Don, 1940LULL. James(2003)HEGEMONY In : Gail Dines & Jean M. Hurnez (Eds). Gender,Race and Class Media. Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage,-pp61-66 [ISBN: 0-7619-2261-X9p)]