Post 3: Advertising

Sexism in advertisement is so apparent it's a wonder that nothing has changed yet.  This has been going on for over 50 years and although it is very blatant, sexism is still a huge part of advertising.  It is scary to think that the reason advertisements are still sexist is because it actually works for the retailers.  Everyone should be able to recognize that this is wrong but for some reason everyone still continues to give in. As shown in this poll, not everyone thinks it should stop.

         The ideas behind a lot of advertisements can be linked back to Laura Mulvey’s idea of the male gaze in her article “Visual Pleasure”.  She describes the male gaze as the active male projecting his desires on the passive female.  According to Mulvey the female figure is “styled accordingly” to the fact that the male gaze falls upon her (837).

These are images from a Tom Ford advertisement that was aimed towards men, shot by Terry Richardson.  This is an example of the male gaze because they clearly felt that if they placed their product in front of women’s body parts, it would sell more.  They needed to get men to look at their ads, and knew this would catch their gaze. 

In Laura Mulvey’s article, she also talks about the male gaze as it appears in film.  She states “although the film is really being shown, is there to be seen, conditions of screening and narrative conventions give the spectator an illusion of looking in on a private world” (836).  I found this statement to be true with advertisements as well.  Advertisements show you a glimpse of a private world filled with powerful men, objectified women, and luxurious items.  Buying the product is what will, supposedly, help us achieve a piece of that private world. 

Douglas Kellner touches on this idea in his chapter, “Reading Images Critically”.  He explains that “such symbolic images in advertising attempt to create an association between the products offered and socially desirable and meaningful traits in order to produce the impression that if one wants to be a certain type of person, for instance, to be a ‘real man’ then one should buy Marlboro cigarettes” (127).  This example of Marlboro cigarette ads is true with many ads. 

This is an advertisement for Dolce & Gabbana.  Similarly to the Marlboro cigarette ads and this ad, so many show men in positions of power.  By repeatedly putting this message out it is supposed to make men buy these products in order to gain social power, especially over women. 

The Marlboro Man ads that Kellner uses as an example began in the 1950s.  The Dolce and Gabbana ad above is from the 2000s.  These sexist power structures are still very much alive in advertisements today, as shown in this Buzzfeed article.

Jean Killbourne made observations about another important impact of advertisements in her chapter “Beauty and the Beast of Advertising”.  She describes the impact these messages are having on our youth, specifically.  Killbourne notes that we are exposed to over 1500 ads a day, “constituting perhaps the most powerful educational force in society”  (121).  That statement is powerful because it really explains just how often we are being fed messages from advertisements.  It is important to be aware of this so we can look at them critically and not fall into their trap.  Advertisements that are aimed at teenagers can be especially harmful because this is a time in their lives when fitting in is incredibly important to them.  Ads are basically telling them how to fit in, which makes them vulnerable.  Killbourne also makes a good point in saying that when women see advertisements that give them limited roles in society, like always being either a sex object or a housewife, it can cause women to believe their potential in life is limited to that (121-122). 

These are just two of many sexual American Apparel ads.  Many teenagers shop at American Apparel, so after constantly seeing this message come from a brand they like they may start to believe these are how they are supposed to act and what they are only allowed to be.    

One of the most obvious issues with the use of sexism in advertisements is that it is just purely unnecessary.  These ads are not selling actual women or sex, they are selling beer, cars, clothing, food, and many other things.  So why do we even need to include the half-naked women?  If I were to come up with an advertising strategy it would be to focus on the actual product and how it can realistically improve your life.  I say “realistically” because we need to stop with these unattainable fantasies.  I would also cut out the unrelated images from ads.  If I am selling a perfume, there is no reason to show a naked girl as well.  The only thing needed is an image of the perfume.  There really is no reason to bring gender into advertisements.  Just show the product, explain why it should be bought, and then let people of all genders decide whether they want to buy it or not.  I know this seems extremely idealistic but I just do not find it necessary to even include gender, let alone sexist roles. 

#womennotobjects

Work Cited

Kellner, Douglas. "Reading Images Critically: Towards a Postmodern Pedagogy." Journal of Education. 1988.

Kilbourne, Jean. "Beauty and the Beast of Advertising". Deadly Persuasion: Why Women And Girls Must Fight The Addictive Power Of Advertising. 1999. 

Mulvey, Laura. "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. 1999.