A Woman's Worth in Society Today
Melissa N
A Woman's Worth
If perfection is impossible, why do people strive to be perfect? Perhaps, it is the icons of beauty that fill the advertising industry, or maybe, it is the degrading commercials that constantly remind women that they are imperfect. Whatever the cause is that makes women feel physically flawed, it has become an issue that leads to extreme perfectionism, depression, and a host of disorders among other problems. Women today suffer with anorexia, bulimia, self-esteem issues, acquire a large amount of debt, Botox, plastic surgery and implants due to the pressure to be perfect.What, in turn, is the root of this problem? There are many causes, but to name a few; women posing for degrading advertisements, the power and pressure society grants upon "beautiful" people, and sequentially other women striving to emulate a photoshopped unattainable image.
Jean Kilbourne, a well known author, filmmaker, and speaker on feminist advertisements displays many examples of ads that degrade women in her video, Killing Us Softly 4. The video uses various examples, such as, a woman who is made into a Michelob beer bottle, a Che ad that turns a women into a video game, and a Jaguar car ad that contorts a woman's body into a car. These ads objectify women and increase the likelihood of violence against women. Another factor that dehumanizes women is when an ad dismembers their bodies and focuses on perhaps, their breasts instead of showing the full figured person. This form of advertisement forces people to only see one aspect of a woman; therefore, reducing her self worth to her breasts. Kilbourne uses an example of an ad that states, "your breasts may be too big, too saggy, to pert, too flat, too full, to far-apart, too close together, too a cup, too lopsided, to jiggly, to pale, too padded, to pointy, to pendulous, or just two mosquito bites, but with Dep styling products, at least you can have your hair the way you want it," this ad is a disgrace to
A Woman's Worth
If perfection is impossible, why do people strive to be perfect? Perhaps, it is the icons of beauty that fill the advertising industry, or maybe, it is the degrading commercials that constantly remind women that they are imperfect. Whatever the cause is that makes women feel physically flawed, it has become an issue that leads to extreme perfectionism, depression, and a host of disorders among other problems. Women today suffer with anorexia, bulimia, self-esteem issues, acquire a large amount of debt, Botox, plastic surgery and implants due to the pressure to be perfect.What, in turn, is the root of this problem? There are many causes, but to name a few; women posing for degrading advertisements, the power and pressure society grants upon "beautiful" people, and sequentially other women striving to emulate a photoshopped unattainable image.
Jean Kilbourne, a well known author, filmmaker, and speaker on feminist advertisements displays many examples of ads that degrade women in her video, Killing Us Softly 4. The video uses various examples, such as, a woman who is made into a Michelob beer bottle, a Che ad that turns a women into a video game, and a Jaguar car ad that contorts a woman's body into a car. These ads objectify women and increase the likelihood of violence against women. Another factor that dehumanizes women is when an ad dismembers their bodies and focuses on perhaps, their breasts instead of showing the full figured person. This form of advertisement forces people to only see one aspect of a woman; therefore, reducing her self worth to her breasts. Kilbourne uses an example of an ad that states, "your breasts may be too big, too saggy, to pert, too flat, too full, to far-apart, too close together, too a cup, too lopsided, to jiggly, to pale, too padded, to pointy, to pendulous, or just two mosquito bites, but with Dep styling products, at least you can have your hair the way you want it," this ad is a disgrace to