The representation of women in the mediaIt is generally accepted that the media, mainly television, lag behind current reality and social trends (Butler and Paisley, 1980 )(Gunter, Television and sexual stereotypes). However, this does not improve the way women are represented in the media. Not only are women underrepresented in the media, but more importantly, they are portrayed as being "half-dressed, half-intelligent, and in need of rescuing from fully-dressed, quick-witted men." (Stereotypes, Adelson 1990). Women are most often depicted as sexual objects and housewives; whose life revolves around finding the right person. "When women are in the news, their role is often trivialized. World leaders are described in terms of hat or dress designers" (Benedict, Virgin or Vamp, 1992). Women are portrayed as jealous, insecure, and often neurotic. This type of unrealistic ideal presented in the media is imposed on today's society and has serious negative effects on the way women are perceived and treated in society. However, most media forms are similar in the representation of women (e.g. television, magazines and newspapers); The advertising industry takes the stereotype of women to the extreme and presents it as the worst way to represent women. Stereotypes are conventional and oversimplified conceptions, opinions or images. Stereotypes exist because they are cognitively important to humans. We can therefore say that the process of stereotyping is a necessity for us to make sense of the world and our environment. They allow people to do less research when looking for people's reviews...... middle of article ......ents and audience reactions. Excerpted from Sex Roles: A Journal of ResearchGoodman, E. Grand Rapids for Information Technology. [Online] Retrieved from the World Wide Web: www.griid.org/gendermedia.shtmlGross, Ira & Downing, John & d'Heurle, Adma (editors) (1982). Sex role, attitudes and cultural change. Holland. D. Reidel Publishing. Gunter, Barrie. Television and sexual stereotypes (1986). JohnLibbey. London.Ingham, Helen. The representation of women on television. [Online]. Retrieved September 20, 2001, from the World Wide Web: www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/hzi9401.htmlRuby, J. (2000). A man bites a dog. Off Our Backs, 12-19Sex and the women's magazine. From Wilson Quarterly (2000). p84. InfoTrac Web. Stereotyping. [Online]. Retrieved September 20, 2001 from the WorldWide Web: