Besides the certainty of taxes and death, we know sex sells. Americans are bombarded with images of women to sell everything from beer to cars. Meanwhile, young women and men searching for role models may have difficulty seeing past the “sex sells” mentality that ties a woman’s worth to her looks. The nearly ubiquitous publicity garnered by the likes of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan have helped to create an underlying belief that one has to sell their body and looks to be deemed successful. Sexual allure, as proffered by the media, is enshrined as the Rosetta Stone of esteem, confidence, power and success.
Miss Representation, a documentary by Jennifer Siebel Newsom screening at the Sundance Film Festival, examines how women are objectified, sexualized, fabricated, and paraded by the media. Repeatedly portrayed in television, film and print as sex objects, estrogen induced superheroes, scantily clad princesses, unstable and raging bitches, and romance seeking women too stupid, too soft or too hard to be in positions of leadership, power, and influence.