advertising: system of sexist oppression.
As we all know, capitalism operates in a cycle: the production of commodities, the distribution of those commodities, and the consumption of them which produces more capital so that the wealthy can then in turn take it and produce even more commodities. Each of these elements is equally important, and if any of them are taken away, the cycle is halted and the rich will cease to get wealthy.
That is where advertising enters the picture. Before 1925 advertisements focused on the actual properties of the products being sold, but at about that time corporations realized that method did not generate enough capital so they tried a different approach: relating products to real human desires and emotions. This is the system we see to this day.
One of these basic human desires is sex. Advertising frequently uses the image of sex or sexual pleasure to sell a product that has nothing to do with sex. With this portrayal of sex in advertisements, women are almost always the ones to provide the sexual pleasure. They are shown to be willing and ready; in almost any circumstance life has to offer. More often than not, the body position of women becomes one of a passive and vulnerable person, rather than one who takes an active participation in her sexual affairs. She is shown with her finger in her mouth, looking coyly to the side or down, with the passivity of a little girl. This is not an image of power.
On the contrary, the way men are portrayed in advertising is quite the opposite. They are most often shown in an active stance: legs apart, firmly on the ground, with arms crossed. If they are not standing, they are portrayed doing something active, like sports, or taking hold of a passive woman.
Women are also “pieced up” in advertisements a lot of the time. In those instances, it is not just a woman on display, but rather her legs, waist, butt, or breasts. By doing this, women become literally and object rather than a full person. This is sometimes done to men as well, but not as often and with fewer consequences.
With women so frequently displayed as passive sexual objects, this has consequences for women in real life. According to the U. S. Department of Justice women get raped approximately 13 times the rate of men, and 18.2% of American women will be victims of sexual assault during their life times. We have to keep in mind that statistics are based on reported cases, so the number could very well be much higher. I am not proposing that advertising directly causes women to be victimized, but it contributes to the overall system in which women are viewed as objects that can be bought and sold, taken and used.
The fact is, while advertisements on the surface sell products, through their secondary discourse they sell normalcy, values, and ideas. The way we know that advertisements create culture rather than just reflect it, is by examining different cultures and time periods. Our concepts of gender are constructed and advertisements help construct it.
So why does advertising create gender stereotypes? To sell products of course, but that answer is too obvious. As I mentioned earlier, advertising sells normalcy, so not only does it tell society what a woman/man is, it creates an image of the perfect woman or man. The women in advertising are representative of less than 5% of the whole population. They are incredibly thin, with big breasts, and flawless skin. Almost always a person with a thin body is not born with big breasts, so most of the images we see with this body type have had plastic surgery. Not only this, but people in advertisements are air brushed and doctored to appear “perfect”. With this in mind, women are given an unobtainable ideal. The average woman can never look like this, so how is she able to? By buying the products of course.Advertising needs women to feel insecure about themselves or they will not generate more capital, and that is what the system is about.
It does not end there. Women exposed to this system of advertising are not merely shown an ideal image that they cannot achieve, but they internalize it and there are real consequences. Eating disorders are a huge problem, with an estimated 5-10 million girls/women in the United States and 1 million boys/men affected. Not only does the unobtainable beauty stereotype create physical consequences, but perverse mental ones as well. According to the National Eating Disorder Association, 80% of American women are dissatisfied with their appearance. Not only are they dissatisfied, women are obsessed with how they look and this prevents them from participating in other areas of life. In my opinion, this serves as a great tool to keep women out of the political sphere and public areas of life.
As socialists, we are aware of the corruptions within the capitalist system, and the institution of advertising is just another example of how people are harmed by motives for profit. If we as consumers are aware that advertising needs women to be insecure, perhaps we can internalize that instead.
That is where advertising enters the picture. Before 1925 advertisements focused on the actual properties of the products being sold, but at about that time corporations realized that method did not generate enough capital so they tried a different approach: relating products to real human desires and emotions. This is the system we see to this day.
One of these basic human desires is sex. Advertising frequently uses the image of sex or sexual pleasure to sell a product that has nothing to do with sex. With this portrayal of sex in advertisements, women are almost always the ones to provide the sexual pleasure. They are shown to be willing and ready; in almost any circumstance life has to offer. More often than not, the body position of women becomes one of a passive and vulnerable person, rather than one who takes an active participation in her sexual affairs. She is shown with her finger in her mouth, looking coyly to the side or down, with the passivity of a little girl. This is not an image of power.
