Miss Fei 742 Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 i think it does, just take a look to the young adult bestseller formula: Insecure girl without personality = get a boy who loves her because her insecurity is quirky = success. For Example: Bella (twilight), Anastasia (50 shades of grey), Clary (TMI), etc. there are some examples of this in mainstream music like One direction's 'What makes you beautiful'. What do you think about it? Why do you think this kind of 'plot' sells so much? do you believe that the characters i cited are self-inserts? Do you think this can affect a young adult mind? Is male insecurity glorified in the same way? inspired by: this blog entry Share your thoughts... i'll love to read your opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheProphetLaLa 1,123 Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 hmm... I don't know about glorify but all these books and songs you mentioned are geared towards women, so rather than that I would say many women identify with insecurity, and enjoy books/songs where an insecure/seeminglyaverage girl gets the hot guy to fall in love with her forever or gets told shes beautiful even though she doesn't personally believe she's beautiful, and so on and so forth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Eight 6,542 Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Men are taught that they can't be insecure otherwise they are not a "real man" Women are taught that they can't have lots of confidence cos then they "scare away the men" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofi 17,143 Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 I wouldn't say "glorify", more like exploit it since the large majority of females in their teens can be insecure, going through puberty, dealing with hell etc etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Fei 742 Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 I wouldn't say "glorify", more like exploit it since the large majority of females in their teens can be insecure, going through puberty, dealing with hell etc etc... But don't you think the idea they are selling them is bad?? Men are taught that they can't be insecure otherwise they are not a "real man" Women are taught that they can't have lots of confidence cos then they "scare away the men" So do you believe this has something to do with gender roles?, i found your reasoning interesting in a good way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofi 17,143 Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 But don't you think the idea they are selling them is bad?? So do you believe this has something to do with gender roles?, i found your reasoning interesting in a good way. I'm not sure if it's ethically and morally bad, but companies do make billions out of females' insecurity, whether it is about getting the hot guy in the end despite being an awkward potato, buying magical make up that deletes your imperfections, bras that double the size of your boobs or pills/lotions that make you thinner etc.. In movies, I personally think that one-dimensional characters are annoying, the usual damsel-in-distress character is not necessarily bad, I hate it when it's just a plot-trigger and has no substance. Some "strong" female character can be just as equally boring in my opinion. Personaly I would like to see some variety in these kind of movies, both "strong" and "insecure" leads, but more developed ones .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h0neanias 13,516 Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Men are taught that they can't be insecure otherwise they are not a "real man" Women are taught that they can't have lots of confidence cos then they "scare away the men" I'm not putting the two side by side, but it should be remarked that an unattainable "heroic ideal" is a source of insecurity just as well. Men are simply trained not to let the insecurity show, but it's still there -- ready to be exploited, as pointed out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yerowan 1,006 Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 I think LaLa's got a point. Young adult novels with a female 'hero' sell so well because they're wish fulfillment. The main characters' personalities are as vague as your average horoscope - so empty of details that you can literally write yourself into the gaps. They don't think they're pretty, but everyone else does and says so frequently. They're secretly special - they have untapped power and/or the otherwise unapproachable but swoonworthy male lead is helplessly and inevitably drawn to them. You could argue wish fulfillment for pretty much any form of entertainment for either gender, but I think media aimed at women (and particularly younger women) plays more specifically on insecurity and fear. Hell, even the 'strong' female leads end up being not much more than a damsel in distress, they're just trotted out for the occasional moment of bravery so people can point at her and say 'oh, look how she empowers young women with her example (despite spending 90% of the book/movie/whatever being protected or rescued from danger by men).' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ 730 Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 women show their insecurity by talking about how many flaws they have men show their insecurity by constantly reminding themselves of how "man" they are also the irony of twilight and 50 shades of grey being penned by women Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skibop!! 