Television Representation

(Top: Emily Fields, Aria Montgomery, Hanna Marin and Spencer Hastings [Pretty Little Liars]; Bottom: Aiden, Krissy Chambers and Josephine Barnes [Supernatural])

The stereotype of television shows aimed at teenage girls is that they follow around the plot line of a pretty, popular, preppy schoolgirl and her quest for a boyfriend. I feel that this stereotype is widely unfair on both the television industry, and teenage girls.

Recently I read this article on how teenagers are negatively affected by the media and television shows, and one thing that really stood our to me was this paragraph:
"The teen years are a time when your child may have her first romantic relationship and begin to think about her sexuality. This is a confusing period in which your child is getting a mix of messages from peers, adults and the media. TV programs may glorify promiscuity or make your teen think that acting in a sexual way is acceptable, if not expected, from her. According to the AAP, parents should take the time to talk to their children about the sexual situations that they see on TV. This can help the teen to understand the negative aspects of promiscuous actions and discuss real-life consequences."
The reason this paragraph stood out to me was because of the way it was worded. "TV programs may glorify promiscuity or make your teen think that acting in a sexual way is acceptable". Hold on. The first problem with this article was the fact that they had absolutely no supporting evidence, or even examples of shows that portrayed this particular message; they just assumed that all teenage TV shows were centered around sex. The second problem was the amount of shaming going into this small segment. ". . . make your teen think that acting in a sexual way is acceptable". So, being intimate or sexual with a partner is unacceptable? Teenage girls seeing another teenager, not too dissimilar from herself, involved in a sexual relationship is not going to suddenly make her go out and have sex with the first person she sees. If the message portrayed in the scene is one glorifying safe sex with two consenting people in a relationship, that is probably (if not definitely) a very good thing. Rather than the idea of sex being hushed and taboo, it could be a much more open, and accepted topic, which would be better than making girls feel shamed for it. I do agree with this article when it points out that parents should talk to their children about these issues, and the consequences of some actions, but this brings me back to the first problem, the lack of any supporting evidence or examples from other television shows. Maybe I have just been watching the wrong kind of television shows, but I have personally never seen girls wearing overly promiscuous clothing or having sex every few minutes.

At first glance, the TV show 'Pretty Little Liars' seems to be just another one of 'those' teenage girl shows that you could compare to Gossip Girl or The OC, and in many ways, it is. The comparisons to Gossip Girl come in bucket loads, all the way from scandalous affairs, to anonymous terrorises. Pretty Little Liars is aimed at a target 14-18 year old age range. The plot line is based off the young adult book series by the same name, written by Sara Shepard. One of the main writers of the show is I. Marlene King, who also wrote the movie "Just my Luck". The two people with the largest say in the writing of this show are women, which is probably why the show feels quite relatable most of the time.

In a very classy way, Pretty Liar Liars avoids many teenage girl stereotypes. The first, and most obvious, is the "I hate my parents" stereotype. All of the parents of the main characters in Pretty Little Liars are complex, unique and different. Sure, they have arguments, but these parents are the closest thing to "real" then I have seen in any other form of media. For example, Hanna Marin's father walked out on them when she was young, and her and her mother, Ashley, are much closer due to their circumstances. Hanna doesn't blame her mother for her father's abandonment, and Ashley always tries to make sure she's doing the best for Hanna (whether or not it may be morally sound). Ashley also acts like a mother to the other three girls, especially Emily. Emily's mother was not very accepting of her when she first came out as gay, but Ashley was. When Emily's parents moved to be closer to work, Ashley offered for Emily to come and live with them until everything was sorted, which ended up being a permanent thing. This is good for teenagers to see, because it allows them to see a healthy mother/daughter relationship, and to see the dynamics of this relationship. Many girls would be able to relate with Hanna on being close with their mother after their parents separated; and others may see this relationship and strive to gain a closer relationship with their mother because of what they have seen.

The second stereotype they ignore is the "sassy black best friend". Emily Fields is considerably darker than the other three main girls, even if her ethnicity is never fully explained. Nor does it need to be. Emily's character brings a feel of diversity to the show, without it ever being made a big deal of. And Emily is also portrayed as the kindest character in the series. Emily is also a competitive swimmer and a lesbian. Her costume is a lot more tomboyish than those of Aria, Spencer and Hanna, often choosing comfortable hoodies and flats in favour of skirts and heels. She wears the most minimal makeup of the four, and barely ever wears more than a small necklace as jewelry. She wears her hair down or tied back in a simple ponytail most of the time, often not styled. She has a very close relationship with her father, who seems to be of Asian descent and is in the military. Her mother was, at first, very judging of Emily's sexuality, but has grown to accept her. In short, Emily is one of the least stereotypical characters I have ever seen.

