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GracePetraglia
Ms.Gardner
English10,Per.6
8November2015
MirrorImage
Lookatamagazine.Lookatamovie.Lookatanad.
(anaphora)Youseethosewomen?
Nowlookinthemirror.
Doyoulookthesame?
(rhetoricalquestion)Theoversexualizationof
womeninthemediahavelastingeffectsongirlsselfesteemstartingfromadevastatingly
youngage.
DuetotherapidgrowthoftheInternet,thiswidespreadtyrannyhasthepowertoaffect
womenglobally.Asearlyas1930whenfemaleflightattendantrequirementswerebeingwhite,
young,single,andslender,marketershaveusedwomenasadvertisment.(Barry)Today,Nanci
Hellmichof
USAToday
agreesthesexualizationofgirlsisrampantinfilms,television,music
videos,andthemarketingofclothingtochildrenthingsinoureverydaylives.Acommoneffect
isamirrorbecomingagirlsworstenemy.IknowbecausewheneverIpassbyamirrortheurge
tojudgemyselfisoverwhelming.
Youwanttopickaparteveryflawyousee:youpickand
shameyourselfandscrutinizeuntilthereisnothingleftofyou.
(polysyndeton)Mirrorsusedtobe
honestreflectionsofpeople,butinsteadtheyhavebecomereflectionsofeverythingviewersare
not.
Aleadingexampleiswhensexualizationofwomeninthemediacausesgirlstodumb
themselvesdown.Especiallyduringtheteenyears,girlssidelineeducationtofocusonthe
risingimportanceofbeautyandfashion.Prioritygoestoselfimageandbeingsexually
attractivewhilehidingtheirintelligenceandcompetence.(TeicherKhadaroo)Theywill


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chooseinterpersonalrelationshipsoverworkcompetenceiftheydeemthemselvesnotas
smartornotascapableasothergirls.(TeicherKhadaroo)
Moreoverthereisaseverelackofselfconfidence.
Makeupbecomesacrutcha
convenientlyappliedmaskofconfidence.
(metaphor)Apressingexampleisanexperimentthat
wasconductedonteenagegirls.Theyweretoldtoprepareforamockbroadcastandgivenfive
minutesinaroomwithateleprompterandvariousbeautyproducts.(TeicherKhadaroo)The
resultsconcludedthatthegirlsspentlongerputtingonmakeupratherthanpracticingthescript.
Theshiftinprioritiesisevident.
Notonlydoesthemediachangehowwewomenfeelaboutourselves,butitchanges
howotherpeopleseeandperceiveus.Womencannotbetakenseriouslyifallweareseenas
are
slim,sexy,andsensual
asportrayedbythemedia.(alliteration)Thereismoretouswomen
thanourlooksandourbodies.Whataboutourbrains?ourideas?
Artemis
wasgreatlyadmired
forherskillsasanarcher,looksnotwithstandingthisisthetypeofrespectIhopecanbe
obtainedforeverywoman.(allusion)Theheadwaythathasbeenmadeforwomenissuperficial
wehaverightsandwecanvote,butmencontinuetohavetheadvantageintheworkplace.
Progresshasbeenmadeandyetnoprogresshasbeenmade.
(antithesis)
Letsbringanendtothistyranny.Dontstarveyourselfwithunnecessarydietschoose
toeathappy.Choosetowearminimalmakeup.Choosetoacceptyourself.
Manymayarguethatmen,too,aresubjecttooversexualizationinthemedia.WhileI
agreeandcondemnthatthereissexualizationofmen,Iarguethesexualizationofwomenis
moreprominent.Statisticsshowthatalthoughbothgendersaresubjecttothistyranny,menstill
topwomenforspeakingrolesinmovies67%33%,andwomenaremorepronetowear
revealingandprovocativeclothing26%5%.(Hellmich).Furthermore,despitethegrowing
numbersofmajormotionpictureheroinesKatnissEverdeen,TrisPrior,LettyOrtizthereare


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stillmomentswheretheyareflauntedaroundinhighlyfeminineandrevealingoutfits.Tosay
thatthatmeanswearenotproudofbeingwomenisincorrect,howeverwewanttobe
recognizedmoreforourcompetencethanourappearance.Incontrast,whenmenhave
momentsthatshowofftheirmanhoodit'stheirintellectmoresothantheirphysicalattributes
thatareidolized.
Towomenaroundtheglobe,
Irallyyoutofightagainsttheoversexualizationofwomen
inthemediaandeverywhere.(directaddress)
Howyouviewyourselfmakesadifference,butto
makeadifferenceyouhavetochangeyourview.
(chiasmus)Womenneedtostartsaving
womenandsupportingoneanother.
Choseyouoverthemedia.
(Imperative)
Itseasytobeinfluencedbythingsweseeeveryday.Thatswhytheoversexualization
ofwomenneedstostop,sowhenwelookinthemirrorwedonttearourselvesdown.Lets
promoterealpeople.Thosefrecklesyousee?Theyshowyouvelivedunderthesun.Those
wrinkles?Theyshowyouvesmiled.Thosescars?Theyshowyouvefallenandgottenbackup.
Allthesethingspeoplecallimperfections,theyshowthatyouvelived.
Promotelife.
(short
sentence)


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WorksCited

Barry,KathleenM.""TooGlamoroustoBeConsideredWorkers":FlightAttendantsAnd..."
Labor:StudiesinWorkingClassHistoryoftheAmericasVol.3,No.3
fall2006:11913
DBSIRSIssuesResearcher.Web.15Nov.2015
Hellmich,Nanci."FilmStudy:MenTalkandWomenShowSkin."
SIRS.
USAToday,22Apr.

2011.Web.10Nov.2015
TeicherKhadaroo,Stacy."SexyHalloweenCostumesforGirls?StudyBacksUpConcerned
Parents.
ChristianScienceMonitor
31OCt.2014:N.p.SIRSIssuesResearcher.Web.
12Nov.2015