Sexism, Racism and Power in Advertising
Sexism is seeded into the mind on prepubescent children through the means of advertisements. Needs, wants, and desires are all created by advertisements which targets from the youngest age group of infancy to the most elderly. The use of sexism, racism and power are used to establish these messages to drive the consumer audience to the shopping malls to make these purchases that fit this image. Predominantly the targeted consumer is women because of their shopping power in the home, beauty and clothing sectors.
"We are exposed to over 1500 ads a day constituting perhaps
the most powerful educational force in society."-Kilborne
Advertisement companies spend billions of dollars yearly to convey the message to consumers that who they are is not enough. The kitchen appliance are not good enough, the car you drive is not updated, that the jacket you are wearing is part of last seasons collections and essentially you as a person need more when in actuality--you don't.
Racism is still apart of the conversation, it is still depicted and presented…the lack of colored women in magazines, on runaways, featured in media. It's nothing new; the perceived/sold view of beauty has always been the white blond haired blue-eyed bombshell. Although past the years this has improved slightly…we have more roles for African Americans, there are more multi ethnic races who are models and featured in advertising however the image is the same. Oversexualized images of airbrushed models with unrealistic standards for the general public.
The objectification and sexualization is a go-to method for advertisers. Sex sells. It is that simple. Men drink up these images of theses dolled-up porcelain waxed-up "women" and believe this is the standard. And women feeling the pressure of society respond to these images by trying to attain this unreal beauty. They put this pressure on their mind, body and soul to diet, juice, and starve themselves for an image that can kill them. These children, preteens, and growing women feel the pressure of society forcing them to reach this level of "beauty" because of these detrimental
advertisements. This in turn affects these developing girls with identity and health issues with an alarming rate of eating disorders on the rise.
"Such research suggests not only that the mass media significantly affect the way audiences, particularly young audiences, think about themselves but the representations of the body in particular have resonance with self-identity and self worth" (Wykes 3).
The objectification and sexualization of women has lead to depression, body insecurities and health issues. In Susan Bordo's "Hunger As Ideology" she explores the how female's are depicted when indulging in meals comparatively to how men are depicted. While men can be insatiable in meals , women must be measured in their intake. In movie roles, music videos television shows they dine with a salad while the male will devour his steak. And if somehow the female character does has a hearty appetite she will be correlated to having the equivocal appetite of a lumberjack man. The only time food is excepted or displayed for women to enjoy is when its part of a sexual dialogue.
.
"In these commercials food is constructed as a sexual object of desire, and eating is legitimated as much more than a purely nutritive activity. Rather, food is supposed to supply sensual delight and succor-not as metaphorically standing for something else but on an erotic experience in itself" (Bordo 112).
The media objectifies and demeans women on a continuous basis and uses sexuality to sell that image. For years these companies have tried to desensitize the public and have tried to push the envelope, a prime example would be the Super Bowl Ads over the course of the last ten years. The sexual nature has only increased with time and continues to influence the youth of the nation; this sends the message that a women's worth can only be valued by their BMI index.
These advertising companies uses sexual and racial tactics to draw the consumer in. They create a false need by creating a desire for the newest fragrance, technology, food and more. Companies use racial correlations by stereotyping different ethnicities to various products.
The end result of theses images cause young children to be influenced negatively, it puts an enormous about of pressure on women in terms of "standard of beauty" and it simultaneously also creates this rape culture by objectifying women to men, making women out to only be viewed as an object. It is hard to not to be affected by these images that we see in our news feed and social media accounts. I am a college educated female who understands the abnormality of desiring to look like a model--yet when I see Kylie Jenner's full lips and thin shape I end up wishing that is the way I want to look as well. As a person who feels comfortable in her body and tries not to conform to what these magazines present the temptation and self criticism is extreme. If only I lost another five pounds, if I had that __(fill in the blank)____ then I could look like that too!
Of course, popular culture emanates this in the media, there is no escaping it. E! will tell you about the latest celeb weight gain and the hottest products that they have, CNN will dedicate a whole section on the entertainment industry and finally social media and these filtered images will expose you to these gorgeous people with perfect hair, teeth and skin--not to mention all their products as consumers.
As an individual who feels comfortable with my self-identity and my body image(almost always), I would say the best tactic to break away from these mainstream images is it first needs to start at home. As a mother to a three year old daughter, my first instinct will is to limit the amount of advertising my daughter sees as a way so she does not believe that this is the normal. I will try and teach her/show her real role models and that self worth and value is not measured by how you look in lingerie but with what is in your mind and heart. When it starts at home and from a young age, our children will then have some sort of idea of what real "standard of beauty" is to what the media tries to sell us. Making sure they a sense of who they are before being directly influenced by the media from that point I think being aware of television programs on PBS/ World LinkTV and not being sucked in by gossip sites and news stories that feature all the Kardashian sisters is key. From an advertising perspective a prime example of alternative paths is how Dove tries to depict real women and not this sexualized vision like Victoria Secret. With other marketers following suit and this newly constructed "real" being explored there is change that seems to be happening. The continuous backlash that people have when these airbrushed pictures and unreal standards are given show that the tide is turning and with hashtags and trending nows it showcases how the public are becoming anti-advertisements. While it doesn't eliminate the cycle of sexism, it is a start and by educating young minds and also not becoming susceptible to this images and ideas we stand a good chance from being just another porcelain wannabe figurine.
Work Cited
Kilbourne, J., Rabinovitz, D., & Media Education Foundation. (2010). Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising's Image of Women.
Bordo, Susan. “Hunger as Ideology.” Unbearable Weight. Second Edition, Tenth Anniversary Edition.
99- 133. University of California Press, 2004.
No comments:
Post a Comment