Name:
Katie Winter
Degree
program: Graphic Design BA( Hons )
2013/14
Title: Does the way the female body is
used in advertising affect the way society views women and young girls?
Words
Contents
List of Illustrations 3
Introduction 4
Chapter One - Advertising Theory 7
Chapter Two – Gaze Theory 12
Chapter Three - Violence in Advertising 18
Chapter Four – Impact on society
24
Conclusion 28
Image 30
Bibliography
Image 30
List of Illustrations
T.Ford & Mario Testino (2013) Tom
Ford Advert [ONLINE] Available:
http://theadvertisingreviewblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/15/tom-ford-the-g-spot/
[accessed 2nd Dec 2013 ]
Memling, H (1494) Vanity, [ONLINE],
Available: http://www.artinthepicture.com/paintings/Hans_Memling/Vanity/
[accessed10th Dec 2013]
Sara Lee Corporation (1999) Wonder
bra Advertisement [ONLINE] Available: http://qvaken.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/advertising-part-5-killing-us-softly-4-and-breasts-and-cosmetic-surgery/
[accessed 12th Dec 2013]
Unknown (2009) Relish This: Relish's "Controversial" Ads [ONLINE] Available: http://joonbug.com/national/glamdamnit/Relish-This-Relishs-Controversial-Ads/oTmh3hti1Jd [accessed 23rd Nov]
Klein. S (2007) DOLCE & GABBANA
SPRING 2007 [ONLINE] Available: http://www.glamourboysinc.com/2011/12/dolce-gabbana-spring-2007-ad-campaign.html
[accessed 23rd Dec]
Klein. S
(2007) DOLCE & GABBANA SPRING 2007 [ONLINE] Available: http://www.glamourboysinc.com/2011/12/dolce-gabbana-spring-2007-ad-campaign.html
[accessed 23rd Dec]
Unknown (2007)
Creating an Egypt Free of Harassment, [ONLINE] Available: http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/columns/article/creating-an-egypt-free-of-harassment_10568
[accessed 2nd Dec]
Introduction
Advertising is a form of mass
communication, which can be delivered through signs, symbols illustrations,
radio and film along with many other methods from the seller to the buyer.
Advertising plays a very important role in shaping mass media especially in
developed countries, where consumerism is so accepted. This essay will look in
detail at the way advertising uses the female body to help sell products and
what cultural, political and economic impact this has on women, and the way
they see themselves and others. Advertising today is taken much more
seriously than it was 2 decades ago, In the year 1999 $120 was spend on
advertising (Killbourne, Killing us softly 3). As well as products the industry
sells the intangible
"Ads sell a great deal more than
products, they sell values, images and concepts of success, worth and
sexuality, popularity and normalcy, they tell us who we are and who we should
be, sometimes they sell additions" (Killbourne, Beauty and the Beast).
Advertising is everywhere, and since the beginning of time women have been used
in one way or another to help sell products. From the start of advertising when
women were often placed on cigarette boxes, to more recently where women bodies
are used to sell products such as cars. The average american is exposed to up
to 3000 ads per day, (Killbourne, killing us softly 3) meaning that the message
which theses adverts portray is repetitively revealed and even drummed into its
audience making it the norm and therefore it is rarely questioned.
Advertising theory looks in detail at
the ways in which people buy into a product for particular reasons such as the
way the product makes someone feel or how a certain product promises something
to the buyer such as happiness or romance, in order to improve lifestyle. The
text 'Persuasion in Advertising, by J. O’ Shaughnessy & N.J. O’Shaughnessy,
looks at how persuasive advertising is it todays society, and talks about how
competing markets make it difficult to sell products, making functional
products unworthy. John Berger also looks at this and within his book Ways of
seeing, talks about different techniques within advertising such as
manipulation.
Gaze theory was a term made popular by
Jacques Lacan, this theory explains the psychological effect of being
consciously viewed by another. Writers onGaze theory include Sweeney, D., &
Wagner and Once again John Berger, who all look at the effect which the 'male
gaze has on women, and how women are objectified in film and other forms of
media because men are nearly always in control of the camera or media type.
They look at how history has always portrayed women as being items to display
and women's attitudes towards themselves are highly effected by the Gaze.
Violence within advertising is one
problem which is often spoke about when referring to advertising, many agencies
use the idea of violence to sell their products. Dolce and Gabbana are a prime
example of these technique and in the past have been heavily scrutinised for
it. Along with the idea that This type of advertising encourage violence in
society it also normalises it, Benokraitis and Feagin, and Niomi
Wolf all explore this idea that advertising changes how women and the
rest of society view other women. Objectification within in advertising is
often argued to be the reason why violence in advertising comes about. There
are many different arguments which focus on or reflect on this particular
issue, one of them is Feminism. Many Feminists would argue that the advertising
industry portrays the female as as sex objects, the same as it did towards the
beginning of advertising, and that the most dominant message which it
communicates is the most important thing about women is the way they look.
This dissertation
will be separated in to four chapters, the first of which will conclude and
define Advertising theory, exploring the history and contemplating the future
of the next generation of women and girls . The second chapter will investigate
in greater detail persuasive Gaze Theory and psychological techniques of
advertising and their role today, . The third chapter will be introduced,
exploring violence within advertising and the impacts
culture, male behaviour and violence has on today's society. Finally the
fourth chapter will explore the repercussions of women being objectified
in the media, and
what physiological effect this has on women and men.
