User:Nakkiswala/Internalized sexism

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Television and cinema

There is a long-lasting connection between misogyny and mass media. Comedic sitcoms often portray characters degrading the value of women and commenting on women's weight and size. This contributes to the internalization of gender size stereotypes, sometimes negatively affecting the mental and physical health of females. One of the primary problems in mass media is the under-representation of women in widely consumed productions.

The context of children's entertainment is especially pernicious because young minds are highly impressionable and cartoons have been known to play a pedagogical role in childhood development. A vast amount of early Disney movies showcase a young girl needing to be rescued by a "Prince Charming" to have a happily ever after. A few examples are Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty. The Little Mermaid has been criticized because it tells a story of a young woman, Ariel, who gives up her natural identity as a mermaid in order to meet the preferences of her love interest, a human male.

Social Media

Social media is a significant part of everyone's lives. It has the power to sway people's opinions and thoughts about themselves and others. Platforms such as Instagram and TikTok host a diverse population of users and utilize sophisticated algorithms to display videos that users are most likely to be interested in. However, this algorithm can backfire if a user interacts with a video about, for example, body image, as they will then start seeing more and more similar videos, potentially leading to negative internalization and feelings of not being enough.

There has also been a significant trend known as "Pick Me Girls" on TikTok. "It can be defined as a social media phenomenon dominated by women who always consider that they are the best in any kind of condition. As they are feeling perfect, they easily hate, insult, and compete with other women." Women viewing other women as competition has been prevalent for a long time across various relationships, including between mothers and daughters, among girlfriends, or even between two strangers on the internet. Thanks to social media, this issue is now being openly discussed in large numbers.

Combating internalized sexism[edit]

Research on interventions and techniques which effectively combat internalized sexism is scarce despite the ubiquity of this phenomenon. However, raising awareness of internalized sexism and the mechanisms behind it enables women to recognize and impede their own internalized sexism. For instance, this awareness may discourage women from participating in derogation of fellow women and encourage them to support other women rather than treat them as competitors. Learning about internalized sexism can therefore empower and support women throughout their everyday lives.

A few other ways to combat internalized sexism is:

• Critical media consumption
  • Analyzing media with a critical mind to question the different portrayal of gender and stereotypical representations.
  • Seeking diverse media sources is also a great to see women in different roles and challenging gender stereotypes.
• Dialogue and Communication
  • Engaging in open conversations with peers and friends to help see and challenge commonly held beliefs.
  • With open conversations, it can build a strong support systems with those around and encourage more women and girls of all the diverse roles in society.
  • Equal household chores is also a great way to promote gender equality and combat internalized sexism as women are not the only ones in charge of doing all the household chores.
  • Calling out certain jokes or a certain portrayal of comments to help discourage people from derogating fellow women.
• Education
  • Understanding the root causes of sexism and teaching children from young ages on gender equality.
  • Teaching children, teenagers, and young adults on what sexist and derogatory language is and what are some respectful ways to talk about and to each other.