A Media Takeover

Race, gender, religion, ethnicity- these are all qualities that people should be proud of. One should be confident in his/her background and beliefs, not caring what others think. Unfortunately, today's media has the power to brainwash millions and millions of people into believing that they're not good enough. You can't be a CEO of a company because you're a woman, you must be a real idiot because you drive a tractor, and you, you must lose thirty pounds because we can't see your collar bones very well. Living in American, we cannot escape the stereotypes and dehumanizing graphics; they're everywhere! You see them while driving your car down to the TD Bank Garden, in that People Magazine in the barber's waiting room, and on commercials during your favorite episode of House. According to mainstream media, no matter how "good" you are, you'll never be "good" enough.

Arwa Aburawa is a freelance journalist and blogger who writes about the connections between feminism, culter, and Islam. Aburawa Bitch magazine entry "Veiled Threat" addresses the left-wing critique of capitalism's objectification of women. 
According to dictionary.com, objectification is a verb (used with object), objectified, objectifying.

1.

to present as an object, especially of sight, touch, or other physical sense; make objective; externalize.

In 2004, France's former President Jacques Chirac passed a bill banning "religious symbols in schools. Following this bill, President Nicolas Sarkozy banned burqas and headscarves in public areas as a response to the belief that they are signs of subjugation. 

noun

1.

the act, fact, or process of bringing under control;enslavement:

So at this point we ask ourselves, "why were people mad at the French if they were sticking up for women?" Well the answer comes from a street artist in Paris, Princess Hijab: it is a symbolic act of resistance meant to reassert a physical and mental integrity against visual terrorism of advertising. She believes that publicists and advertisers have "changed" culture. The goal for her art is to convert the context of the headscarves to a symbol of empowerment and re-embodiment. 

Tyra Banks, queen bee in the contradictory and hypocritical world, dehumanizes others in hopes to "up" her ratings for America's Next Top Model. Jennifer Pozner, founder and executive director of Women in Media and News, discusses how on TV, Tyra makes herself out to be this wonderful ethnic woman, who advocates for self-worth and self-esteem for all women. It is behind the cameras and off set that Tyra shows her true colors. As the creator and producer of a popular reality television show, Tyra worries about her ratings. To soothe these worries, she has to have an extremely entertaining cast that pulls viewers in. In order for this to happen, a lot of framing and editing must take place. By means of framing and editing, Tyra and her crew are able to create any personality that they so desire for a specific individual. Videos may be added, important background information may be left out, and outfits may be required so that a stereotype and character may be fulfilled. At one point in her career, Tyra actually made a black model get down on all fours inside of a cage and pose for the camera. If that's not dehumanizing than I don't know what is!

verb (used with object), dehumanized, dehumanizing.

1.

to deprive of human qualities or attributes; divest of individuality