8,585 Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Scandal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIM£ 2,060 Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Yes to an extent, the 1D song is a great example Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BABOGIRL 5,414 Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Ugh this pisses me off so damn much. Instead of improving their confidence and working hard they justify their insecurities because they're too lazy and complacent. The world we live in now is too sensitive, too comfortable. Discipline, patience, and hard work are becoming rare virtues... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remus 1,775 Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 This blogger needs to work on her vocabulary. "Glorifying" insecurity doesn't even make any friggin' sense. Writing characters who experience feelings and emotions that readers can identify with makes perfect sense however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Good People 2,455 Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 You're naming some of the stupid stupid shows that only morons watch tbh If stupid people watch stupid shows what difference does it make? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Property of Goddess Irene 9,760 Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 They are all white characters. What about black and Latinas in the media? They are portrayed as wiser, stronger, more confident. I think its meant to reinforce guilt as part of why they feel insecure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Fei 742 Posted July 13, 2014 Author Share Posted July 13, 2014 They are all white characters. What about black and Latinas in the media? They are portrayed as wiser, stronger, more confident. I think its meant to reinforce guilt as part of why they feel insecure.I really don't think so, Latinas are really sexualized by the media, they are always easy. That pisses me up, i prefer to call myself 'mixed' than 'Latina'. Mixed people are taken more seriously. Strong female character =/= good female character. The thing is that one dimensional characters are boring as heck, is easy to feel identified with them, but there is no depth, if the character is just their insecurity. I don't think it has something to do with reinforcing guilt. You're naming some of the stupid stupid shows that only morons watch tbh If stupid people watch stupid shows what difference does it make? lol I cited those because that's the mainstream media;. This blogger needs to work on her vocabulary. "Glorifying" insecurity doesn't even make any friggin' sense. Writing characters who experience feelings and emotions that readers can identify with makes perfect sense however. My native language isn't english and in my opinion 'glorifying' is the proper word.why it doesn't make sense?? Which word would fit better then? Romanticize might be a better choice. In my opinion media does romanticize depression, sociopathy and insecurity. Ugh this pisses me off so damn much. Instead of improving their confidence and working hard they justify their insecurities because they're too lazy and complacent. The world we live in now is too sensitive, too comfortable. Discipline, patience, and hard work are becoming rare virtues... Preach. Scandal I dont understand your comment.How is this an scandal???? It's just a thread and i want to promote a healthy discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Property of Goddess Irene 9,760 Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 All women are overly sexualized, they all get some or its implied they do unless they are very young. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skibop!! 8,585 Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 I really don't think so, Latinas are really sexualized by the media, they are always easy. That pisses me up, i prefer to call myself 'mixed' than 'Latina'. Mixed people are taken more seriously. Strong female character =/= good female character. The thing is that one dimensional characters are boring as heck, is easy to feel identified with them, but there is no depth, if the character is just their insecurity. I don't think it has something to do with reinforcing guilt. I cited those because that's the mainstream media;. My native language isn't english and in my opinion 'glorifying' is the proper word. why it doesn't make sense?? Which word would fit better then? Romanticize might be a better choice. In my opinion media does romanticize depression, sociopathy and insecurity. Preach. I dont understand your comment. How is this an scandal???? It's just a thread and i want to promote a healthy discussion. No, there's a tv show called Scandal, hence the initial cap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulmicola 1,981 Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Men are taught that they can't be insecure otherwise they are not a "real man" Women are taught that they can't have lots of confidence cos then they "scare away the men" This. I'm the complete opposite of a so-called "real man" according to almost every definition of the word, and the amount of douche-fueled machismo on this planet disturbs me; it also irks me when they show girls and women without any trace of intelligence, personality or just a fucking backbone, and tout them as some sort of ideal. Like, can't we be human beings, instead of being either utter jerks or submissive slaves? :3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Fei 742 Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 This. I'm the complete opposite of a so-called "real man" according to almost every definition of the word, and the amount of douche-fueled machismo on this planet disturbs me; it also irks me when they show girls and women without any trace of intelligence, personality or just a fucking backbone, and tout them as some sort of ideal. Like, can't we be human beings, instead of being either utter jerks and submissive slaves? :3 True that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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