In What Ways Are Women Objectified and What Are the Consequences?”
English 112.060
October 9, 2012
Essay #2: “In what ways are women objectified and what are the consequences?”
On any street corner or at the turn of a page there are advertisements showing men, women and children for various products. Whether it is trying to sell a simple beauty product or lingerie using a scantily clad model, the images depicted somehow catch your attention. But have we ever stopped to think what that ad is really trying to accomplish? While evaluating that photo, has it ever made you feel somewhat inadequate? Well it is supposed to do just. That advertisement’s sole purpose is to make you feel insecure enough so that you wholeheartedly believe that particular product will miraculously change your life and appearance. Why was that advertisement able to impact us in that fashion? I think the more important question to be posed is what exactly “beauty” is and why are we so obsessed with it? Advertising is a form of communication for marketing and used to encourage or persuade an audience (viewers, readers, or listeners, sometimes a specific group) to continue or take some new action and virtually any medium can be used for advertising. Commercial media can include wall paintings, billboards, printed flyers, radio and cinema ads, web banners, and countless other methods. The television commercial is generally considered the most effective mass market advertising format. By visually seeing the transition of how that person has been affected by the product, especially when you already feel inadequate, one will almost feel compelled to at least try that product hoping for the same results. Another channel used, though equally as effective, are the still photos found in magazines. Jean Kilbourne, a feminist author, speaker, and filmmaker, wrote an article “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt”, in which she talks about the negative effects that magazine advertisements are having on the respect that people are shown or acknowledge in
October 9, 2012
Essay #2: “In what ways are women objectified and what are the consequences?”
On any street corner or at the turn of a page there are advertisements showing men, women and children for various products. Whether it is trying to sell a simple beauty product or lingerie using a scantily clad model, the images depicted somehow catch your attention. But have we ever stopped to think what that ad is really trying to accomplish? While evaluating that photo, has it ever made you feel somewhat inadequate? Well it is supposed to do just. That advertisement’s sole purpose is to make you feel insecure enough so that you wholeheartedly believe that particular product will miraculously change your life and appearance. Why was that advertisement able to impact us in that fashion? I think the more important question to be posed is what exactly “beauty” is and why are we so obsessed with it? Advertising is a form of communication for marketing and used to encourage or persuade an audience (viewers, readers, or listeners, sometimes a specific group) to continue or take some new action and virtually any medium can be used for advertising. Commercial media can include wall paintings, billboards, printed flyers, radio and cinema ads, web banners, and countless other methods. The television commercial is generally considered the most effective mass market advertising format. By visually seeing the transition of how that person has been affected by the product, especially when you already feel inadequate, one will almost feel compelled to at least try that product hoping for the same results. Another channel used, though equally as effective, are the still photos found in magazines. Jean Kilbourne, a feminist author, speaker, and filmmaker, wrote an article “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt”, in which she talks about the negative effects that magazine advertisements are having on the respect that people are shown or acknowledge in
Cited: "America the Beautiful. Dir. Darryl Roberts. 2007. Documentary. Kilbourne, Jean. ""Two Ways a Woman Gets Hurt"." Gary Columbo, Cullen, Lisle. Rereading America. Boston: Bedford, 2010. 575-601. Article. Merriam-Webster 's Dictionary. n.d. 16 September 2012. Stebbins, Kathleen. http://www.rgj.com/article/20071028/LIV/710280313/Q-Darryl-Roberts-filmmaker-about-America-Beautiful-?nclick_check=1. 27 October 2007. Web. 6 October 2012. Wikipedia.com. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Arden. 29 April 2003. Web. 5 October 2012.