Adverting often creates an unrealistic
image of women, which many women then strive towards, however this can often
have a very negative impact, such as eating disorders, and casual attitudes to
wards sex due to the continuance of sex within advertising. Sell is used
to sell anything from makeup and lingerie, to food and beverages. Adverts
tell women that if they aren't beautiful or sexy or both they are not
acceptable, Through doing this women are objectified, meaning "the act of
treating a person merely as an act of sexual pleasure, making them a 'sex
object', Objectification more broadly refers to treating a person as a
commodity or an object, without regard to their personality or dignity"
(Oxford dictionary) This lack or regard can create unhealthily stereotypes and
therefore lead to violence towards women.
Chapter 1 - Advertising Theory
There is no doubt that todays society is
consumed by advertising, people are constantly exposed to ads which promote
products and good which are seen as necessities, and without them life would be
difficult. These products and goods are sold to us to enrich and even better
our lives and everyday tasks. Advertising if a form of marketing
communication and is used to manipulate, persuade or encourage an audience to
buy into a certain product. Branding is often used within commercial
advertising to increase sales, this is done by creating a a product name which
holds certain qualities which consumers can be reminded of when buying into the
product. Edward Bernays is often referred to when discussing modern
advertising, he introduced the technique of Tobacco advertising in the 1920's,
which involved using images phrases and slogans in order the sell a product.
Today advertising can be found in many different forms from banners and
billboards, popups and street furniture to radio advertisements, web banners and
vehicles, Advertising is everywhere and continues to push the boundaries of
where and when it can be viewed.
One good example of where advertising
makes us believe we need to consume ourselves in a product, is within the
perfume industry, where all the ads persuade the audience that it is necessary
to invest in the product. "Persuasion is becoming more important in
advertising. A Major reason is that competition is finding it easier to erode
any functional or price advantage attached to a product." (J. O’Shaughnessy
& N.J. O’Shaughnessy, 2004, p.1) A case study which shows exactly this is
the quintessential 1980’s styling of ‘L’Air Du Temps’ by Nina Ricci. The
perfume advert has the tagline “the fragrance as romantic as the dreams a
woman dreams”, it shows a young elegant looking woman who looks to be dreaming
of a Male figure, whilst amongst a flock of what appears to be white
doves, a symbol of harmony and peace. This therefore suggesting that by
buying into the product it will make you feel sophisticated,
beautiful, romantic and therefore attractive to the opposite sex, Making
the perfume even more appealing. The advertisement itself targets those
who already long for a life of serenity, grace and natural beauty, by
marketing itself at those kinds of women it also targets those who
aspire to want a life of serenity and grace. In addition to
attempting to appeal to a particular type of target audience, the advert also
sticks to a more traditional way of advertising a product, It does this by leaving
a third of the adverts length to an image of the perfume bottle.
This informs the audience about the brand and why the
company itself believe it should be bought by that
particular
“Sex has long been used in advertising
to sell just about everything - from champagne to shampoo, from chainsaws to
chewing gum.” She goes on to remark that these sexualised images have become
increasingly graphic over time, and their larger impact is “sexist, demeaning,
and harmful to everyone,” with “a cumulative effect that is profoundly
anti-erotic. Kilbourne (2005, p. 119)
The 80's were decades which were a
significant time of change in terms of social history. Women status in society
changed dramatically and due to this change they became more and more likely to
become breadwinners in the household more likely to have equal pay
and were being views more equally in society in general. Fashion followed with
women straying away from creative styles which were popular in the 60's to
fashion which looked professional sophisticated, glamourous and more
masculine, with structure and shoulder pads being common. This mimicked the
shape of a Man's body, many argue this gave a sense of empowerment in the
workplace. With this new age of style came a sense of freedom and a new demand
for modernised products, especially within the perfume area of
industry. Competitors were now trying new techniques, such
a persuasion to attract their audiences. John Berger’s ‘Ways of
Seeing’ programme, broadcast in 1972 (‘Ways of Seeing- Advertising 1⁄4 www.youtube.com) shows
how and why is it necessary to glamourise products, in order to get
high sales, Glamour was necessary especially in a time when glamour based
itself on success. “Glamour is for everybody who believes they can be glamorous,
or, perhaps, more accurately, everybody who finds that they cannot afford not
to be glamorous.” Adverts such as this one are creative and stylistic as well
as highly manipulative and strategic. Through choice of music, model and
surroundings they make the audience think that the product is so much more than
it is, subconsciously they make you believe that the perfume gives you a life
changing experience which can only ever had
through purchasing this particular product. By doing this
the advertisers create envy amongst its buyers,
people believe if one has this experience then all should
be revealed to it, “Without social envy, glamour cannot exist.”. (J.
Berger, ‘Ways of Seeing- Advertising 1/4, www.youtube.com)
“The consumer buys not just a product,
per se, but a product under a description. How a product comes across in that
description determines how it is envisaged and how attractive a buy it is
likely to be. Persuasion appeals can provide a new perspective on a brand and
create a whole new aura for it.” ( J. O’ Shaughnessy & N.J. O’Shaughnessy,
Pg 5.2004).
