Sexual Objectification of Women in Media

Objectification of women is predominately what sells most products for advertising agencies. Slowly we are seeing objectification of men to sell things that cater to women, but if we know one thing it is that sex sells. We learned in class on Monday that advertising is not literally selling “sex” as in a healthy sexual relationship between a man and a women, but selling the idea that by using the product you might look like this, get this women etc. We also learned in class that there is a “shared meaning” in sexual messages between consumer and advertiser. Sexual images that were viewed as “too explicit” in the 1960’s are now everywhere within mainstream media. Images that we view as “too explicit” will continue to push the norm until there is nothing that is considered “too explicit” anymore. This matters to me because I am a woman and being objectified for profit does not sit well with me. I like to see successful woman on magazines that own businesses, or that have invented something useful. What I don’t like to see on magazines is naked women promoting useless products that I don’t even use. This idea is bizarre to me that naked women on magazines are okay to be put on stands for people to see. In this day and age I would never want my grandmother or my little brother to see Britney Spears naked on the cover of Rolling Stone. Frankly, I am embarrassed by the images, and I think these women are just asking to be objectified, and making our inclusion into media one that is about sex and the use of our bodies rather than the use of our brain.

This is an Advertisement for Chupa Chups, a lollipop company. This ad is objectifying women by using her breasts to sell their product. This company could have used a child with a lollipop in it's hands to sell, yet instead decided to go the route of using sex appeal. In no way would this ad get me to buy a lollipop. 

This ad is playing off the stereotype that women can't cook and are meant to stay at home and look good. This is a dangerous stereotype to play on because it is at the heart of what women are trying to change. The fact that we want to be seen as more than a housewife but we also want to be respected as well. This ad is trying to sell a wonder-bra by objectifying women in the process.

This ad actually disgusts me. Nikon is trying to sell a camera by using 2 underage girls in provocative stances. Not only is the objectification of 2 young women not okay, but why do you need these women to sell a camera? Why not use a beautiful picture of nature or something the camera would be good at, instead of playing on the notion of sex? In my opinion this ad did not accomplish anything. 

Sexual objection of women portrays women as an object not as a person. Sexual objectification further demonstrates that is type of behavior is okay, and that women are nothing but an object to look at. As as women trying to be successful in the world this type of advertising has a negative impact on me and other women around me. This is a very dangerous stereotype to play on because it deems women powerless in society. Feminists largely struggle with the concept of sexual objectification in advertising. 

This video discusses the dangers of the objectification of women in media: 

Blog #8- Honda Fit

Before we were even brought into this world our parents had painted our room after they found out they were having a boy/girl. My mother knew I was going to be a girl; therefore my room was pink before I was even born. With a brother being a surprise baby, my parents picked a gender neutral color of yellow. Our gender affects many decisions in our life, but never did I think it would affect what car we decided to drive. For many years women have been depicted driving 2 distinct vehicles, a minivan or a sports car. The mother figure is always pictured driving her kids around in a minivan, and the single women are always pictured shopping in her expensive sports car. Men are not judged by the type of car they decide to drive, unless it’s pink. Honda has decided to embrace the gender stereotypes by designing a car exclusively for women, The Honda Fit.

For decades the car industry has focused most of its attention on the male market, since a majority of the men of the household buy the cars. Honda found in a study that women now make up 1/3 of the car purchasers in the United States. Now that women are making a debut in car purchasing, the market is up for the challenge. But just because women are now buying more cars, does that mean we want pink cars? I think not. While I personally know a good portion of my friends would love to drive a pink car, that doesn’t mean I would. Is this ad dangerous in portraying an already overused stereotype? What happens if a boy wants to drive the Honda Fit? Is that boy considered gay since the car is pink? In a recent study by the daily cougar, “Ads stir controversy on the issue of what makes a boy masculine and a girl feminine, as if pink and blue preferences weren’t enough. And in this age, that determining factor is a little outdated in identifying a 21^st century boy or girl.”

For the rest of this study you can find it here: http://thedailycougar.com/2011/04/20/gender-stereotypes-paint-pink-problems/

This ad affects me, along with the rest of the female population. Yes we are buying cars, and yes we like to be targeted in the market, but that doesn’t mean we want to buy a pink car. I am perfectly happy with my red car. I think playing on this stereotype of what color goes with which sex is very dangerous is a society that is constantly changing. In society today there is a fine line in even determining boys and girls, with so many people identifying as both or neither. This ad could even be considered offensive to some girls who don’t like the stereotype and don’t like the color pink. As a young women in America today I do not like being targeted this heavily, or being told what I should or should not buy.

