Advertisements in women and mens magazines

Aaron Robles
Professor Ribeiro
English 101-33
8 February 2014
Through the Lines According to she-conomy.com’s facts about women, women make up only 3% of advertising creative directors. This means that the other 97% are men. These men are responsible for the creation of the hundreds of sexually explicit advertisements in the magazine issues we read. In the most recent issue of Cosmo magazine you will find companies advertising sexy lingerie, cosmetic products, and erotic clothing. Women viewing these ads are finding themselves growing up in a world where their own gender is not taken seriously, and they begin to feel unattractive and old around their twenties. Seeing false images of what is looked upon as genetic perfection only leave our modern women unhappy with their own bodies, and finding themselves with lower self-esteem. Society can blame male readers for the huge success of publications like Playboy and Maxim that led to the growth of erotic ads. It is actually the males advertising, that are responsible. Women are constantly seeking products that are going to maximize their physical appearance, and make them feel as least insecure as possible. Advertisers are tampering with their natural wants and using them for their own personal benefit. Whether it is through new clothes or cosmetic products we purchase to enhance our appearance, nobody seeks to stop improving him or herself physically or emotionally. This is why our natural desires for these products are emphasized more in advertising than other merchandise. Looking at Men’s Health magazine, there were far fewer advertisements as a whole, than Cosmo. Men’s health advertisements feature brands of clothing, jewelry, fragrance, cars, and fitness supplements as the main source of information. Surprisingly, There were only 2 ads of women who were partially nude. The women that were nude were also with a male so the depiction of the image was mutual. Both ads were for cologne, and the magazine hardly objectified women as a whole. On the other hand, Cosmo magazine exhibited more advertising than actual information. The brands featured are Garnier, Polo, Revlon, Avenue, and many more. The majority of the general population would assume the erotic advertising of these brands would be found more in men’s magazines to target male readers. In actuality, Cosmo’s issue further objectifies the female image. Advertisers feel it is okay to show more erotica in women’s magazines, because they will take less criticism from journalists. Not to mention, using photo shopped images of these women to advertise their products will encourage potential buyers to make the purchase. This kind of advertising is a selfish way of advertisers doing their job and is discriminating to women. According to Doctor Carolyn Coker Ross, it is the reason why currently 80% of females in the United States admit they are dissatisfied with their appearance. Unhappiness and sorrow is continually brought upon these women because of the numerous ads they witness. It is unfortunate to find a fully naked woman covered up by a cologne bottle, in the back of Cosmo’s recent issue. Ideally it is in a woman’s nature to want to pursue the perfect body. Deborah Tannen, author of You Just Don’t Understand, explains that women gain respect form others based off of their popularity. The models that are chased by countless men are the ones that normal women aspire to be like. It is when they realize they are unable to live up to genetic standards of these images, that gradually lowers their own self-esteem. Jean Kilbourne, director of Killing Us Softly 3 & 4: Advertising’s Image of Women, describes women’s advertising as tedious, “the way a woman should look.” She claims that failure for a woman is inevitable because the beauty in the advertisements is flawless. Kilbourne justifies her point by portraying images enhanced by computer technicians. It is absurd to find that computer graphics generate the images of society’s ideal perfect women. The issues of the most commonly read magazines complement the advertising with interesting information. Issues like Men’s Health and Cosmo focus primarily on advising males and females on improving their sex life, relationships, and health. Men’s Health does just that providing articles that can help men stop smoking, providing workout routines to try, clothing advice, and giving healthy eating habits. Etc. The featured article was based off Comedian Jimmy Fallon’s advice on getting ahead in the workplace and pursuing a happier lifestyle. An important point to note is the extra detail that is in the men’s articles. There is much more info on a single page and less advertising with the information than Cosmo. It fits Tannen’s description of rapport talk and report talk accordingly. Report talk is the idea that men are more social in group situations and discussions like business meetings and parties etc. This is because men live in a world of hierarchy. We negotiate with others with intentions of gaining higher status through verbal display. Rapport talk is Tannen’s description of women typically conversing more at home or in one on one negotiation. This is because women value intimacy or personal connections with others. They also see participation in group discussions as “dominating”, and particularly rude. Consequently the detail in Cosmo’s articles focus on intimate relationships, and sex. Majority of the advice involves tips for having an orgasm, advice to straighten hair naturally, resolving relationship issues, and having flawless skin tone. Notice the information corresponds with the advertisements. Advice on improving your natural hair and skin, push women to want to purchase more and more products. They are reminded of the images seen in previous ads that they aspire to be like. However if the advertisers display the physical information with the ads in their magazines, it makes for better sales. Put simply, this is another egotistic and insolent way of fulfilling their job duty. The feature article in Cosmo gives advice to women about dealing with depression. Publishers gave up a good amount of space to advise women on dealing with their insecurities. The placement of that article is evident that our women face the difficulty of accepting their own bodies, and feeling good enough for their partners. In addition, the info about personal relationship stories and advice on having great sex, acts as a tease for female readers. Tannen mentions on page 34 the chief commodities of women. She implies that females typically seek friendships with popular women and are dissatisfied with expectations they cannot live up to. The title of an article from Cosmo magazine states “I dream in a bikini.” The women advertising the segment will motivate the reader to start the workout, but will not be with her if she fails to complete it. Kilbourne states in her film that one in every five women have an eating disorder which comes in part in media images. This obsession with thinness plays its part in cutting girls down to size and silencing them. Women will naturally feel more distress in sensitive situations than men. With over 100 billion dollars spent a year on erotic advertising; it is unlikely we will ever see an end to it. The 97% of men advertising these products are work oriented and will do what is necessary for good business. It is best for women to know the flaws behind these ads, so they can understand early on that these images are false indicators of true beauty. Cameron Russell, current Victoria’s Secret underwear model, said it best in a brief 10-minute seminar on TED.com. When asked how she earned her job her response was simple; “I won a genetic lottery.” Her response implies the fact that the chances of being born with the physical traits of todays ideal model are second to none. In her brief talk, Russell claims models are “the most insecure women on the planet.” If we have more frequent speakers like Cameron, we can unveil the truth of advertising to all of our future women. More importantly, we can unveil a more beneficial image of females to look up too. As cruel and disrespectful as it might be, advertisers will continue to sell products with the most successful strategies. It is up to us to influence other women about the true facts of advertisement. The facts that images are enhanced through computers, and that female models like Cameron are winners of a genetic lottery. Not to mention, models are also the most insecure women on the planet. Knowing the truth and being mentally strong can do more than make a woman feel happier about her body. It can influence the correct image of what a real woman should be.