One of the worlds
most successful perfumes of all time in terms of its sales, which
were estimated at one bottle sold every 55 seconds (www.theguardian.co.uk,
2004) is that of Chanel no 5, (‘Chanel No. 5 the film, www.youtube.com).
with nicole Kidman as the leading role,
it was filmed by Baz Luhrmann, a famous filmmaker and director, who
channeled the same film in this advert as in his film 'Moulin Rough' in
2001.The campaign is sophisticated and more than memorable, as
well as subtle in the ay it persuades. The adverts shows a
famous actress exiting her limousine after she looks like she has had
a nervous breakdown, she then all of a sudden experiences a world she
has never known, a world of peace and tranquility, and the promise of romance
and a different lifestyle. In comparison which many and most other adverts this
one is entitles 'Chanel No 5 - The film, this couldn't be more true,
the advert is one of the most subliminal perfume adverts of all time, other
than a few shots of the Chanel logo, there is rarely anything which is linked
to the product appearing in the short 3 minute film. This type of
advert is so subliminal that it reaches out to get a deeper reaction from its
audience, it aims to persuade people to change their minds about the product to
realize that the product is modern and exciting, and buy into
in, Subliminal Persuasion: Influence & Marketing secrets they don’t
want you to know, (D. Lakhani, p.2, 2008)
Like the previous case study shows
modern advertisements are persuasive but in a more subtle way, the persuasion
method has increased often playing on emotion to sell the product,
“The consumer buys not just a product,
per se, but a product under a description. How a product comes across in that
description determines how it is envisaged and how attractive a buy it is
likely to be. Persuasion appeals can provide a new perspective on a brand and
create a whole new aura for it.” (‘Persuasion in Advertising, J. O’ Shaughnessy
& N.J. O’Shaughnessy, 2004).
Another example of where this occurs is
within the advert for ‘Miss Dior Cherie’ Dior perfume, filmed by Tim
Walker, again an advert which had received a lot of media attention. The
Adverts plays on the idea of a young woman living the parisian lifestyle, she
is carefree and playful yet sophisticated and feisty. We follow
her throughout her day as she visits a bakery and florists and rides a bike. The
short film gives out a 1950's feel to it, which generated thoughts of elegance,
femininity and glamour, she appears to be having a wonderful time,
the adverts makes the audience feel involved and therefore tries to mirror this
feeling to the watchers. Again showing how adverts can effect the way in which
its audience feels about themselves. “The imagery may be public, but
the dreams are intimate.” (John Berger, Ways of Seeing- Advertising 1⁄4, 1972)
As the quote above suggests these adverts do portray an unrealistic
image, the viewer themselves are highly unlikely to experience a
day such as this one within the adverts, but they can be inspired by
it, so that smaller aspects can be brought to life.
It is therefore correct to say that
the existence of advertising itself has a huge impact on its audience
no matter what message it is trying to communicate, As shown above there
are many different cases where adverts try to communicate a
message, by being subtle, especially more recently, where they are made into
short films and often seen more as works of artistry, rather than advertising.
However it is quite obvious that the scale in which an audience of an advertisement can
be effected is large, Women are given an ideal figure, she is more than often
beautiful, sophisticated, elegant, playful and feisty, all of
which can be achieved and are all down to the eye of the beholder, it is often
forgotten in advertising that viewers have different thoughts and feelings
about what beauty is. As a society we are lead to believe that these
positive traits can only be achieved by buying into certain products and goods,
and that there is a very fine line between what is beautiful and what is
not beautiful.
Main Body// Part 2 Gaze Theory
Everyday we see images in the media, In
fact the average American sees around 3000 ads a day Killbourne, Killing
us softly 3), without being aware these ads can effect how individuals view
themselves and their place in society. Within this chapter I will look at
how patriarchal Images within advertising play a role in influencing
women, and how they are often manipulated into acting a certain way, through
Advertising, Art and Film. Theories of the Gaze will be explored, as well
as how these theories link to the media and advertising itself, All of the
above will be supported by theorists such as Michael Faucault and Rosalind
Coward.
Objectification of women refers to the act
of treating someone as if they are objects, without rights or feelings of their
own. (Oxford Dictionary) For hundred of years this has taken
place through the medium of art, throughout time there has been an undeniable
male dominance in art production, and it continues on today in forms such as
the media and advertising. Many would argue that the entertainment industry is
dominated by men and that culture is set us to benefit the men within society.
"While I don't wish to suggest
theres an intrinsically male way of making images, there can be little doubt
that the entertainment as we know it, is crucially predicted on a masculine
investigation on women, and circulation of women's images for men. (R, Coward)
Due the the way society was formed hundreds
of years ago, the high number of male artists within the last
few centuries resulted in art which was created by men for men, which
led on to the artistic genre of 'The Nude". Although popular this os often
not a realist depiction of the female form but in fact a male fantasy. Art
Critics and Historians, who happen to also so be men, celebrate within their
writing how wonderful this era was, they convey a positive opinion that the
female form is beautiful and more worthy of artistic study. The
way these critics approach this subject, and the the fact they hold a high
status, the pornographic function of the art piece is disguised and
often justified by removing the guilt and the negative connotations
which therefore retains the persona of class.
Many would argue that the idea behind
"the gaze" and the Nude genre is about power and the power dynamic
between the genders, showing a difference in the two
and therefore sexually objectifying women. Through this portrayal of
women as the passive and docile sex, society has come to believe and sometimes
even insists that these are the real traits of the female form. This therefore
allows males to retain the control and power over females, and in many cases
take advantage of of the idea that women are subordinate in capacity or
function to men. A Contemporary example of this is within Tom Ford
advertising, (Image) a perfume for men is advertised by
highlighting gender differences between men and women. The adverts shows a
slender sexually available women with the bottle of perfume placed in
sexualised places of the body. From the advertisement, it is evident that
the perfume bottle is implying a man’s genital parts placed in between a
woman’s genital parts, the fore suggesting that consumers buy into
the product with the promise of sexual satisfaction rather than the object
itself. This reflects the idea of patriarchy which states that men have
advantages over women (Allen, J. B. (2011). Difference matters:
Communicating social identity (2nd ed.). Long Grove, IL:
Waveland.) Within this advertisement, it is evident that
the man has power over the women; because, he can control her through demanding
where the perfume bottle is placed. According to John Allen the advertisement
is a form of sexism which is defined as “discriminatory behaviour and attitudes
based on a person’s gender”. The advertisement is discriminating
towards women as it conveys sexism and shows a lack of value for the
women in society. It objectifies women by placing importance on the idea that they
are just 'sex objects' and that they are used to earn profits. Similarly,
Sweeney and Wagner (1999) describe that objectification of women in the society
leads to negative consequences. Sweeney, D., & Wagner, S. H. (1999).
