Argumentative Essay On Gender, Sex And Advertising
01/02/2016 Michael Dooge Gr.11
Discursive Essay
Gender, sex and advertising
The most common quote when referring to advertising is simply, “Sex sells”, in this essay I will be discussing gender, sex and their relationship with advertising in a respectful and non-bias way. Ultimately I will be answering questions such as what purpose sex and gender serve, what they reflect about society, and what they promote.
When asking what purpose sex and gender serve, the answer in most cases is very simple, to attract the attention of consumers and in the long run sell products which is exactly the aim of most advertisements, making it harmless. When looking at the attracting the attention aspect it is understandable that sex plays a large …show more content…
roll, studies done in 2009 by Dahl, Sengupta and Vohs showed that men are “…susceptible to all sexual ads even if the messages were different”. An example of this is a term coined in 1985 by Kahle and Homer is the “Lynx effect”, Lynx being a deodorant brand that through using sex portrays the message that using Lynx will allow you attract more woman and essentially be more “sexy” which is an attribute that all men desire.
However on the other side of the gender spectrum as expected the same study showed that “…women are actually offended by the sexual and erotic imagery” that shows that when looking at sex as an advertising technique that gender plays a huge role in terms of the target market. On the other hand this technique can also be seen as …show more content…
exactly the opposite of “harmless”, many of these adverts that portray sex in an open manner desensitize consumers making sex seem like an act that is almost meaningless and nothing more than a way of measuring oneself, most adverts that are target toward men portray women as “sexual objects rather than humans” which to a generation growing up living on to is most definitely not a “harmless” message or value to have in the youth.
Secondly what does the use of sex and gender promote, the most common view of this topic is that it promotes a sexist view of women and according to Steve Craig’s research (1997) that most commonly women can be presented in commercials as “female vamps – sexy seductresses, the objects of desire of every man.” And when the product is approved and praised by these beautiful women it is “a guarantee of its quality.” This ideology promotes an idea of women being objectified and only as a way of gaining approval.
However sex could also promote a positive aspect, adverts that despite the significant presence of gender stereotypes advertise the modern woman, one that is shown as strong completely independent and show the reverse of men that are shown doing tasks such as washing and cleaning that in prior generations are completely unheard of a good example of this is Dove that campaign using sex, and through showing the natural beauty of women at every age and with different kinds of figures the “…female viewers watch these adverts containing women they can identify with, thus the campaigns prove to be very successful.”- Pawlica, Beata, Edyta Widawska, 2001. This contradiction consequently reflects a society that is willing to change and in some cases has successfully but is still very caught up with a view of women that through years and years of advertising is very negative and
prejudice.
Finally, in conclusion I see sex and gender roles in advertising as a very good tool when used correctly that could potentially build up an image of women as liberated and independent that defies prior generations that degraded women but could also further degrade women and although less predominant there is still a side to advertising that shows women as objects of sexual desire and means of self-approval.
(640 words)
Bibliography
http://krytyka.org/gender-stereotypes-in-mass-media-case-study-analysis-of-the-gender-stereotyping-phenomenon-in-tv-commercials/ http://advertising.about.com/od/advertisingprojects/a/Sex-In-Advertising.htm https://thebrandthattimeforgot.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/the-power-of-sex-in-advertising-and-the-role-of-gender/
Discursive Essay
Gender, sex and advertising
The most common quote when referring to advertising is simply, “Sex sells”, in this essay I will be discussing gender, sex and their relationship with advertising in a respectful and non-bias way. Ultimately I will be answering questions such as what purpose sex and gender serve, what they reflect about society, and what they promote.
When asking what purpose sex and gender serve, the answer in most cases is very simple, to attract the attention of consumers and in the long run sell products which is exactly the aim of most advertisements, making it harmless. When looking at the attracting the attention aspect it is understandable that sex plays a large …show more content…
roll, studies done in 2009 by Dahl, Sengupta and Vohs showed that men are “…susceptible to all sexual ads even if the messages were different”. An example of this is a term coined in 1985 by Kahle and Homer is the “Lynx effect”, Lynx being a deodorant brand that through using sex portrays the message that using Lynx will allow you attract more woman and essentially be more “sexy” which is an attribute that all men desire.
However on the other side of the gender spectrum as expected the same study showed that “…women are actually offended by the sexual and erotic imagery” that shows that when looking at sex as an advertising technique that gender plays a huge role in terms of the target market. On the other hand this technique can also be seen as …show more content…
exactly the opposite of “harmless”, many of these adverts that portray sex in an open manner desensitize consumers making sex seem like an act that is almost meaningless and nothing more than a way of measuring oneself, most adverts that are target toward men portray women as “sexual objects rather than humans” which to a generation growing up living on to is most definitely not a “harmless” message or value to have in the youth.
Secondly what does the use of sex and gender promote, the most common view of this topic is that it promotes a sexist view of women and according to Steve Craig’s research (1997) that most commonly women can be presented in commercials as “female vamps – sexy seductresses, the objects of desire of every man.” And when the product is approved and praised by these beautiful women it is “a guarantee of its quality.” This ideology promotes an idea of women being objectified and only as a way of gaining approval.
However sex could also promote a positive aspect, adverts that despite the significant presence of gender stereotypes advertise the modern woman, one that is shown as strong completely independent and show the reverse of men that are shown doing tasks such as washing and cleaning that in prior generations are completely unheard of a good example of this is Dove that campaign using sex, and through showing the natural beauty of women at every age and with different kinds of figures the “…female viewers watch these adverts containing women they can identify with, thus the campaigns prove to be very successful.”- Pawlica, Beata, Edyta Widawska, 2001. This contradiction consequently reflects a society that is willing to change and in some cases has successfully but is still very caught up with a view of women that through years and years of advertising is very negative and
prejudice.
Finally, in conclusion I see sex and gender roles in advertising as a very good tool when used correctly that could potentially build up an image of women as liberated and independent that defies prior generations that degraded women but could also further degrade women and although less predominant there is still a side to advertising that shows women as objects of sexual desire and means of self-approval.
(640 words)
Bibliography
http://krytyka.org/gender-stereotypes-in-mass-media-case-study-analysis-of-the-gender-stereotyping-phenomenon-in-tv-commercials/ http://advertising.about.com/od/advertisingprojects/a/Sex-In-Advertising.htm https://thebrandthattimeforgot.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/the-power-of-sex-in-advertising-and-the-role-of-gender/