User:Josiesch/Exploitation of women in mass media

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Josiech, A1imack, SingsaasKyle

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Janet Jackson, #FreeTheNipple

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Rape Myths -kyle
Rape myths are beliefs that the victim is the reason to be blamed for their sexual assault rather than the assaulter themselves. An instance of a rape myth would be the belief that the victim, commonly a woman, "asked for it." She "asked for it' by dressing provocatively, flirting, or behaving promiscuously.

Whenever a sexual assault case goes public or goes to court, those who believe in rape myths question the validity of the victim. Temkin, Gray, and Barrett founded research that "shows that those who believe in rape myths are more likely to find the defendant not guilty, to believe that the complainant consented, and to place at least some of the blame for the events upon the complainant."

Mass media often portrays rape myths on television, mainly fictional shows. Because of the increasing exposure to the sexual assault of women on said shows, viewers are desensitized and more susceptible to rape myth acceptance. Because rape myths are publicized by the media, people accept them, which would have severe effects on the victims' livelihoods.

Mass media also prevents women from speaking out about their trauma without being accused of false accusations. In the #MeToo movement, these accusations were seen by the media and were both accepted and questioned. As Anna Brown stated in her research, out of those who believed that people could easily make a false report, 28% were against the #MeToo movement, while 7% were not.

-Exploitation in other countries and how it directly/indirectly affects the United States
In many parts of the world, women are subjected to exploitation by the media- continuing dangerous stereotypes and societal inequalities. This phenomenon of exploitation is not confined to the United States but extends globally, appearing in various forms and intensities depending on cultural, social, and economic contexts.

Similar to the U.S., women in other countries are frequently objectified and sexualized in media representations. Advertising, television shows, movies, and even news coverage often prioritize women's physical appearance over their talents, intellect, or achievements. This reinforces the idea that a woman's worth is primarily tied to her physical attractiveness.

Social media platforms have become a tool for perpetuating sexual exploitation, especially among vulnerable populations like indigenous girls. Women outside the United States are exploited by the media through the objectification and hyper-sexualization of their image. Indigenous girls, in particular, are often portrayed in a sexualized manner, which not only sustains harmful stereotypes but also normalizes the sexual exploitation of young women. The media, including social media platforms, often contribute to this by sharing and distributing images and narratives that reduce indigenous girls to mere objects of desire, disregarding their agency and humanity.