Depicting women as sex objects in television advertising: Effects on body
dissatisfaction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,
More ideas about the persona of women
were created by male artists through their work, female vanity
is commonly used to help sell products. Since
the beginning of art females are often shot whilst posing in a
mirror, looking at themselves. In todays
advertising techniques women do the same thing. This tactic is
created by men and is used so that the female in the image cant return their
gaze, making sure that her own reflection is what she she's, this allows men to
feel more at ease and comfortable when looking at the image, of the often
naked female. More traditionally the idea that women were objects to be
viewed was a much more popular and generally accepted view. In the painting
'Vanity' by Han's Memling, (Image) a women stands tall with long flowing hair
and highly exaggerated curves, she is in the nude gazing into a
mirror. this once again reinforces the idea that women are there to be viewed, her eye
line reflects herself, making sure that the gaze of the viewer is not
questioned or challenged. Instead of looking back at the gaze she accepts
it by looking away in a passive manner, this supports Berger's theory
that 'Men look at Women. Women watch themselves being looked at'. John
Berger, Ways of Seeing- Advertising 1⁄4, 1972).
The idea of 'The Gaze' has continued
into todays society, and finds itself most prominent in advertising,
in the past the the type of art form where 'the gaze' would be
most apparent would be in classic art. However this type of medium
would only of been accessible to the upper classes, due to the status
of fine art at the time. With today's development of media it is now available
to be seen by the masses, meaning that it therefore has the potential to affect
the masses or at least a much higher percentage of the population. With modern
media, comes modern advertising, a slightly different take on "the
Gaze" has come about and instead of women averting their eyes so that the
gaze is unchallenged , it is a much more common that the female in
the advertisement will look directly into the gaze of the audience
questioning it instead of accepting it. Rosalind Coward
talks extensively about ideas of the Gaze, she is concerned with the
way advertising makes the female audience feel and the way in which women
are expected to deal with being trapped in this particular ideal.
She describes it as '
Women's experience of
sexuality rarely strays far from ideologies and feelings about self- image,
there is a preoccupation with the visual image - of self and others,
concomitant anxiety about how these images measure up to a socially prescribed
ideal. (R, Coward, The Look, Pg 33-39)
"Human Beings don't all look at
things in the same way, innocently as it were. In this culture, the look
is largely controlled by men. Men also control the visual media. The film
and TV industries are dominated by men, as is the advertising
industry."(R, Coward, The Look, Pg 33-39)
"Entertainment as we know it
crucially predicated on a masculine investigation of women, and a circulation
of of women's images for men. The camera in contemporary media has been put to
use as an extension of the male gaze at women on the streets. Here, men can,
and do, stare at women."(R, Coward, The Look, Pg 33-39)
Some would argue that the way women have
been portrayed for hundreds of year within art and other mediums has affected
women today in the sense that women now believe that this is how they
are expected to act, and therefore compare themselves to
others in the process, however Gauntlett would argue 'its unlikely that the
media has a direct and straightforward affect on its audience. Its
unsatisfactory to just assume that people somehow copy or borrow their
identities from the media' (D.Gauntlett,Media Gender and Identity, Pg 1).
In society today, an individuals appearance can act as a form
of domination, there are many images within advertising, which play on the idea
of male dominance over women. For example in 2007 Britain’s
advertising watchdog Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) publicly criticised
Dolce & Gabbana due to their controversial advertisement that showed a male
model physically holding down a female whilst another group of men
watched, it was branded as “illegal and humiliating to women” by
Spain’s Labour and Social Affairs Ministry. This advert is a prime example of
the stereotypical idea of male dominance, which can be dangerous, as it makes
this kind of behaviour more normal and therefore acceptable.
Again the way the female is lying with her hips thrust into the air makes it
look as if she is willing to give herself to the man sexually, although really
she is struggling. The men within the Image Gaze at her
intently whilst she stares away vacantly, some would argue that this type
of passive behaviour is no longer a passive thought but
instead behaviour which is programmed into her personality, and she
is in fact acting on behaviour which is now expected of her. By constantly
viewing images such as this one each gender is forced in to submissive and
dominant roles, each of which are very difficult to break away from. "The
relations involved in looking enmesh with conceived beliefs about the
appropriate behaviour for men and women" (Coward
in Thomas, 2000, p.34) These types of gender roles are
usually created by men, as this type of industry is dominated by men, and so
this industry will continue to create images such as this one in order to
provide constant reminders of male dominance within society. It
allows men to retain their power over women and gives them
a heightened belief of their own status. 'The saturation of
society with images of women has nothing to do with mens
natural appreciation of objective beauty, their aesthetic
appreciation, and everything to do with obsessive recording and use of women's
images in ways which make men comfortable'. (Coward
in Thomas, 2000, p.34)
R, Coward would also argue that this
kind of advertising s made to make the man feel confident
and powerful but the female anxious to conform, bring the
male fantasy to life as the females feel she must act this was in order to be
accepted. 'Clearly this connection with feeling secure and powerful, women are
bound to this power precisely because visual impressions have been elevated
to the position of holding the key to our psychic well being, our
social success and indeed to wether or not we will be loved' Coward in Thomas, 2000, p.34
One obvious advert which can be applied
to Cowards theories is that from Wonder bra in 1999 (Image). The model has
an assertive and confident pose, along side looking straight into the camera
she looks very different from the tame persona in previous Campaigns. The image
is appealing to women as it reflects a powerful women instead of a shy passive
one and asserts femininity. The Advert's tag line is "I can't cook.
