RePrEsEnTaTiOn!!!

Im back :) I am still sick as a dog, but the blogging must go on!!!! And...I have a follower!!!! I didnt think I would actually get one, but I am extremely glad I do now :) So please enjoy all of my post casey rnc!!! I hope I get more followers...I actually want people to read what I have to say, and I think a lot of people agree with what I have to say. Hopefully since I only have one follower it doesnt go against my grade on this project...that would be bad! lol

So I am here tonight to talk about representation. Someone might say representation is boring, but it really isnt! I am going to be referencing my text book for this post. The book is called An Introduction to Women's Studies: Gender in a Transnational World Second Edition.

This book is very interesting and can be very difficult to understand because each section are excerpts from different texts. I have to read each section 3 times to get it all the way. However, it is a very good text and really hits a lot of points all over the globe. 

The book states that representation stands for how we understand, think about, or make meanings about something or someone. John Berger states that representation has two definitions. One is an image or likeness of a thing. The second is in politics, when one person speaks on behalf of a group of constituents. 

So, what does this mean? I will use an excerpt from the text to explain. Women is an Island by Judith Williamson is a good example of how representation is used. This article talks about how to analyze advertisements when it comes to portraying non-Western and non-white women. 

For example, there is an advertisement of a non-white woman that uses Pond's Cream and Cocoa Butter to "discover the tropical secret for softer skin." The women in the ad has darker skin and the ad has a tropical/ Hawaiian vibe to it. In this ad, it also says that the Women of the South Seas have shared their secret to soft skin...and that now your skin can have the best of both world's. 

So basically...if you use this cream, then you can have the soft skin like you are from the Tropics. This ad represents a lot of things to me. (It may be exactly what the author meant, but it is how I interpret it) I think this ad is saying to whites that if you use this product, then you can look just like a natural tropical women. We all know this isn't true!!! All ads have hidden messages, and this one plus many others, portray women non-Western women as inferior to all other women. Why do ads put other cultures or opposite sexes down? 

Representation is a serious thing. An advertisement can have so many hidden messages in it, that it is scary! I mean, if I dont use this Ponds Cream does it mean I dont have soft skin and that I am unnatural? This ad really demonstrates how different cultures are portrayed in ads. I have never even thought about an ad like that until I read this article. 

In conclusion, most ads portray women in a negative light in some way! Whether it is about cultures or sex, women are portrayed badly somehow! It is very sad.

So, I hope this made sense. How things and people are represented is actually a really cool thing to think about. Representation is EVERYWHERE, and it is our job to read things the correct way...and not how advertisements want to be read!

Well, I will wrap this up by finally posting a pic from the Carrie Underwood concert. Carrie Underwood is someone who is represented in the best way in the country music industry :)