Portrayal of Woman in Advertising
The media is an
important part of
life in our society. The media tries to inform, persuade, entertain and
even
change its viewers. Advertising is a
major part of America’s
economy. It is everywhere! Ads are on T.V., web pages, subways, cereal
boxes,
in magazines and much more. The media not only influences but in many
ways can
shape the values and morals of our culture. The way that advertisements
depict
and even objectify women shapes our society’s own view of women. Many
commercials encourage the view of women as an object by focusing on
their
bodies instead of their minds. Not only do these ads harm society as a
whole’s
view of women, bit it has severely harmed many women’s own view of
themselves.
The affect of advertisements on social behavior and women’s self esteem
is a
continuous debate and targeted in this website.
<><>Advertisements an<>d their effect<>
-Advertisements define
beauty and
body image our society.
-When you look at most
ads what
type of women is depicted?
A woman that has the “perfect”
body.
-Most
models, male and female, typically have
“perfect” bodies. The bodies are normally muscular for men and very
slim and
fit for women.The ideal image of a woman is typically tall,
unrealistically
thin, and usually Caucasian, with perfect tan, skin and hair.
Negative Effects
of Advertisements
It
can be very degrading for normal women to
look at these close to impossible beings in the media so many times a
day. It
becomes a constant reminder to many women of their imperfections
Jean Kilbourne is
probably one of
the most recognized supporters and campaigners of making people aware
of the
exploitation of women in advertising. She fights to raise awareness of
just how
much advertisements affect us. She argues by giving numbers and
statistics of
how much advertising is used. She argues “Why would companies spend
over $200
billion a year on advertising? Why would they be willing to spend over
$250,000
to produce an average television show and another $250,000 to air it? http:www.jeankilbourne.com/cantBuy/chapter1.
She
says that the way advertising depicts women in our society negatively
influences the way men view women and how women view themselves. Jean
Kilbourne
has promoted awareness of this subject by publishing several books and
films
and having countless lectures.
Men
like to look at these perfect bodies in
ads so of course women want to obtain the image that men desire. That
flawless
image is close to impossible to obtain so many women go to extensive
measures
to achieve them like plastic surgery, starving themselves, exercising
excessively and eating disorders and more. Ads usually only represent
the ideal
body image rather than representing the wide variety of shapes and
sizes of
women that are really out there.
If you really examine
the ads today
you can see their tendency to objectify women.
In many ads, women are pictured with parts of their bodies like
their
legs or breast, and usually cutting off their face.
Women’s bodies are used to sell products and
lifestyles. Many believe that ads make women seem weaker and suggest
that
women’s thoughts and beliefs are unimportant.
Positive
Effects of Advertisements
Some
Advertisements, however can positively influence young girls. Some
commercials
and especially athletic companies have shifted the image of a woman to
positive
role model which is a great step for the media’s depiction of women.
Example:
Commercials like Adidas~
when they use the tennis player, Anna Kournikova. She
represents a positive, strong, confidant
role model for women and young girls.
Advertisements and Eating
Disorders
<><> The
media is often accused of influencing the growing epidemic of eating
disorders.
The media glorifies thinness and really supports the idea that “ The
thinner a
women is, the better she is.” Women and young girls look at these
“ideal” stick
thin women so many times a day and wish to be that. Since most peoples
bodies
are not naturally built for that they take extreme measures be thin.
At the
same time, our culture promotes and is filled
with fattening foods. It would be impossible for the models that are
featured
in those ads to actually eat those foods and look the way they do. So
the gap
between normal weight and ideal body weight gets bigger and bigger. So
that
also contributes to this epidemic ofmajor diets, anorexia,
bulimia
nervosa and compulsive eating. The ideal body size is getting thinner
too.
Think about the size of Nicole Ritchie and Sarah Jessica Parker. The
media
defiantly puts pressure on women to look like the perfect women
featured as
normal women in their ads.
The
media does not only influence eating disorders negatively though. They
influence positively by adding to the general publics awareness of the
growing
epidemic of eating disorders. The media is sometimes used to educate
people
about the growing number of disorders and the health and risk factors.
A strong
way to prevent more of them is to fight against them by getting the
message out
there. People must be aware of the harmfulness of them. The media would
help
more if they would work toward displaying a wider variety of sizes of
women and
not encourage dieting as much as they do.
The
1950's and Today: women in ads:
Throughout the history of advertising, the image of
a women has not changed much. In the 1950's of the image of women used
in commercials was that of a housewife. She was a caregiver, who cooked
and cleaned. She was usually represented as week and mild. The ads
reflected the society at that time in a way. Women of that time did not
usually work, but that didn't mean that they were week. Today, women
meet all measures. They are caregivers and career women. The 1950's ad
pictures showed women with their heads dpwn or away from the camera or
with only parts of their bodies showing. Their body language when in
pictures with men also stressed that men were the one's with
power. Advertising has changed some since then because women are
not always portrayed as only the housewife. The image of sex, however,
is still very prevelent. The women in the 1950's and today represent
the stereotypical ways of the time period. Women are still portrayed as
women to be looked at and not intelligent women to be heard.
Is the media
the only one to blame?
Advertising is no doubt exploiting and objectifying women! They
are influencing much of the way our society views women and it is
harming our women today. Weight has become a major factor in how we see
ourselves and others. However, media is not to blame completely. We all
want to look slimmer, be richer, prettier and have it all. That is
human nature and the ad agencies know this and use it towards their
advantage. How many times have you heard a women complain about her
weight? We always want more! Instead of blaming the ad agencies, we
should look deeper and realize that the problem is within us! We are
looking for someone to blame for our own insecurities. Ofcourse ads
escalate the problem but they are not the only reason for it. This
culture that we have created for ouselves believes these fake ideals.
Think about it. If our society one day decided it was in to be
"fat" ads would spin off that and somehow even make it desirable.
Advertisements are a reflection of the problems in our society. They
contribute to the problem s but they are not the only reason for them.
Works
Cited
1) Woman's Body
Image home page
http://womansissues.about.com/dynamic/offsite.html
2) Analysis of media
Cinderella project by mjrj
www.losmedanos.edu
3) The portrayal of men and women in tv ads by:
Danielle Limpinnian
www.aber.ac.uk/media/students/dc10001.html
4) The portrayal of women's images in magazine advertisements: Goffmans
gener analysis revisited by Mee-Eun Kang
5) Jean Kilbourne's official website
www.jeankilbourne.com
6) The Power of Gaze: The Stereo typical Image of women in
advertisements
.