Works Cited
Kilbourne, Jean. Dir. Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising’s Image of Women. Media Educational Foundation, 2000. Film Dir. Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising’s Image of Women. Media Educational Foundation, 2010. Film
“Marketing to Women Quick Facts.” Marketing to Women Report, 10 February 2014. Web. 8 Feb 2014
Russell, Cameron. “Looks Aren’t Everything.” TED Talks. TED Conference, Mid Atlantic, October 2013. Conference Presentation.
Ross, Carolyn Coker. “Why do Women Hate Their Bodies?” World of Psychology, 10 February 2014. Web. 8 Feb. 2014
Tannen, Deborah. You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation. New York: HarperCollins, 1990. Print.
Rowland, H. Statistics on Women and Media. (2005). Web. 16, February. 2014
Huffington Post Canada. Photoshop Parody Beauty Ads

Cited: Kilbourne, Jean. Dir. Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising’s Image of Women. Media Educational Foundation, 2000. Film Dir. Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising’s Image of Women. Media Educational Foundation, 2010. Film “Marketing to Women Quick Facts.” Marketing to Women Report, 10 February 2014. Web. 8 Feb 2014 Russell, Cameron. “Looks Aren’t Everything.” TED Talks. TED Conference, Mid Atlantic, October 2013. Conference Presentation. Ross, Carolyn Coker. “Why do Women Hate Their Bodies?” World of Psychology, 10 February 2014. Web. 8 Feb. 2014 Tannen, Deborah. You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation. New York: HarperCollins, 1990. Print. Rowland, H. Statistics on Women and Media. (2005). Web. 16, February. 2014 Huffington Post Canada. Photoshop Parody Beauty Ads