[DanaC]

No, I don't believe the media 'makes women feel bad about themselves' in such a direct way. And real life experiences are more impactful (though accessing media is a real life experience anyway ;p)

Media is expressive of culture but it is also a co-producer of that culture. Or rather, the people and organisations who produce media are an important part of the social discourse through which we mediate knowledge and cultural expectations.

Thin models in magazines don't make girls anorexic. But they contribute to a culture in which such a disorder can readily flourish. They contribute to, because they are an expression of, gender norms and expectations.

I don't believe violent games and movies lead to increases in violence - there is a distinction drawn between real life and fiction in the minds of most viewers and players. But there are aspects of films and games which feed into the wider cultural expectations of what it is to be a man and what it is to be a woman. Usually the more subtle aspects.

[eta] I expressed that badly in the earlier post. It's the confident way they dismiss cultural impact that bothered me.