For this advertising assignment I looked at the placement of women in ads. I think that women in ads are displayed in a negative way in a lot of them so that is what I focused on.
1. GQ magazine-There is a sketchers ad where a girl, dressed in really short shorts, a mid-drift top that is very tight and shows a lot of her stomach. She is hanging on a guy and looking at him in a seductive way and he is not even looking at her. He's looking straight ahead at the camera with his hands by his side. I think this was negative towards women because it makes her look desperate and as if he does not even know she is there.
2. Pro Active Commercial-I saw a Pro Active commercial on TV and the majority of the people in the commercial were women. I feel like this was saying that its just the majority of women who have acne problems when in reality boys have just as many problems.
3. US Weekly magazine-It was a Small Altoids ad and it shows just the back of a girl holding a box of mints and the caption says "When you lean in make sure he doesn't lean out."
4. J. Crew clothing ad in a store-In a J.Crew store there was an ad for shoes by the shoe section but the ad only showed a girl from the waist down. I found this weird that they couldn't include her face?
5. Progressive Commercial- in this commercial it was only men buying insurance for cars and boats and everything and the employee was a woman. I found this degrading because I think it shows that women are incompetent to buy insurance for things and that it's a "mans job."
6. Reality TV-American Idol
7. People magazine/and website
8. The Oklahoma Daily
9. Glamour magazine
10. Ellen Degenerous show Tuesday morning at 9a.m.
I found this assignment to be very eye opening. I do not think we realize how women are portrayed in the media. I think we are all very immune to the way women are depicted and treated in ads. There are so many ads in the media today that show one woman surrounded by tons of men, or half of a female will be cut out of the ad while the whole body of the man is in it. Women are often times made to look very vulnerable and helpless in ads as well. Also in ads, the majority of women are beautiful, flawless, and extremely skinny. However, most of us do not take the time to stop and realize how much photoshop can actually do to a person's looks. A woman can made to be 10 lbs lighter with just the click of a mouse. They can also have all of their blemishes and cellulite removed with just the click of the mouse as well. These things we do not often enough sit and think about but instead think we are not ever going to be as pretty or skinny as we "need/should" be. Other than the Dove commercials and advertisements I cannot think of any other advertisements that portray women who are not bone thin. I think the Dove commercials are great and should be showed way more often. They show norman, average, CURVY women. These type of ads need and should be shown far more often. These are the kinds of images that need to be embedded in the minds of young girls and women today. Women need to be shown that bone thin is not normal and that curves are much sexier. But how do we get this to happen?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgGiB-o84sk
It takes a critical eye sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you in your reflection. I too believe that our society has become completely immune to how women are portrayed in the media. Most of the ways that they are portrayed is very degrading and also unrealistic. With the help of photoshop, they can make the most unattractive person look like Heidi Klum. Obviously, most women in this world will never look like Heidi Klum so the media should show women the way they ACTUALLY look. The sad thing is, this will never happen. Sex sells and as long as it does that is how it will be. I feel like women these days have body image issues because they have to look at these unrealistic body figures in the media all day long. I also believe that men, especially in the last 10 years, have made these expectations that the women they will be with will look like a perfect supermodel. I can tell you right now that if men do have those expectations, they better get over it because most likely that will never happen. This is obviously a topic I am passionate about.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you in the fact that for the majority of advertising, women are portrayed negatively. I have always known that women tend to be sexualized in advertising, but I have not really paid much attention to it or given it much thought. After reading your reflection it was surprising how often it happens. I agree that it has been done so much that our society has just become immune to it. The women in advertisements are always stick thin and beautiful and it is setting impossible standards for women to live up to. I think this is especially dangerous for the younger women in our society. But, it is a difficult subject, because sex does sell so advertisers aren't going to change their ads to be more socially correct.
