Bratz dolls

      The character of the midriff, created by the media can still be seen throughout the world today. The character of the midriff is a young girl who is prematurely adolescent, obsessed with her looks, and portrays herself as an individual who's only asset is her body. This kind of girl is constantly portrayed across the media and has undoubtedly shaped the minds and actions of young girls today. It is a kind of "feed back loop" where the media broadcasts certain girls who fit the midriff's description and in turn the girls who see this media are influenced by their actions.
      The aspect of being prematurely adolescent is highlighted in a cartoon television program that was very popular around 2005-2008 and targeted towards girls around the ages of 9-12.  Throughout the entire show the characters are seen partying, sneaking out, dressing a little more on the revealing side, and overall acting dumb. These characters intellects were never highlighted and instead their bodies and ability to get men were. This sells the idea to young children that all you have to offer is your appearance and your ability to get men, rather than focusing on a young women's positive characteristics such as intellect or personality. In addition all of the characters are still teenagers as apparently they are supposed to be 19. Although this technically makes them adults, because the intended demographic are very young girls the audience sees these characters as models for their behavior. Also, even though these characters are 19 they are still acting prematurely adult. Rather than praising qualities such as friendship or kindness the sole focus in the show are these girls appearances and how they can get men. A 19 year old should not be concerned with these things, instead they should pay attention to aspects of their life such as school, friends, or relationships. Therefore for their age these animated characters are acting in a much older way than they should. Finally, the show centers around the appearance of these characters. And as the picture shows above the characters always wear tight clothing, lots of makeup, and obsess over their looks. For these reasons the show Bratz portrays the stereotypes and character of the midriff.
       All women should have the freedom of choice regarding who they want to be and how they act, so if girls chose to act in a similar way to the character of the midriff women absolutely should be able to. However I do not believe that many young girls are willingly choosing to act in this way. When they are surrounded by media portraying young girls, all acting like the character of the midriff, they do not have a choice. I believe by seeing all of these things on the media young girls are being coerced into acting a certain way. This, is a problem, because we have now entered into a society where young girls are in some way being forced and molded into this stereotypical young women. By eliminating this aspect of free choice we are perpetuating the use of these characters and their actions in today's society.
         The impact of this is the promotion of the characteristics that the midriff promotes such as, acting prematurely adult, being obsessed with your looks, and believing that your body is your only asset. These things culminate to promote a rather negative and degrading message. Young girls, who see this kind of media, are being influenced by these values that are being promoted. Therefore many believe them and mirror those values which leads to the degradation of women. For example if women believe that their only asset is their body they in turn do not believe that their personality and intellect are important. So, instantly they place less value on education and activities surrounding being an intellectual. Without highlighting their education it is incredibly difficult to get ahead in this world, therefore without education they become stuck in jobs that are thought of as inferior. This is just one example of the slippery slope effect that the midriff character has on young women.
        An additional problem with this kind of media and character are the individuals who it excludes. Because the midriff character centers around appearance what that results in is the promotion of one ideal body. This ideal body is very skinny and one that you should always flaunt. What this does is idolizes girls who have this ideal body and makes girls who don't feel embarrassed. Therefore, this kind of media that portrays the midriff character in some ways body shame girls who do not fit the stereotypical thin ideal.
        Clearly the Bratz show is an example of media that uses characters that surrounds the midriff stereotype. However what this show and others like it have done is portray a standard that is degrading to women and exclude certain individuals. Overall this kind of media has negatively impacted young women.