Women Power and Sex in The Media

Here is the Front Page of a French Magazine, March 2010. I found it last Thursday, as I was waiting for a business meeting, at the hotel lounge.

What attracted me was the title "Femmes lyonnaises : celles qui prennent le pouvoir!"

Women in Lyon : women in charge ( literally women who take the Power!) Also the Top 50 most influential women...

Ok, why not, I was curious and took the magazine while waiting for my appointment.

Two remarks:

• The picture is a very sexy woman's  naked back, with a dress you would only wear on Oscar ceremony or festival de Cannes. What does it have to do with women leaders and women 's influence? I guess a man must have designed this front page, for other men...

•  Second remark: the little header before the big headline Les Hommes vont en baver! Now, that's really shocking. It means " men are going to suffer" (literally :men are going to drool) The content of the magazine reflected the cover, not worth mentioning here. On this women's month, I wanted to blog about the distorted representation of women and power in the media. 

Waiting for your comments!

Comments

[Doris Jeanette, Psy.D.]

Since I was a young girl on a farm in North Carolina, USA I have been unhappy with how a woman's body is used to sell everything from cars to food. It is disgusting and it is effective. Sex sells.

As women we need to claim our power and not be controlled by this immature marketing approach. Power is not control. A powerful woman has the energy, freedom and security to dress in a comfortable, sensuous manner.

You are controlled if you dress like the women at the Oscars. Even the most powerful women at the Oscars continue to drape their bodies in ridiculous garb.

I have spent the last 34 years as a holistic psychologist and sex therapist empowering women and men so they access their red, fiery, truly sexy selves. No drugs needed.

Women claim your power, insecure men and the media will never give it to you!

[Heather Stubbs]

Good for you, Marion! I'm not so much disgusted as shaking my head in amazement. Oh, brother! Haven't we progressed a little beyond this? "Men are going to suffer", indeed! It's true that everything changes, but some things seem to change extremely slowly. I'm so thankful for the emerging, grassroots leaders, women and men, who are focused on cooperation and mutual respect. That is what will eventually change this puerile mindset.

[Anne Perschel]

Disturbing. In the face of change there are always such attempts to raise the specter of what used to be. I say we ignore it and keep on movin' on.

The domain of Power is the next frontier for women. In the U.S. women are predicted to own 60% of the wealth this year. Money provides access to resources - one form of power.

How will we use our power? On behalf of what?

The trends on women indicate we are socially conscious, forge connections, and build communities. And yes, we can also engage in harmful psychological warfare - our shadow side.

If, however, we use our power to create a more community oriented, caring, socially conscious and connected world, this would be a great compliment to the use of power to build and expand.

Thanks Ms. Marion for continuing to forge ahead on behalf of women and humanity.

[Matthew Schmitt]

I’ve worked in several industries in the last decade, and seen women who use their ability to deliver results and be professional day in and day out, and those that try to use their looks to get where they want to be. The successful represent themselves as beautiful, hardworking and intelligent people. As a man, I dress in a way that I hope is attractive and makes me look “put together”. Let’s face it, half the people in the office are of the opposite sex, and their opinion of you and I, no matter what it is, counts in your career.

Sex does sell, that much can’t be argued. Some women use it as a selling point for their own skills, and while it might work for a while, it certainly won’t work forever. This can be said of any no value add facet of who you are, or say you are. Fundamentally, we must build a reputation on results, trust and credibility. (I wrote about this very topic here: http://ow.ly/1kftj). Without those things, we have no real long term potential. With them, our physical appearance becomes a little less important (but never completely unimportant). You can argue this isn’t fair, but it is reality for both men and women and probably isn’t going to change anytime soon.

It’s nice to see women whom are professional, deliver and can be trusted, all while maintaining their femininity and being the beautiful women they are. These women have the power to influence because of who they are, and are an asset to the organizations the work within.

Good topic here, looking forward to reading others thoughts on this.

[Gwyn Teatro]

there's no question that the kind of advertising you point to belittles the real effort that countless women expend to achieve their career and life goals. But to Anne's point, there is so much evidence that women have impact that goes far beyond some magazine's idea of what sells, that my reaction to it is less passionate than it might have been a few years ago.

Sex might get you to open the magazine, or allow you to walk in the door but it is the substance that generally wins the day. I think we all know that.

I like Matthew's last comment and agree that women who are professional, who do good work and build strong professional relationships while maintaining their femininity have what it takes to be successful in whatever they undertake.

No kind of advertising that diminish that.