Who cares?" This creates the believe that it is not essential
for a women to be a domestic goddess and that she can
be successful in other areas, without
these unnecessary skills. However
this Advertisement also appeals to men, once again the male
feels in control, in the dominant role as he is viewing the semi naked
women, who is in fact displaying herself to him. It could
be argued that as the women is unable to cook, she is disappointing the
man, she tries to compensate with sex. This relates back to to the idea that
the women is a object which can be used by men, but is disguised
as women's independence. (D, Gautlett. 2008. page 11)
'Modern women are
not generally very bothered about fitting their identity with the
idea of 'femininity', it is not typically a core value for women today. Instead
being feminine is just one of the performances that women can choose to employ
in everyday life- perhaps for pleasure, or to achieve a particular
goal'. (D, Gautlett. 2008. page 11)
This suggests that women have a certain
level of power within their femininity to control those around them, however it
could also be argued that this way of advertising normalises nudity on the
street and as a result allows other advertising companies to produce similar
campaigns. It also takes the shock out of the advertisement, as repeat
exposure allows the audience to accept it as the norm, leading the female gender
to believe this is how they should look and behave, and does the same
to the male, making him believe this is the only acceptable
ideal.
The Beauty in industry has seen a
boom due to the constant scrutiny of women, and as a result Writers such as Berger
and Coward would argue that this is due to the Behaviour which The
Gaze creates. It is quite clear that the media had an undoubted influence over
society, forcing ideas about appropriate male and
female sexual behaviour and ideals. Constant reminders
from advertisements and other media forms manipulate the public into
the ideal way to act, this idea of The Gaze has been around
for centuries in different media form, from back when the nude
was popular to Dolce and Gabbana ad campaigns in 2013, It is difficult to
imagine how society would be without these particular notions.
Main Body// Part 3 Violence against
Women
In this chapter I will explore how
beauty is a demand and the judgement upon women with specific emphasis on how
the idea of beauty impacts culture,
male behaviour and violence. It reported
that, Approximately 85,000 women are raped on average in England and Wales
every year, Over 400,000 women are sexually assaulted each year, 1 in
5 women (aged 16 - 59) has experienced some form of sexual violence since the
age of 16. (http://www.rapecrisis.org.uk/Statistics2.php). Advertising
today plays a huge role in the manipulation of the media as a whole, Our
culture cultivates the stereotypes of women often as sex objects and men
usually as success objects. The link between violence and masculinity is
often a focus point within advertising, and it is often emphasised leading
to an increased belief that men should be competitive,
strong and sex orientated, as well as violent. Although these specific
qualities in men are not intentionally created to exploit and degrade women,
research has shown a direct link with sexualised violence.
J.Killbourne. Kaufman suggests that the substitution of violence for
desire is a predominant aspect of the construction of masculinity, As a
result of this women are judged and also judge themselves against the
standards in which advertising and the media create for them. Benokraitis
and Feagin suggest that 'advertising often connects sexuality with aggression
or violence against women’, while N.Wolf discusses “beauty sadomasochism”
The prevalence of violence and sex in many ads. 'In spite of the inferior role
which men assign to them, women are the privileged objects of their aggression,”
Simone de Beauvoir and“ glorification of violence against women” (Ford and
LaTour 1993, p. 43)
In societies all over the world Women
and their bodies are seen as the property of men, prior to women gaining the
right to vote, they were believed to be second class citizens, once
the vote was won, women posed a social economic and political threat to
the superiority of men. The ideal image of women was, and still is
created by men through certain mediums such as pornography, it is simplistic
in approach. 'Dream Girls' By Kurtz looks at women in advertising from a
historical perspective. The article discusses the various “roles” women have
played in advertising, and argues that there have been a number of roles which
women have played in advertising throughout time. They include: the superwoman
(a multifaceted machine who nurtures and seduces without pause, the independent
woman, the love tutor, the sex kitten (who transfers eroticism to the product)
and the homemaker (who is queen of the domestic sphere). Kurtz, J.
(1997)..
All of these different roles
are appealing to men, as many men routinely paying to see women
disrobe, but still at some pointing wanting to settle down. James
Montogomnery Flagg in 1932 wrote 'Every man likes to think his prize package in
a virgin wrapped in cellophane direct from makers to consumers,
untouched by human hand'. This view of women has continued through to modern
day advertising, where these stereotypes of women have been combined together
to make the ideal women, who are in fact 'Sensual yet free of shame'.
There are hundreds of advertisements,
which glorify violence against women, there seems to have been a
shift from 'Sex sells' to something far more extreme. For
example his advertisement by Relish an Italian fashion brand
(Image), which pictures Rio de Janeiro police officers groping two models,
shows violent and unacceptable behavior. The men in the image are in
control due to the fact they have authority over the women, both women seemed
to be struggling which suggest they are being touched or held against
their will, this kind of advertising again normalises abusive behavior amongst men,
and makes women believe that it is normal to be treated this way.
Specifically looking at this idea of
objectifying women in relation to power, Naomi Wolf argues that advertising and
other media forms around us tend to make women devalue themselves, which
therefore keeps them in a lower status than men.
