Nothing but ‘cookie-Cutter': How Women Are Portrayed in the Media

I have heard times before that it is always the winners who get to write history, similar in the way that whoever dominates gets to set the rules.

How are women portrayed in the media? Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy, claims that we are nothing but sex objects. It is an idea that primarily found in America, however since it is one of the most powerful countries in the world, this way of thinking is prevalent all-through out the world.

[When asked ‘What do you say to women who say you objectify the female form?']

The notion that Playboy turns women into sex objects is ridiculous. Women are sex objects. If women weren't sex objects, there wouldn't be another generation. It's the attraction between the sexes that makes the world go 'round. That's why women wear lipstick and short skirts.[1]

When I saw this article, I was enraged (naturally) because he dehumanizes and degrades women into being merely objects. As if he believes that the only sole purpose of a woman is to reproduce—and even states that it is important of the female sex to be sexy in order to attract men. He was even saying sex is the reason why we wear lipstick and short skirts; eliminating the factor that we wear lipstick and short skirts—basically doll ourselves up—for fun, and for our own sake, nothing to do with men.

It is always the men who have created the standard, of what is "sexy" and "beautiful". I'd liken it to a cookie cutter. They create the mold, and force women to fit in the tiny and hard-to-maintain shape. Anything else, too little or too much, would just be discarded and thrown away. Had it not been for men's demand for women to fit into the standards they've established, then women wouldn't have felt the need to be objectified in the first place. It is the men who define what a woman ought to be, they are the ones who have created the mold that women feel compelled to conform to.

When I came down to read the comments, I was glad to see that I'm not the only one who was angry, and up in arms about it. However, I was certainly surprised that there are several people who agreed with Hugh Hefner, arguing that what he said was the unbridled un-sugarcoated truth, declaring that it was only a matter of using politically correct words. The commenter stated that

"people are just basically baby making machines […] that is our sole purpose in this planet." [2]

However, I am glad that somebody had negated his arguments in such an inspiring way that I just have to copy and paste it here. (He—assuming that it's a man, by the way—didn't have anything to respond to, which I am happy to say.)

"Obviously,