SHOW ME THE LEG

How Media Failed Women 2013

While fulfilling my role as a middle class teenager by watching 'Have I Got News For You' on Sunday evening, my attention was caught at the mention of the name Susanna Reid. Going to school at stupid o'clock every morning leaves me with incredibly small opportunity, if any, to watch breakfast TV so my knowledge was as limited as anybody's when last year's Strictly star was brought into conversation.


Now, have I got 'news' for you.  The Daily Mail have reported that Reid's 'decision to wear a short, thigh-skimming yellow skirt on yesterday’s show was widely seen as an attempt to boost ratings.' and that ITV have been bombarded with complaints over the fact that she was sitting behind a  desk and her legs were not on show (You know, because the most important thing about breakfast news is how much of the presenter's skin you can see, and not like, I don't know, news?).

"Why has ITV paid so much for @susannareid100 only to put her behind a desk? Its like buying a Ferrari and keeping it in the garage #gmb." and"You don't hire Susanna Reid and then stick her behind a desk #getyourpinsout #GoodMorningBritain." are two of many tweets about the subject littering the web,comments that are now out and available for everyone to see. Adults nationwide have shown our generation exactly what they think of women - that they are merely sex objects, here for entertainment - that our looks are will always be more important than anything we are capable of.

Today we are constantly reminded that we live in a post-sexist society where women are equal in the work place because they earn that little bit more or because we don't have to be housewives anymore - as if those are the only issues we have ever faced. The reality is that the women in the media are presented as no more than legs, boobs and bums. No matter how many lives she's saved or how long she studies for that degree, it all comes down to one thing - can he hit it? Unfortunately media can be both the message and the messenger for (and against) the fight for equality. It is littered with the sexualised bodies of women and girls of all ages, from the moment you wake up, and this is (not at all surprisingly) mirrored in our everyday lives. The Representation Project is campaigning against all of this through the use of the media:

The thing about what we're shown from behind the screen is that it usually tends to take place outside of it. Girls can't wear shorter clothing without being asked who they're "trying to impress" (not you, creep) and attracting all cat-callers within a 50 mile radius. Our legs, bums, breasts, stomachs even feet have been completely sexualised and it's getting ridiculous - I mean, how long before we run out of body parts and our fingers become the new fetish...

See what I'm getting at? Bodies are just bodies - male, female and everything in between. We're (almost) made up of same organ systems and muscle tissue and lots of other body bits I forgot to listen to in biology, but you get the drift. Society has a moderately unhealthy obsession with the female body and unfortunately it's not only because we're all bitchin' babes. We are nothing but sexual entertainment for the heterosexual male eye on screen and on the streets, not cool.

But fear not all you people who care so deeply about the woman as a sex object, Susanna Reid is no longer 'stuck' behind the desk for the whole programme, in fact she is now on a sofa, where the whole nation can see her legs.

Posted by Bea