“There is no legitimate historical or
biological justification for the beauty myth; what it is doing to women today
is a result of nothing more exalted than the need of today’s power structure,
economy, and culture to mount a counteroffensive against women...The beauty
myth is not about women at all. It is about men’s institutions and
institutional power” (Wolf, 2002, Pg 1955)
Meaning that it is in fact the
impact which advertising has upon women's opinions
of themselves which maintaining patriarchal divide in
society today. To many a product is something which is desired or in
demand, something which can be purchased or gained. At
first glance of a product there is no moral issues, however
when the product includes the human body things begin to become
ethically uncomfortable. We live in a time when advertising dominates
society and plays a huge role in the media as a whole, it is therefore relevant
to question whether Advertising and the idea of "Sex Sells' has
a direct impact on gender inequality and violence. There are many theorists,
who have looked into the reasons why women are objectified and made
into something which can be commoditized, role portrayal and the representation
of women are two of the many contributions. However would argue that women in
advertising are often presented as passive and rarely make any important
decisions, in turn this often means they play the role of career or helper and
this can lead to victimhood (Kurtz, 1997)
Some would argue that many women today
feel confused about how they are expected to act, many women have grown up
watching these famous advertising campaigns and due to
the ever-changing ideas and themes within them women are
filled with mixed messages about how to be. They are a combination of
personalities and take on multiple roles within society.
"In a variety of ways the mass
media helped make us the cultural schizophrenics we are today, women who rebel
against yet submit to prevailing images about what a desirable, worthwhile
woman should be...the mass media has engendered in many women a kind of
cultural identity crisis...We are ambivalent toward femininity on the one hand
and...Feminism in the other" Susan Douglas (1984) Where The
Girls Are
"American women today are a bundle
of contradictions because the media imagery we grew up with was itself filled
with mixed messages about what women should and should not do, what women could
and could not do" Susan Douglas (1984) Where The Girls Are,
Sexual violence within
advertising doesn't stop at women however, within many adverts today
the male is the victim, such as these Dolce and Gabbana Campaign
(Image & Image). The sexualisation of the body is objectified and is
often disguise as innuendo, humor, or artistic expression.
Advertising corrupts relationships and
then offers us products, both as solace and as substitutes for the intimate
human connection we all long for and need 'Most of us know by now that
advertising often turns people into objects. Women’s bodies, and men’s bodies
too these days, are dismembered, packaged, and used to sell everything from
chain saws to chewing gum. But many people do not fully realise that
there are terrible consequences when people become things. Self-image is deeply
affected. The self-esteem of girls plummets as they reach adolescence partly
because they cannot possibly escape the message that their bodies are objects,
and imperfect objects at that' (Hinshaw and Kranz, 2009 pg.124)
This advertisement shows controversially the
dynamics of dominance and submission. The original idea
behind the campaign was to show the audience that by buying into these products
you will feel dominant and powerful, however it shows a divide in
gender. It suggests that the dominating figure will always be the more
masculine figure, as shown in both the image of the female and the image
of a gay man being looked at by other men (IMAGE). A second Advertisement
by Dolce and Gabbana (IMAGE) shows violence towards women in the
same violent manner, the image features four dressed men
standing and crouching over a restrained woman, she looks to be struggling as
her lower body seems to be trying to push away from the male figure. This image
is similar to the previous in the sense that the victim is dominated by a group
of Men, in a certain way both of these advertisements glamourise gang
rape, encourage violence and adding to the numbers of victims. The difference
between them is within this image, all of the mens faces can be seen,
which almost shows that they are not ashamed to be acting they way they are.
However in the previous image you cant see all of their faces, this could be
due to the fact that they are ashamed, and trapped in roles created by the
media, this could link to the outdated view that 'gay sex is a taboo'.
"Advertising is one powerful force
that keeps us trapped in very rigid roles and in very crippling definitions of
masculinity and femininity. We need to get involved in whatever way moves us;
to change not just the ads but these attitudes that run so deep in our culture
and that affect each one of us so deeply; whether we're conscious of it or
not." - Jean Kilbourne. Killing us softly 4
“At the same time that we allow our
children to be sexualised, we refuse to educate them about sex. The United
States is the only developed nation in the world that doesnʼt teach sex
education in the schools. And our children pay a very high price – we have the
highest rates of teen pregnancy and the highest rates of sexually transmitted
illnesses by far in the developed world.” Killbourne, Killing us softly 4
This Egyptian advert
(http://thesocietypages.org) to help prevent sexual abuse almost blames
the victim, “You can’t stop them, but you can protect yourself" is
the tagline, The lollipop wrapper which could represent
conservative clothing is removed in the second part of
the advertising suggesting that women ask to be abused by dressing
'inappropriately' and the advert mocks women in the sense that flies
(representing men) flock towards them if they decide to dress any other
way.
Women are often portrayed as victims of
sexual violence and abuse in an erotic way, this suggests that it is almost
acceptable to be violent to women, or that women should accept being abused
like in this Egyptian advertisement. In a broader perspective, the
influence is much more damaging. There has been much research to suggest that
when women attain more influence and take a greater role in society, which
suggest a correspondence between pornography becoming more extreme,
advertising using more violent images and passive females. It is therefore
justified to say that there is a direct link between
Violent advertising and violence towards women, the
way advertising objectifies the female body and often the male body,
it normalises this kind of behavior making it more acceptable to
treat it as an object with no sense or emotion. Dehumanizing a person has
dangerous results and this is when violence occurs. This type
of advertising is becoming ever more popular as Advertising agencies
are aware that in todays society sex will sell nearly any product. '
The publics fascination with
sex, and the advertising and Graphic designers acceptance of it as
a potent tool, have fed each other for the run of the
twentieth century But society has always been divided on the lengths
in which sexuality can and should be used to sell, if at all.' (J. Sivulka,
2012, Soap, Sex and Cigarettes, A cultural history of American
advertising, Second Edition.)