Hanna, on the other hand, unfortunately wears her stereotype a lot better. Hanna is the popular, pretty 'it' girl. She's blonde, short and skinny, and all the boys fall at her feet. She is shown in the Pilot episode as being a kleptomaniac in order to gain attention from her absent father, even though her mother makes it clear that she doesn't need to do that. "I give you everything you need to be popular". She wears very fashionable clothing and quite a lot of makeup. What she says is usually quite ditsy, e.g. "Please, Jenna can't hear us. She's blind." and "I always hated Biology. Who cares how a cell divides, it just does!". This re-enforces the 'dumb blonde' stereotype. It is also shown that Hanna once suffered with weight issues, shown in the flashback scenes to be much chubbier and much less desirable. In a present scene when her and her mother have a salad for dinner, Hanna is shown picking out all of the meat. Rather than this being a negative stereotype glorifying eating disorders, I see it as a good way to show teenage girls that while Hanna may seem perfect, pretty and popular on the outside, she is hiding a lot of issues inside. I can't help but want to compare her to Aubrey from Pitch Perfect, both of whom were pretty blonde girls suffering with daddy issues. Hanna's character, however, shows a lot more character development. Granted, four seasons compared to a two hour movie leaves a lot more room for character development. Hanna stops being the 'it' girl in the high school, and returns to her friendship with Spencer, Aria and Emily after the four get pulled back together by the mysterious 'A'. She ends up dating a boy named Caleb, who is an orphan and homeless, who Hanna takes under her wing in a fashion that is very unlike her. It's interesting to see how someone like Hanna, who has never been worried about money, relates to someone like Caleb, who is constantly worried about money. It's a nice and refreshing change to see in teenage TV show, compared to the perfect relationships between two teenagers of the same race, social status and social background.

Another television show that seems to show teenagers in a more positive light is Supernatural. Supernatural is aimed at an older age demographic than Pretty Little Liars, hitting around the 18-mid 30's age range. Therefore, teenagers are not the intended audience, and the main characters are mostly in their twenties. However, a small group of teenagers are represented and they are represented well. The leader of this small group is Krissy Chambers, a teenage girl whose father used to hunt supernatural creatures, before he was killed by a vampire. Krissy, driven by her need to avenge her father's death, joins up with two other teenagers who lost their families in similar way; Aiden and Josephine. Under the guidance of an older hunter named Victor, the three begin to hunt down the vampires that killed their families. As the plot progresses, we learn more about Victor's lies and manipulation, until it was revealed that Victor killed their families to bring the three together and into hunting. Krissy is originally angry, and wants nothing more than to kill Victor, but she does something worse. In a very symbolic way, Krissy shots three empty shells in Victor's direction, one for each of the lives he has ruined. Her, Aiden's and Josephine's. Krissy is portrayed as a very wise and intelligent young girl, far beyond her years. She is capable and independent. One part I particularly like was the relationship between Aiden and Krissy. Aiden was obviously head over heels for Krissy, but she honestly couldn't care less, because it wasn't what she saw as important. By the end, when Dean leaves Krissy and her group, he calls Aiden to the side. Aiden thinks Dean will give him the whole "If you hurt her I'll kill you" speech, but to his surprise, Dean says, "If you hurt her, she'll kill you.".

Krissy wears very little makeup and wears traditional 'hunter' clothing, which mostly consists of flannel shirts, jeans and boots. She ties her hair back in a messy ponytail, simply for practicality, and seems to always be hiding a gun on her. She is quite small for her age (which is hinted to be around fifteen to sixteen), but never lets this be a disadvantage. She speaks to people in a mostly scornful way, especially Dean. She is very sarcastic and very witty. She has a no nonsense attitude and doesn't let anyone tell her what to do. "You're never too young to kill monsters, especially the ones that kill your family.". "Look, I don't need you to save me Dean, I'm not a little kid anymore.". Krissy has no problem standing up for herself and telling people what she really thinks.

