Taylor Gray - February Post (#2)

For my post, I wanted to dive in a little bit about the concept of semiotics. Primarily dealing with the connotation of visual semiotics. As discussed in lecture, semiotics are the combination of what is being said and what that word represents in regards to a specific mental image. Media today has a large impact on the specific shape each of our visual representations take for many different words.

                For example, media portrays many “girls” as a young female, naive, and potentially incapable of protecting herself. However, this is not always the case. There are plenty of “girls” out there that enjoy the sports that only “boys” are thought to enjoy. There are girls that spend their free time wrestling or playing rougher sports. There are “girls” who grow up to be the breadwinners of the family or successfully own their own business. Media, however, shows females – time and time again – as a more dependent figure.

               The following link connects to an image I found that came up during a search of “girl” via Google Images. While absolutely adorable, take note of the underline connotative message behind the image. It depicts a little girl on a street with a purse. Cute, sweet, and adorable, but her nonverbal cues in the image portray a level of helplessness and shielding. Additionally, the bright lighting in the back of the photo gives her an almost “halo” effect (https://goo.gl/images/ggHxek).

               I think the company Always did a beautiful job in capturing the positive reframing of feminine capabilities in their video, “#LikeAGirl” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs). I think this video does a really good job in showing that our perception of the word “girl” morphs as we grow older and takes a nasty turn toward a demeaning connotation. If you have not seen the video, I seriously encourage watching it. I am also very sorry: I know there is a male counterpart to this video that was really great, too, but I cannot seem to find it.

               I think the important thing that the #LikeAGirl video accomplished was challenging the semiotic representation of “girl” that society had molded via media and social construction. Strength, beauty and integrity can be found across all sexes and genders. Go Always!