Main Body// Part 4 Impact on society
This chapter will explore in detail the
effect advertising has on society focusing specifically on Women, J Killbourne
and Wilson & Edredge both look at the repercussions of women being
objectified in the media, and their studies show
how dangerous this can be. It is unfair to say that advertising
only has a negative impact on society, as there are many
advertisements such as those which encourage health screening or those which
encourage people to give blood, there are many health benefits
of advertising and these can only have positive effects on society.
However when it comes to the impact advertising for fashion or cosmetics
has, it is a different story, women see other women in different forms of
advertising such as magazines and film and they try to
make themselves look like the women in the advertisements,
however many of these women, don't even look like
that themselves It takes hours of Photoshop to make the models in
these advertisements look this way, skin is freed from all
blemishes, limbs are lengthened and waists are made smaller, meaning
that the type of women who is seen as a role model is not even real. This
creates a false ideal for women in society, as they try to achieve a look,
which is unachievable. This kind of reaction to this
particular advertisement and the pressure surrounding it can cause a
number of problems for young girls and women, such as Anorexia, bulimia,
sexual dysfunction and depression. 'According to the sociocultural
model of bulimia, eating disorders are a product of the increasing pressure for
women in our society to achieve an ultra slender body (Wilson & Eldridge,
1992. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, vol. 13.)
'Sociocultural factors are thought to
play a central role in the promotion and maintenance of eating
disorders. These sociocultural pressure include the ultra slender
ideal body image ( or think-Ideal) espoused for women in western
cultures, the centrality of appearance for women's societal
success' (Stice, in press; Stiegel-Moore, Silberstein, & Rodin,
1986).
"Men defend their scrutiny of women
in terms of the aesthetic appeal of women. But this so-called aesthetic
appreciation of women is nothing less that a decided preference for a
'distances' view of the female body." Coward, R ., 'The Look' Pages (33)
"Perhaps, this 'sex-at-a-distance'
is the only complete secure relation which men can have with women. Perhaps
other forms of contact are too unsettling." Coward, R ., 'The Look' Pages
(33-39)
This means that there is effects of
anxiety in both men and women and the expectation of men to be dominant is too
much and this creates anxiety for everyone including the male population. The
amount of importance placed on women being beautiful has taken over
advertising, nearly all women within these advertisements are Caucasian,
with light hair and green or blue as many women go to great lengths to
manipulate and change their faces and bodies. Even those women with darker
features, hair, eyes or skin often try to achieve the look of a Caucasian
women, this is done by bleaching skin, dying hair and often light contacts are
worn, although their appearance in general within advertising is
rare. Almost every perfume advert showing some part of the female body in
a sexual manner. Actresses are becoming thinner, according to an
online study 'Twenty years ago, the average model weighed 8 percent less than
the average women, but today's models weigh 23 percent less'. This shows a
drastic change in the way advertising portrays women, as women get smaller in
size there is no evidence to suggest that the industry is unaware of
this “The first thing the advertisers do is surround us with the image of
ideal female beauty, so we all learn how important it is for a woman to be
beautiful, and exactly what it takes. ( Killbourne, 2010 ) She would argue that
it is within advertisings nature to make women feel this way, the more a women
is effected by advertising the more successful it is as a campaign.
Nearly every fashion magazine for women will somewhere on the cover
include a message about weight loss, exercise, diet or sugary, another way in
which women can feel like their own bodies are not good enough, and
therefore need to be changed.
“Females have long been categorised as
either virgins or whores, of course. What’s new is that girls are supposed to
embody both within themselves, and that even very little girls are encouraged
to look sexy long before they have any real understanding of what that really
means. This creates an impossible double bind. In the same way that the girdles
and the corsets of the past have been replaced by an internalized standard even
more suffocating, so the sexual repression of the past has been replaced by
something in some ways even more demanding and constricting.” (Killbourne 2010)
Killing us softly 4
This Overt kind of message again
normalises the idea that the body needs to be perfect, women can easily access
sugary such as breast enlargement and other forms on the NHS, or will go about it privately,
Women in general are willing to spend a lot of money to achieve the
'right look'. When looking a specific cases
where underweight models are used in advertising to sell products
Abercrombie and Fitch are a prime example, they use tall skinny blonde models
within their advertising, There is rarely any models of mixed race or any race
other than Caucasian, when looking at a Abercrombie & Fitch Catalogue
or website, there will be a long haired half naked white women, who is most
likely to be a size zero. When entering the store there will also be
greeting by a similar looking model, 'Abercrombie and Fitch
executives continued to demand white employers until 16th November 2004 when
the U.S District Court Ordered a settlement to a class action discrimination
suit initiated by African Americans , Asian Americans and Latino Women
applicants and Employees' Abercrombie & Fitch Employment Discrimination)It
was found that minorities were not allowed to work on the floor in shops
but were in fact allowed to work in the storerooms out of sight of customers,
The Caucasian Models working on the floor were only allowed to wear clothing
from the shop and were in fact paid more according to how closely they looked
like they had the 'Abercrombie & Fitch Look'
“On the deepest level, the obsession
with thinness is about cutting girls down to size. Now one could say this more
vividly than this relatively new size in women’s clothing, size 0 and size 00.