ReplyDeleteKelsey, I totally agree about the image of women in the media. Especially about weight issues. I wonder why the media is just now catching on about how ridiculously damaging those images can be. I mean, its been the last 30 years of this and they are just now going, huh, maybe this isn't the best thing for our young girls and boys to see? I think thats why it is important to recognize companies that go out of their way to project the right image and promote realistic ideals. I think the young women of our country depend on us to make those decisions for them!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statements as well. However, I don’t see this changing anytime soon. Advertisers want to sell products, and as we have all heard over and over again, Sex Sells. I do realize that women are much more often depicted in a demeaning and sexual manner, but so are men. How often do you see men without a six pack in ads, just as you never see women above a size zero? It is a sick practice, but I believe this is slowly changing. The Dove campaign is this first step in the right direction. I think it isn’t necessarily about changing the advertising, but educating people so they are not drawn in by the sexual images. I feel the advertisers are at fault, but they are only playing on what attracts people to their products. We, as people, have to take a stand and send a strong message that we are not attracted to only sexuality, but the actual quality of the product.
ReplyDeleteWhile I think I see what you meant about wanting the media to show bigger women instead of the super skinny ones what with eating disorders and such, I don't know that I completely agree with what you said.
ReplyDelete"Women need to be shown that bone thin is not normal and that curves are much sexier."
I think there needs to be diversity in general- sizes, color, etc. But what about the girls who ARE thin or skinny or flat chested? What if a girl like that read that?
Saying a statement like that is just has harmful to a girl, because it's saying that she is not beautiful the way she is. According to that she's not sexy and she's not even normal. Saying a definite statement like that is the exact same thing in reverse as what lots of media does to make women think they need to be thinner.
I don't have a butt. But curves are sexy....and I don't have them there.
One of my friends is barely an A cup. She's dying for a bigger chest.
Another one of my friends is super skinny NATURALLY. She's super healthy and eats all the time.
I do agree that the Dove ads are great.
You are absolutley right to see the problems with how women are displayed throughout the various media outlets. When I was barely a teenager to almost 20, I read fashion magazines, critiqued advertisements and secretly wished to look exactly like the women I saw in the magazines. Objectifying women in the media is a dangerous instrument of individual destruction. I remember never feeling adequate enough or sexy enough or cute enough because I was reaching to be the women in the magazines (Even though I knew they were airbrushed). Both my friends and I ended up taking ourselves for granted and leading some pretty scary lives for a while - dangerous behavior would be a better term I suppose. So I do believe that there is a huge problem with objectifying women in the media because it effects a woman's self-esteem, as well as the public opinion of what look is acceptable and beautiful and what is not.
ReplyDeleteYou and I share the same beliefs and feelings on the issues of women in the media world. It is a sad state but for some there is only one thing on their mind and that is money. Sex sells and the more sales the more money. The sad thing is if you put yourself in the shoes of an advertiser you battle the issue of doing what is morally right and what will pay the bills and feed the family. And on this issue I am going to have to side with the advertisers. It sucks, that this is how it is but at the end of the day you need the check in the bank. It is just how society is and I do not see it changing ever. I mean it would have to be a complete overhaul of society, and I just don't think that this would be possible. I mean it is in a sense saying, "one day there will be no racism." I mean although you and I can live our lives in a way that promotes equality to all, no matter what we do we cannot change the minds of all 6 billion people on this earth. I think the same is for the role of women in the media. If we were to promote change the people making the money would not give us the time of day because it would be a thorn in their side.
ReplyDeleteHey girl! Great post! As startling and upsetting as this assignment could be, it was also really eye opening. Every day we are fed images of rail thin, tan women and huge breasts and long flowing hair. But this just isn’t realistic! And the hardest job we have in the communication world is getting this across. Images of “beauty” have been changing for years, but it is always considered perfection, which is just not real. Every once in a while a woman is born with those desirable features, but that is just once in a blue moon. We must all work together to help women, especially the young ones, that they are all beautiful.
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