Business Ethics Essay
Ethics in Advertising
The ethical issues that permeate the world of advertising have remained stagnant for decades, though the exact nature of the ads may have changed in and of themselves; however much current ads portraying women in our modern times may differ from contemporary ads that portrayed women during the 1950s, the end result remains that women continue to be marginalized into a specific subset of society or to be completely visualized as a mere object, possessing qualities or faults that can increase or depreciate their value and worth. As a Communications major hailing from Haiti, I recognize the importance of a nation possessing a thriving advertisement industry. In Haiti, people do not have a voice; journalists oft disappear whence they voice an opinion that goes against the views of the leading political party and businesses do not have the media necessary to reach a large audience in order to promote their products. Having a voice is essential; how that voice is broadcasted, however, is pivotal in determining my stance in the following study on the social ramifications and negative connotations that can be attributed to gender typed advertisements. Though women constitute a larger share than men in visibility in the world of advertisements, their portrayal in said advertisements is downright appalling and may have an adverse effect not only on women in society but also on the men. What exactly is gender typed advertising? When questioned, most people believe gender typed advertising can fall into two categories: advertisements showcasing women in highly domesticated roles/environments (advertisements featuring women doing housework whilst wearing heels and flowing skirts that further heighten their sense of femininity) and advertisements overtly sexualizing women (advertisements featuring a woman who is highly sexualized through a homogenized male gaze) (Mulvey, 2009). Those answers are indeed correct. Yet, gender-typed advertisement
The ethical issues that permeate the world of advertising have remained stagnant for decades, though the exact nature of the ads may have changed in and of themselves; however much current ads portraying women in our modern times may differ from contemporary ads that portrayed women during the 1950s, the end result remains that women continue to be marginalized into a specific subset of society or to be completely visualized as a mere object, possessing qualities or faults that can increase or depreciate their value and worth. As a Communications major hailing from Haiti, I recognize the importance of a nation possessing a thriving advertisement industry. In Haiti, people do not have a voice; journalists oft disappear whence they voice an opinion that goes against the views of the leading political party and businesses do not have the media necessary to reach a large audience in order to promote their products. Having a voice is essential; how that voice is broadcasted, however, is pivotal in determining my stance in the following study on the social ramifications and negative connotations that can be attributed to gender typed advertisements. Though women constitute a larger share than men in visibility in the world of advertisements, their portrayal in said advertisements is downright appalling and may have an adverse effect not only on women in society but also on the men. What exactly is gender typed advertising? When questioned, most people believe gender typed advertising can fall into two categories: advertisements showcasing women in highly domesticated roles/environments (advertisements featuring women doing housework whilst wearing heels and flowing skirts that further heighten their sense of femininity) and advertisements overtly sexualizing women (advertisements featuring a woman who is highly sexualized through a homogenized male gaze) (Mulvey, 2009). Those answers are indeed correct. Yet, gender-typed advertisement