Imagine a man going into a clothing store and asking for anything in a size
zero, but our girls are taught to aspire to become nothing.” J.Killbourne
The media also has a huge impact on
attitudes towards sex, especially in young girls. Advertising approaches sex in
a pornographic way, it dehumanizes people and turns them in to objects with no
personality or individuality. As mentioned previously in part 3, there has been
a change in how society sees women in advertising, there is in fact a 'New
Woman' who is similar to that of superwomen, she is efficient in housework and
in her paid job, or often portrayed as an independent women who owes her
freedom to the product which she uses e.g. hoovers, dishwashers etc. Killbourne
would argue that this 'new woman" shows no sign of progress but in fact
creates a 'Myth of Progress, an Illusion that reduces complex sociopolitical
problems to mundane personal ones. This could also be linked to the idea of the
tripe shift, this refers to a woman working three jobs, one is to take care of
the children, the second is to do housework and the last is to work a paid
job, Dunscombe and Marsden concluded that women undertook most of
the emotional work required to hold a relationship together, in
addition to the majority of the household chores. Many of these women also
worked in the labor market which added up to the equivalent of three
jobs, or a ‘triple shift'. The progress which women have made in the
past century linking to women's rights and the vote, are not
reflected in advertising. The female is either seen as a loving mother / house
wife or in a more sultry seductive manner, there is no in between.
'As the unconscious hallucination grows
ever more influential and persuasive because of what is now conscious
market manipulation: powerful industries - the $33 billion- a-year
diet industry. the $20-billion cosmetic industry, the $300 million cosmetic
surgery industry and the $7- billion pornography industry - have arisen from
the capital made out of unconscious anxieties and are in turn able,
through their influence on mass culture, to use, stimulate and reinforce the
hallucination in a rising economic spiral (N,
Wolfe, 1991, p.17)
This constant scrutiny of women
has led to a huge boom in the beauty industry, it has been suggested
before that female vanity is the reason why these big businesses are booming,
Freud once suggested that women are 'more narcissistic' with self obsessed qualities.
To contradict this it could be argued that even when women are influenced by
mass culture it is often the case that society criticises even when women succeed
in achieving this type of advertised beauty.
”Advertisements, health and beauty advice,
fashion tips are effective precisely because somewhere, perhaps even
subconsciously, an anxiety, rather than a pleasurable identification, is
awakened. we take an interest in criticism, yes. But these images do not
give back a glow of self love... the faces that look back imply
a criticism' (Coward in Thomas, 2000, p.37)
This once again implies that
women are pressured to be perfect, they are
not innately vein but are pushed into being this way be the
media. this type of advertisement plays on modern day anxieties such
as anorexia, bulimia and flawless skin, as well as hair color and
often race. This suggests to women that in order to be happy they must
has a strict beauty regime which will eventually rule their life.
Conclusion
To conclude, it is quite clear that the
media has an undoubted influence over the way society views women. Advertising
forces pre-conceived ideas into both the male and female viewer. All types of
media, such as advertisements on TV, in magazines and
billboards, all manipulate the public into the 'correct' way to act and behave,
Dolce and Gabbana, Wonder bra and Tom
ford advertisements have all been studies within this essay, all of
which portray different images of women conforming to the rules which
advertising create about the way women should act.
Section one has explored how modern
Advertising has a huge impact on society, weather it is used in a more
traditional way or in a more modern way, advertising uses different methods to
try to sell a product such as short films, or other alternative ways.
Writers such as John Berger and J. O’ Shaughnessy & N.J. O’Shaughnessy show
that women are often portrayed unrealistically within advertising, they become
something which is unachievable and therefore makes it difficult for other
women in society to be accepted for anything other than this ideal image.
Theories of the gaze were looked at in
detail within chapter two, it is very important when looking at the way
the female body is used in advertising and the effect in which it has on women
and young girls,. The media today has a very big influence over society, it
constantly shows images of male and women acting in ways which encourages
sexual behaviour and forcing ideas about the way women should look and feel
about themselves. Gaze theory proves how negative using female body in
advertising is and how it does dramatically effect the way women are
portrayed and treated in the media, and the fore in society. Writers such as
Coward, Sweeney, D., & Wagner, S. all write about how
objectification of women in the society leads to negative consequences.
Within Chapter three there is a huge
emphasis on why women are portrayed as victims of violence within advertising,
as within many campaigns this is projected in an erotic sense. This can be very
damaging to women, violence is often glamourised and therefore it almost allows
this kind of behaviour to become acceptable, for both the man to act violently
and the women to act submissively towards it. This type of advertising is
become ever more popular as advertising agencies know that sex will sell a product,
however it could be argued that the link between violence pornography and
advertising is a strong one, and one which is highly influential, especially
for those in their teens.
Within the area of advertising consumers
are exposed to products which they are made
to believe are necessities, women are made
to believe that in order to be accepted they must
be beautiful and flawless, when actually this is unrealistic, Writers
such as Jean Killbourne, John Berger and R. Coward all argue that this ideal women
is often created by men for men, Feminists would argue that this type of divide
keeps Patriarchal society and advertising does not show
the progression of women within society at all. Resulting in a
twisted view of women, where they are objectified and often viewed as nothing
more than sex objects. This leading to problems such as domestic violence,
rape, eating disorders, body anxiety, sexual dysfunction and many more.
Theorists such as Kurz, Douglas and Wolf looked into the impact which
advertisements have on women and found that most women are affected in some way
or another by them, But there is a huge impact on teenagers
especially young girls, most simply they learn the basic stereotypes.
Advertising creates a mythical, mostly white world in which people are rarely
ugly, overweight, poor, struggling or disabled, either physically or mentally
(J.Killbourne. 2011). Overall it is Correct to say that advertising and
everything surrounding it affects the way in which women view their own bodies
and has a huge impact on self esteem and confidence. It also has a huge affect
on the way men view women, so much so that the impact it has on men keeps women
in a role which is controlled by men and cannot easily be broken free
from.
Images
Image 1, Tom Ford Advertisement
Image 2, Vanity
Image 3, Wonder bra
Advertisement
Image 4, Dolce and Gabbana 2007, 1
Image 5, Dolce and Gabbana 2007, 2
Image 6, Creating an Egypt free of
harassment.
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