Understandably, Krissy's situation is not entirely relatable. I don't personally know any teenage girls who are motivated to avenge their father's death by killing the vampire that killed him, but there are certainly parts of her personality that teenagers can relate to, and are realistic. For example, Krissy is, in no way, shape or form, motivated by romantic love. Sure, she is motivated by the love for her father, and for the cause, but she sees Aiden and his advances as little more than an irritant. She is hard working, loyal and dedicated, and doesn't see herself as needing protection. She manages to balance school and hunting, and is described by Victor as "a natural born leader". It is good to see this kind of representation, especially for teenage girls. But the problem is that this show isn't aimed at teenage girls. Krissy's character could show teenage girls that they can be leaders, strong and loyal, but teenage girls aren't going to be the ones that see Krissy. Girls like her should be included in show like Pretty Little Liars. Okay, maybe not vampire hunting teenagers, but independent and strong willed girls whose lives don't revolve around finding a boyfriend.

The representation of teenage girls in both of these shows is interesting to compare. The girls in both shows have their good points and bad points. Since they are both two very different genres, the girls are in different situations. The girls in Pretty Little Liars are shown as widely dependent on each other, and the other people in their lives, whereas Krissy may be loyal, but she can fend for herself. The Liars are very involved in romantic love lives, but Krissy just doesn't have time for that. To me, this related back to the intended audience. The intended audience for Pretty Little Liars are girls the same age as the Liars themselves. The girls in Pretty Little Liars are supposed to represent them, and how they feel at the current time. Krissy is shown to a target age demographic of those much older than her, who have already lived through their teenage years and can look back at them fondly. They don't want to remember the troubles they went through, they want to see themselves as wiser and acting older than they were; while also looking at Krissy with a certain amount of fondness, the way you'd look down at a younger sibling. It is very clear the way that different teenagers are shown to different age groups, and the different kinds of stereotypes they apply to both.

Magazines

The magazine 'Creme' is the most popular teenage girl's magazine in New Zealand, and has the slogan "a girl's best friend". This is suggesting that the magazine wants to offer you advice, be the one you confide in, be your best friend. It is basically the same as any other teenage girl's magazine; the same cardboard cutout of the small, cute, perfect girl, and pages of articles that lack in substance, ranging from boy advice, to the latest celebrity gossip. Because that's all that's important right now, right?

Not only is it laughably cheesy (with every second word abbreviated into cringe worthy slang that nobody uses), but it is also almost downright insulting. Granted, this magazine is aimed at the 10 - 16 year old age range, so I wasn't expecting a five page article on the civil war in Ukraine (though it would have been more interesting than Sarah Hyland's favourite colour). Because magazines do still have a target audience, and the majority of young teenage girls are not overly interested on Russia's status in the war, it is not included. But the editors could have at least kept in mind that while teenage girls may be young and occasionally immature, we aren't stupid.

We can handle a look at more serious issues than 'who wore what' to the red carpet. We can handle knowing about different cultures, we can handle knowing about different sexualities, we can handle knowing about disability. Give teenage girls some credit! Yes it's interesting to know what some celebrities are up to, but we don't need fifteen articles on them, with a further eight articles on boys. But there was nothing on the subject of ethnicity, disability or anyone with a difference. It was almost as if the magazine wanted to convince girls that difference doesn't exist. So often we see magazines screaming out "be yourself", but then society says "no, not like that".

One of the main articles focused on a popular British Youtuber, Zoella. Zoë Sugg is twenty three years old and runs a fashion and beauty vlog, and is among the top 100 Youtube subscribers. She often makes videos on what kind of makeup she uses and what clothes she buys. However, Zoë also suffers from serious anxiety, and made a twenty minute video on how she has suffered with it through her life, and how other people can try to deal with them. "If this helps at least one of you watching this, just one of you, then it's totally worth it." However not once did the magazine focus on her mental issues, instead they decided to ask her what her favourite song was. Again, teenage girls are not stupid. We can understand mental illness, and not only that, but we need to understand mental illness. 18% of adults in the US are suffering with anxiety, and that's just the United States. Many teenagers may be suffering with anxiety, and feel like their issues are being ignored in favour of celebrity gossip.

Representation is a big problem. The only kind of girl represented in this magazine was the small, skinny, pretty, white teenager. Of all those fifteen articles on celebrities, not one was a person of colour. Lupita Nyong'o recently won an Oscar for 'best actress in a supporting role'. She said that she was inspired by women such as Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldbury; and Lupita herself inspired a young, black American girl not to go and get her skin bleached after her acceptance speech for her Oscar. That is a perfect example of how three generations of representation can truly help those who are in a minority. But who is there to represent young Maori girls in New Zealand?

