Empowerment or Objectification? Unveiling the Portrayal of Women in Media

• Rida Salman
• Jun 9, 2024
• 3 min read

The empowerment of women, can often be compromised in media representations by objectifying them. Although these representations claim to emphasise a woman’s strength and skill, they also limit them to just their appearance or sex appeal. Doing this has the potential to undermine the narrative of empowerment and promote toxic stereotypes

Black Widow is a character that is a highly skilled assassin with years of training in combat – a multidimensional character with intellect and strength. Her story is one of redemption and overcoming her past. However, her role is more often than not, diluted by lingering shots of emphasis on her body. This is highlighted since her very first introduction in the MCU in Iron Man 2, and throughout the series of movies by her choice of costumes and deliberate camera angles that are meant to emphasise her sex appeal.

Similarly, the same can be said about Diana Prince, or Wonder Woman – a character that is the embodiment of a warrior trained to fight and protect. Her costume is perfectly tailored to appeal to the male gaze by sexualising her appearance.

This objectification of female characters is not just concentrated towards the “heroes”. We also see Harley Quinn, an anti-herione played by Margot Robbie – a charcater that shows emotional vulneribility and depth. It is a story that shows her past traumas and how she develops as a character by overcoming them. Again, while it is iconic, her costume consists of promiscous clothing that accentuate her body and heavy make-up paired with a childlike hairstyle that pleases the male gaze. The marketing strategies of her movies also mainly rely on sexualised images of Harley, in order to attract a larger (male) audience. In addition to that, her abusive and toxic relationship is romanticised and adds to the stereotype built around her character.

The media representation of women in Bollywood is no different. Here is an example of the character Vigayalakshmi ‘Vijay’ played by Lisa Haydon in the movie “Queen”. Her character is shown as a free and independent woman who works in a hotel and takes care of her son. Her role is one of a mentor to Rani, to help her step out of her comfort zone and gain self-confidence. However, she is often seen wearing revealing clothes and

found in situations where the script deliberately focuses on her sexual freedom. The dilution of her character into a male fantasy possibly overpowers

her role in the movie, which is in reality quite interesting and full of plot.

This can be seen in the depiction of several other female characters in Bollywood such as Aishwarya Rai as Sunehri in “Dhoom 2”, Kareena Kapoor as Pooja (Poo) in “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham”, Bipasha Basu as Sonia in “Race”, and so many more.

The objectification of women portrayed in media narrows down the depth of their character into a stereotype. The most prevalent reason for this seems to be the male-dominated media and film industry that caters to their own gaze and their own audience. What needs to be kept in mind, especially when it comes to media products like Black Widow and Wonder Woman is that a major part of the demographic of the audience is made up of young girls who look up to these characters that are meant to be empowering. In today’s age, media is education, and when these characters are depicted as such, it spreads the wrong message about what the empowerment of women really is. The industry should avoid constantly sexualising female characters, and entirely embrace their complexity and capabilities in order to truly empower women.

So the female characters we love because they are strong, capable and confident, does their portrayal of confidence come at a price of promiscuity?