For the full Honda Fit article you can find it here: http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/honda-fit-she-world-only-car-aimed-exclusively-205422886.html

Blog post #7- LGBT

After class on Monday I became extremely interested in what Glaad advertising was all about. On Glaad’s website they commend themselves on being a “storyteller,” a “watchdog,” and an “advocate” for the LGBT community. “Gladd moves people: amplifies the voice of our community to keep equality at the forefront of Americas cultural conversation. Gladd creates change: we hold the media accountable for words and images they produce. Glaad unites the movement: we strengthen grassroots organizations so that they can leverage media, engage local communities, and advance social change.” For an entire organization using the entirety of its resources to push for LGBT acceptance and awareness is such a powerful thing. Glaad is pushing the media to cater towards the LGBT community with fair, accurate, and inclusive representation. American Airlines partnered with Glaad in efforts to make their advertising and production more LGBT friendly by using words such as “Flying Forward,” instead of “Flying Straight.” American Airlines also launched their first LGBT ad campaign with strives for inclusion within the community, using the motto “Acceptance Never Goes Out of Style.” Glaad awarded American Airlines with “Corporate Responsibility” and applauded them for their push against change within the media.

Here is an example of American Airlines ad campaign towards LGBT:

You can find more about American Airlines and their Glaad award here:

 

In class we also learned that Glaad has appropriate words to gage the value of an LGBT ad. While most companies and most people of our generation are slowly accepting the LGBT community there are some people who still stereotype the LGBT community and use words such as “faggot” and “homophobic.” All of which degrade the process that the LGBT community is making towards inclusion. These word values associated with ads include equal, caution/stereotype and negative. An equal ad would include LGBT characters without their sexuality being a point of interest. An equal ad is a successful attempt at portraying inclusion of the LGBT community. A caution or stereotype ad will use LGBT characters but will place them in stereotypical setting. Examples of this include the “male fantasy lesbian scenario” the “butch lesbian” and the “homo-phobic character.” The negative value of these campaigns is what keeps the LGBT community from full inclusion and acceptance in the media. These ads use derogatory terms such a faggot, dyke and fairy, they may even use violence towards the LGBT community. For example purposes I picked an ad from Glaad to gage the value of the ad and see what type of inclusion the ad is going for.

In this Orbitz ad the setting is in an airport. All the airline passengers are angry because their flight is delayed, Orbitz holds a game show to auction off a hotel room for the night. A straight couple and LGBT couple is picked on the game show, and to celebrate them winning the hotel room the LGBT couple kisses and the ad is over. The weary straight travelers have to sleep in the uncomfortable airport while the gay couple gets a cozy room in a hotel. This ad shows the LGBT community in a positive light by putting them on the game show with a straight couple. By showing the lesbian couple kissing after the game show they are not made fun of, it is simply a normal relationship, which gives inclusion to lesbian couples within media. Ads like this orbitz ad need to be viewed and accepted so that the LGBT community can have full inclusion and acceptance around the world.

Blog #6

The issue over women’s rights is not as prevalent in our society as it has been in the past. Today women hold some political power, have the right to vote and have the right to a fair education. That is not the case in some countries around the world. For example in Saudi Arabia, women are required to have a male guardian with them at all times, they do not have the right to vote or hold any kind of political position. The basic rights in which women in America take for granted are being denied to women all over the world. Some of these women have driven for change in their country. The Saudi Women Revolution was formed in 2010 to fight for equal treatment and fair representation in the country of Saudi Arabia. It has been an uphill battle for women to gain fair representation if all aspects of life. We have fought to go to school, receive a university education, and fight to hold jobs with authority. Yet we are setback and don’t get a fair chance when things like this happen:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/ikea-busted-deleting-women-saudi-version-catalog-article-1.1171972

Ikea is a large furniture chain with followers all around the world. Ikea prides itself on giving to charities such as UNICEF and UNDP and holds this statement close “Our focus is helping countries build and share solutions to the challenges of democratic governance, poverty reduction, crisis prevention and recovery, environment and energy and HIV/AIDS. In all our activities, we encourage the protection of human rights and the empowerment of women.” 

Comparing the Swedish and Saudi versions of the catalogue, free newspaper Metro on Monday showed that women had been airbrushed out of otherwise identical pictures showcasing the company's home furnishings. Women did not appear in any pages of the October edition of the magazine.  As a company basing their entire mission statement on Ikea’s commitment to gender equality, the absence of women in the catalog stirred up quite a debate. Ikea responded to the statement by saying, "We should have reacted and realized that excluding women from the Saudi Arabian version of the catalogue is in conflict with the IKEA Group values.” Women, especially in Saudi Arabia do not have a fair chance at equal representation if they are not represented at all. Ikea’s decision to go ahead and remove the images, instead of facing the situation head on reveals a lot about what is happening in that society right now. This affects me, as well as all the women around me simply because we have been there. Women have fought for their equality. Even though it still is not where we want it to be today, women in America are represented. The unrepresented women in Saudi Arabia is not right and makes me upset with the state of government. The first step concerning the portrayal of women in the media starts with inclusion. Are these Saudi Arabian women being represented in the media at all? No. Women’s rights is going to continue to be a problem around the world if they are not being represented within the media.