But this isn't a new thing. Magazines are often criticized for not showing girls 'real' issues. However, the magazine 'Girlfriend' has tried to tackle some of these issues. In 2005, the magazine allowed readers to take control with an initiative called 'U Make The Mag'. This allowed readers to vote on the covergirl etc. While some criticized it as a lazy technique, others complimented Girlfriend on it's attention to the readers. Girlfriend has also made a stand to place a small sign on the page saying whether an image has been retouched or not. This allows teenage girls to know that the perfection that you see on magazines, is often something that is unattainable, and not something to be striving towards. In a perfect world, we wouldn't retouch images, so that people can see what they truly look like, but that sad truth is: people aren't going to buy magazines if the covergirl/boy is not desirable. While this is a bad thing, at least Girlfriend are taking a step in the right direction when it comes to public awareness of things like Photoshop. Another campaign the magazine runs is the 'Self Respect Campaign'. The idea of this is to write articles that focus on things like self love, healthy eating (not dieting, there is a difference) and being happy. These articles deal with real life issues like how to deal with parents separating, unrequited love and career planning. This is the kind of thing all magazines should be doing. I remember one article in particular that really struck me (in a good way) was a two page spread devoted to explaining what asexuality was. Things like that are not everyday discussions in life, so where else would a young teenage girl learn about it aside from the media? The 'Girlfriend Guru' area of the magazine is dedicated to showing real girls in the pages. Not airbrushed models or celebrities, actual teenagers that are loving themselves. I find it difficult to put into words how much I love the idea, but I'll try one more time.

Reading or being about something, and actually seeing it are two different things. I can't count the number of times my mother has told me to love myself. It's not that I don't believe her, but it's easy for her to say, right? Because she's my mother and that's her job. But when teenage girls see other teenage girls loving themselves no matter what skin they're in, it's a little different. Because we relate to them. We are them. It's really easy to love images of perfection, but it's so difficult to love ourselves. When we see someone that is like ourselves being portrayed in a positive and happy way, whether they be small, large, black, white, Asian, short, tall, popular, pretty, different or unique; we can believe it. And that's what we need in the media to show us. We want the media to show us . . . ourselves.


References:
Zoella's blog posts on mental illness and how to deal with them (x x)
Girlfriend Guru Articles: (x)

Pitch Perfect

Pitch Perfect is a movie about a group of female college students who join a group called the 'Bardon Bella's' lead by a uptight control freak named Aubrey and her 'sidekick' Chloe. At first glance, this film is heavy handed with the stereotypes. A girl wearing thick black eyeliner, listening to/arranging music and curling her lip at most of her first experiences at college; must be an alternative loner. Attractive girl who wears promiscuous clothing; must have a lot of sex. These first impressions do change through out the movie, even if it is slightly in some cases. Beca does make friends, even if she keeps her alternative music and dark eyeliner. Aubrey does take the back seat and allow someone else to take the lead. Chloe does stand up for herself and start making her own decisions. While these are all good things, one character that didn't show much, if not any, development was Fat Amy.

 Fat Amy is a viewer favorite because she is a confident girl, who doesn't seem to care about her weight at all, and makes jokes that are mostly at the expense of the other characters personalities. She claims that she calls herself Fat Amy, "so twig bitches like you don't do it behind my back". But this is funny right? Since so often the fat girl is at the punchline of the joke or insult, it's okay to call skinny people bitches. It's okay to assume that they would be rude about her behind her back. It's okay, because they're skinny and bitchy, so they would have done it anyway. It's not just skinny people she targets though, it's anyone with a weakness or unique trait. The girl that got kicked out of the Bella's in the very beginning? "Slut". Cynthia-Rose trying to admit something that she said was hard for her to say? "Lesbi-honest". Lilly talks at a higher volume than usual? "Excuse me bitch, no need to shout". The idea we're getting from Fat Amy's character is that you can be mean or rude to everyone if people are rude or mean to you. In the movie, the only character we see acting in a rude way to Fat Amy is Bumper, yet the list of people she insults nearly takes up the whole cast list. Lilly, Cynthia-Rose, Chloe, Bumper, the Jewish students, even unnamed extras whose only reason for being in the film were to be laughed at by Fat Amy.

While there is a very common and prominent stereotype of 'skinny mean girls' in teenage films (Regina George), it is almost just as damaging to have a 'fat mean girl'. The point of the matter is that girls shouldn't be mean to each other, no matter their size or appearance. While Fat Amy's character may be a new kind of 'mean girl' it doesn't mean that her character is groundbreaking or setting new standards for girls. If a pretty, skinny girl made the same comments that Fat Amy does, she would be portrayed as the 'villain' of the movie; the character we are supposed to hate.