On the contrary, the way men are portrayed in advertising is quite the opposite. They are most often shown in an active stance: legs apart, firmly on the ground, with arms crossed. If they are not standing, they are portrayed doing something active, like sports, or taking hold of a passive woman.
Women are also “pieced up” in advertisements a lot of the time. In those instances, it is not just a woman on display, but rather her legs, waist, butt, or breasts. By doing this, women become literally and object rather than a full person. This is sometimes done to men as well, but not as often and with fewer consequences.
With women so frequently displayed as passive sexual objects, this has consequences for women in real life. According to the U. S. Department of Justice women get raped approximately 13 times the rate of men, and 18.2% of American women will be victims of sexual assault during their life times. We have to keep in mind that statistics are based on reported cases, so the number could very well be much higher. I am not proposing that advertising directly causes women to be victimized, but it contributes to the overall system in which women are viewed as objects that can be bought and sold, taken and used.
The fact is, while advertisements on the surface sell products, through their secondary discourse they sell normalcy, values, and ideas. The way we know that advertisements create culture rather than just reflect it, is by examining different cultures and time periods. Our concepts of gender are constructed and advertisements help construct it.
So why does advertising create gender stereotypes? To sell products of course, but that answer is too obvious. As I mentioned earlier, advertising sells normalcy, so not only does it tell society what a woman/man is, it creates an image of the perfect woman or man. The women in advertising are representative of less than 5% of the whole population. They are incredibly thin, with big breasts, and flawless skin. Almost always a person with a thin body is not born with big breasts, so most of the images we see with this body type have had plastic surgery. Not only this, but people in advertisements are air brushed and doctored to appear “perfect”. With this in mind, women are given an unobtainable ideal. The average woman can never look like this, so how is she able to? By buying the products of course.Advertising needs women to feel insecure about themselves or they will not generate more capital, and that is what the system is about.
It does not end there. Women exposed to this system of advertising are not merely shown an ideal image that they cannot achieve, but they internalize it and there are real consequences. Eating disorders are a huge problem, with an estimated 5-10 million girls/women in the United States and 1 million boys/men affected. Not only does the unobtainable beauty stereotype create physical consequences, but perverse mental ones as well. According to the National Eating Disorder Association, 80% of American women are dissatisfied with their appearance. Not only are they dissatisfied, women are obsessed with how they look and this prevents them from participating in other areas of life. In my opinion, this serves as a great tool to keep women out of the political sphere and public areas of life.
As socialists, we are aware of the corruptions within the capitalist system, and the institution of advertising is just another example of how people are harmed by motives for profit. If we as consumers are aware that advertising needs women to be insecure, perhaps we can internalize that instead.
Statistics:
· - 42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner.’
· - 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat.
· - The average American woman is 5’4" tall and weighs 140 pounds. The average American model is 5’11" tall and weighs 117 pounds.
· - Most fashion models are thinner than 98% of American women.
· - 46% of 9-11 year-olds are "sometimes" or "very often" on diets, and 82% of their families are "sometimes" or "very often" on diets.
· - 91% of women recently surveyed on a college campus had attempted to control their weight through dieting, 22% dieted "often" or "always".
· - Americans spend over $40 billion on dieting and diet-related products each year.
*Provided by the National Eating Disorders Association
· - 42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner.’
· - 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat.
· - The average American woman is 5’4" tall and weighs 140 pounds. The average American model is 5’11" tall and weighs 117 pounds.
· - Most fashion models are thinner than 98% of American women.
· - 46% of 9-11 year-olds are "sometimes" or "very often" on diets, and 82% of their families are "sometimes" or "very often" on diets.
· - 91% of women recently surveyed on a college campus had attempted to control their weight through dieting, 22% dieted "often" or "always".
· - Americans spend over $40 billion on dieting and diet-related products each year.
*Provided by the National Eating Disorders Association
Source: http://www.geocities.com/youth4sa/advertising.html
2 comments:
you might also want to look at ads that help people like charity companies, or save the wildlife like WWF.
one interesting ad here : http://hugo-sb.way-nifty.com/hugo_sb/2008/12/ad-of-action-gr.html
ads now not only act as a way of promoting a specific product, but also influencing and educating. i m surprised about the fact that children about 9-11years old are going on diets. ads portray the image of perfect beauty, putting pressure on the society (esp girls) to follow this standard.
hmmm but in singapore, this is not very obvious right?? although most of us want to get thinner. haha!
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