Sexism in the Media

           At no point in history has technology ever been as influential and wide spread as it is today. My generation has grown up with technology, so much so that we probably do not realize how dependent we are on it. With technology comes the vast flood of advertising and images. Thus, I feel completely confident in saying that we are the image generation. Every day all of us are effortlessly exposed to thousands of advertising images. We see billboards as we drive, posters around campus, pop-up windows on the Internet and commercials on television. Sometimes we are able to consciously recognize the messages that these advertisements are sending. Other times, the hidden context and meaning can seep into our thought process subliminally and subconsciously affect the way we view others and ourselves. When this happens we internalize and then project onto others the viewpoints and opinions of the people manufacturing these images and advertisements. This internalization and projection is monumental in shaping our society. I chose two advertisements that reflect and demonstrate the sexist currents that are prevalent in today’s society.

            The first advertising campaign that I selected was promulgated by Fit: Fat Free Yogurt. The advertisement features three frames of well-known pop culture movie scenes. The first frame originally featured Sharon Stone in the movie Basic Instinct. This film was widely successful and Sharon Stone was hailed as extremely sexy and erotic. She became the fantasy and ideal of many men in the United States. During the specific scene in the film, Sharon Stone’s character famously flashes the detectives while she is being interrogated. This act is overtly sexual and erotic. Similarly, the other two frames, from American Beauty and depicting Marilyn Monroe, originally symbolized the ideal sexualized woman. More importantly, they are posed for the viewing pleasure of men. The American Beauty scene stems directly from a male fantasy, in which he lusts for the younger girls body, not her personality or other qualities.

Turning towards the Fit campaign, we see that all of the women portrayed are not intended to be sexy or attractive. The print on the ad reads, “Forget about it. Men’s preferences will never change.” Not only is this demeaning and stereotypical to women, especially larger women; it is also extremely presumptuous of men and their capacity to change and evolve. Marilyn Frye’s article Oppression discusses the detrimental effect that patriarchy has on society as a whole. As we see, this advertisement is constraining both men and women to very strict and demeaning roles. Women are expected to be thin, sexy and pleasing for men to see. Accordingly, men are only supposed to value women for their bodies, instead of their values and mind. This advertisement makes it appear that a woman’s waist size is her most defining and important quality. I believe that images and messages such as these are finding a growing audience because of enlightened sexism. This is the notion that women are now powerful and stereotypes are acceptable because they are so untrue or considered a joke. Essentially, it is ok to enact stereotypes because we have proven them to be antiquated and incorrect. Unfortunately, it is painfully clear that stereotypes such as the one depicted in the advertisement are not only taken seriously, but also have a very real effect on our society.

Susan Douglas directly addresses this issue in her chapter ‘Sex R Us’ and ‘Lean & Mean.’ The former addresses the huge presence of sex in the media. The growing trend in the industry is to market sex to increasingly younger demographics. They are convincing young girls that the only way to empower themselves is to act like a sexual object and please men at whatever costs. This might mean dumbing yourself down, hiding your true interests or losing weight so you can resemble a sex symbol. Her chapter ‘Lean & Mean’ delves a little farther into the consequences of these messages. The ideal female body has now become that of a white, twelve year old with big boobs. The ramifications and implications of such a narrow image are huge. The rate of plastic surgery is skyrocketing. In 1992 only 32,000 women received breast implants; in 2004 this number jumped to 247,000 women (Douglas p.214.) Why is this happening you may ask? This increase is largely due to makeover shows, such as The Swan and Extreme Makeover, or companies such as Victoria’s Secret, which promote their ideal female form. All of these sources want women to believe that their body is essential in determining their worth as a female. Furthermore, if women don’t already or aren’t actively trying to make themselves look like Giselle (model) then they are inadequate. Despite the fact that in 2006 American’s spent approximately $12.2 billion on cosmetic procedures, body satisfaction is still abysmal. Women are not happy with their bodies because the media does not want them to be. As long as women continue to strive for what they see in Cosmo or Vogue than companies such as these will continue to have a steady and reliable stream of income. It is crucial to understand that wanting women to feel and look better was never the intention of these companies. The ideal body is about capitalism and class privilege. It costs a lot of money to have the ideal body and to be healthy. Thus, the minority, poor and workingwomen can resign themselves to a body image on the outskirts of society.

My second advertisement focuses on the relationship between male monetary dominance and female sexual suppression. The advertisement is for Natan Jewelry. The two frames illustrate the notion that women will have sex with men in return for diamonds and/or other expensive gifts. Besides the fact that this idea is bordering on prostitution, it is also highly offensive and demeaning. I believe this image can be linked very closely to the social atmosphere of the 1950’s. Betty Friedan’s famous work The Feminine Mystique highlights the loneliness and lack of accomplishment many housewives felt. While their husbands were out working, they were stuck in the house cleaning and dealing with the children. It is important to note that the 1950’s were a time of high consumption, because new products were being invented/ upgraded for the household, such as: dishwasher, stoves and laundry machines. The connection between the two is that in the 1950’s men bought their wives a nice house, car and dishwasher and expected her to be happy and not have the desire to work. In their minds, they had provided their wives with all the essentials items. In fact, they went above and beyond the necessities and included several luxuries. Thus, when more and more women were clinically depressed, men for the most part could not understand why. This advertisement is picking up on this notion that as long as you give women presents and gifts she will be happy and also sleep with you. This totally discredits a women’s capacity to judge a man for his personality or other good qualities. It is sending an awful message to men, that their personalities are irrelevant as long as they buy a woman a big diamond ring.

 It is so dangerous for young boys and men to see and internalize advertisements like these. A subconscious expectation will form that makes them believe buying power is the best and fastest way to sleep with a woman. So what happens the first time this tactic fails? Does he accept her rejection and move on or does he respond with violence, because she has the audacity to reject what has been engrained in him? Sadly, the media wants us to believe that purchasing power is the true path to happiness. In her chapter ‘New Girliness’, Douglas discusses how the media manipulates society, but more specifically women into believing that true empowerment comes from buying goods. Unfortunately, in our country, men are still predominantly wealthier and thus have a stronger buying power. Thus, instead of women being able to buy these goods for themselves they must depend on a man to do it for them. The whole cycle is absurd, because it creates unneeded systems of dependencies.

Our society is truly dependent on the media for everyday information, entertainment, guidance and advice. Unfortunately, the media is sending some truly despicable messages to the general public. The overt and covert sexist beliefs only help to reinforce patriarchy. Women have been given a body image standard that they are expected to meet at all costs. Dieting, excessive workouts and even dangerous cosmetic surgery are all acceptable means to achieving what the media has deemed beautiful. Sadly, this false notion of beauty is so deeply rooted in our society. One of the leading problems amongst young girls is body image. It is almost impossible for women to be totally satisfied with their body because the new definition of beauty is so narrow and constrained. Additionally, most of these improvements are done for male approval and recognition, because it is essential to be attractive and pleasing to men. This is so important because men have most of the buying power. The media have berated women with the notion that buying goods is really empowering. Unfortunately, women make significantly less than their male counterparts, so if they cannot buy for themselves, they better be attractive so men will buy things for them. Thus, we have women depending on men and patriarchy prevailing once again!

Ad Campaign #1 

   

Ad Campaign #2