Pitch Perfect has a lot of good points. Those good points include Aubrey Posen, who is introduced as Beca's rival and competition, but is more than just a one dimensional character. She has flaws, she has her strengths, but above all, she has character development. That is what is important for teenage girls to see. It is important for girls to see that: hey, you can be a beautiful perfectionist who is not afraid to step on people's toes to win; but you can also break down, you can be insecure, you can take the backseat, you are not defined by one personality trait, and more importantly, you are not defined by your appearance.

At the beginning of the movie, we see Aubrey struggling to restructure the Bardon Bella's after the embarrassing loss of last year; mainly due to her (slightly unrealistic) projectile vomit on to the audience. This seems to be something Aubrey is unable to escape, where ever she goes, and is a literal, physical representation of her need to stay in control. She is constantly at Chloe's side, and often calms Chloe's panics, especially at the beginning when Chloe is worried that no one will sign up for the Bardon Bella's. Aubrey remains cool, confident and in control; only losing her temper when Beca turns up and starts to insult Aubrey's biggest passion. Acapella Singing. Immediately we understand that Aubrey respects tradition, is fiercely competitive and will do anything to win. On first glance, we could think that this is because of her perfect appearance, and her need to apply this perfection to all areas of her life. But as the movie progresses, we see her need to attain perfection reach obsessive levels, which begin to not only ruin her friendships, but also affect her mental health. After another episode of projectile vomiting where Aubrey proclaims that "This time I'm not gonna choke it down!", we see Beca come back and calm down all the fighting. At this point, the true reasons for Aubrey's uptight personality are revealed. "But I am my father's daughter. And he always said: 'If at first you don't succeed, pack your bags'."

At the very end of the movie, we see just how much Aubrey has grown as person. She lets Beca take the lead, which is clearly a very difficult decision for her to make. Obviously Beca realizes this, and she still asks for Aubrey's assistance and opinions. For example, when the girls go out to practice in the quad, Beca asks Aubrey for a song the should use. Aubrey chooses Brone Mars' 'Just the Way You Are', which is an odd choice for her, because earlier in the movie, she says that they only perform songs made famous by women. This is another small hint that Aubrey is truly leaving her old self behind, and trying new things. The last performance is a perfect visual representation of Aubrey's character growth throughout the movie. She comes onto the stage wearing the traditional Bella uniform (mock flight attendants outfit with short skirt and tidy bun), but halfway through the song, she throws the jacket to the side and lets her hair down. It's a nice symbolic use of a costume to show that, while Aubrey still values and respects tradition, she isn't afraid to make it her own, and have her own take on it.

Aubrey may begin as a stereotype, but she overcomes it and shows what she's really made of by the end. She's confident, beautiful and in control, but she's insecure, a little afraid, and has just as many problems as the next girl. Aubrey is multifaceted, complex, and above all, interesting.

What is a Stereotype

stereotype

ˈstɛrɪə(ʊ)tʌɪp,ˈstɪərɪə(ʊ)-/

noun

noun: stereotype; plural noun: stereotypes

1. 1.

   a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.

   "the stereotype of the woman as the carer"

   synonyms:

   standard/conventional image, received idea, cliché, hackneyed idea,formula More

   • a person or thing that conforms to such an image.

     "don't treat anyone as a stereotype"
2. 2.

   a relief printing plate cast in a mould made from composed type or an original plate.

verb

verb: stereotype; 3rd person present: stereotypes; past tense: stereotyped; past participle: stereotyped; gerund or present participle: stereotyping

1. 1.

   view or represent as a stereotype.

   "the city is too easily stereotyped as an industrial wasteland"

   
   
2. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/stereotype)

According to dictionary.reference.com, a stereotype is an image or idea that applies to a particular group. They are a way of judging and categorizing people with only a few generic traits. Using stereotypes means that we don't have to come up with our own opinions of a person when we first meet them, because the idea already exists for us. We can see a blonde woman wearing pink walk into a room, and automatically assume that she is dumb and ditsy without even hearing a word that comes out of her mouth.

Stereotypes are a somewhat lazy tool often used by different groups in the media. It means that the creators of television shows and movie don't have to spend time developing new and unique character traits, when there are already a large selection of preconceived ideas at their disposal. 

But stereotypes can often be damaging to people who share a few traits with the general idea. How could a woman possibly be taken seriously in a job largely run by males if the stereotypes that come with her gender are 'catty', 'domestic' and 'unintelligent'?