In life, I have never been the type of person that looks for role models in the media. I always thought that I had more than enough in real life to worry about that. At the same time though, I understand that there are a lot of people out there that do see media figures as role models. Opening myself up to that notion, I began to explore the different possibilities. For me though, there are very few people out there that I would actually consider role model worthy. I am not one to judge how people live their lives but at the same time a lot of things that are common place for celebrities are not exactly things that people, especially young people, should be looking up to.
Never the less, there are some out there that are not only constant figures in the media but actually do a lot of positive things as well. For instance, this week a story on the internet caught my eye about "Modern Family’s" Ariel Winter. Winter is an 18-year-old who last year was very open about the fact that she underwent a breast reduction surgery. Only being about five feet tall, the strain her breasts put on her back caused her a lot of pain and made the surgery necessary. Now a few months after the surgery, Ariel attended the SAG awards and did not cover her scars. Not only did she show them off, but she made it a point to say she was proud of them because they were part of who she is. Her confidence in herself and her body is a great example to young girls all over the world that they should not be ashamed of their bodies or their scars. More girls should have the confidence that she has displayed.
After ready about Ariel, it made me realize that she is not the only young woman in the media that has recently made the news for good things. For one, Emma Watson has been in the news lately because of a speech she made at the United Nations to announce the beginning of her "He for She” campaign. In this campaign, Watson urges men to become feminists as well and to help shine a more positive light on the feminist movement in general. When it comes to Emma Watson, she is a particularly important role model because she has such a large following. Being such a public figure at a young age, lots of kids have been looking up to her for fifteen years. Now she can use that following to spread a powerful and important message.
Not all of these examples have done things as large scale as speaking at the UN. Sometimes a young woman can make a change and set an example just by a simple social media post. In October, singer-actor Zendaya posted on her Instagram a comparison of two photos from a shoot she had done. One of them was the original photo and the other was the photoshopped version that the magazine was going to run. Upset, she posted just that she was shocked about the photoshopping and that it was things like that that made girls self conscious of their body. By the end of that week, the magazine apologized for the photoshopping and said they would run the real photo. Even though Zendaya only talked about it on her social media account at first, she used her following to shed light of the situation and something was done about it. She showed other girls that not only was their nothing to be ashamed of when it came to their appearance but also that there is nothing wrong with speaking out when you feel like you have been slighted.
These three young women are perfect examples as to how you can use celebrity to make a positive difference in the world. While other women in the media use their influence just to get likes on a selfie, they are getting the word out on important issues plaguing not only other woman in the media but all woman in general. If I had to have someone in the media be my role model, I would pick these three women.
