Analysis Of Killing USftly 3: Advertising's Image Of Women

While Dolce and Gabbana are known for their racy advertisement campaigns, many felt that an advert published in 2007 crossed the line and promoted violence against women. The advert was published in a magazine for their spring issue and caused a short term rise of 21% in revenue however, it sparked worldwide controversy as the image strongly suggests a stylised gang rape. Dolce and Gabbana often uses sex appeal as an advertising tool, creating abstract pieces that feature scantily dressed women. In this advert it is made clear that the woman is not a willing participant in the acts and is being held against her will. In her speech “Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising’s Image of Women” Jean Kilbourne states that “advertising sells values, images,
The woman is surrounded by four men of various stages of undress. She is being held down forcefully by her wrists by one of the men as the remaining three look on almost supportively. The men connote power and dominance shown by them all being in positions of power standing over the woman and pinning her down. The woman is dressed in only lingerie and stilettos. She is made to look very glossy and has a blank, absent expressions giving the appearance of a doll. This portrays her as an object of sexual desire and is immediately objectifying and dehumanising her. The scene is set in a dream like setting with blue skies and fluffy clouds painting a seemingly idyllic fantasy setting. Dolce and Gabbana have issued statements saying that the advertisement represents “an erotic dream, a sexual game” however it is clear that the woman is not an active or willing player. Her vulnerability is shown by her hips being elevated which indicated that she is struggling against her aggressor. The woman’s face is turned away from the man, a sign that she is attempting to ignore what is going on. Her blank, emotionless expression also shows that she is not present and is submissive to the man’s desires. The angle of the image being shot angled upwards once again marginalises women and reinforces unrealistic gender roles of male dominance over women. Therefore, this advertisement is aimed at conservative men of a high socio-economic class that will buy
While one can argue that these statistics are not directly related to this advertisements or the media in general, as confirmed by Jean Kilbourne in Killing Us Softly 4, “these advertisements objectify women, dehumanising them which increases violence against women.” Dolce and Gabbana decided to pull this advert from circulation after “worldwide protests” from the Spanish and Italian governments and large organisations such as the National Organisation of Women and Amnesty International. At the time of publication, Spain was in the midst of experiencing a wave of crimes against women and therefore caused a lot of controversy and