Women in Advertising
Initially I was going to write a post related to this week's class topic. When searching for media images related to intimate partner violence (IPV), I came across this image.
Upon doing further research into this image, I found out this was for an advertisement for a hair salon. The message "Look good in all you do" along with the image gives off the impression that no matter the situation (in this case experiencing abuse), women should still take care of their physical appearances. I was completely appalled that someone thought that this was a great way to advertise and promote their business and this lead to me wanting to look more into how women are portrayed in advertisement.
The term "sex sells" has been around for years as an excuse to use women and their bodies to promote various things, whether it be products, services, etc. These types of advertisements are meant to draw attention and appease other's sexual desire for increases in consumption. Often, the way in which women are used in advertising are unrelated to product/service is being advertised. Images such as this for an alcohol advertisement further show how women in media are only being seen as objects.
It is also important to note that this type of advertising also draws attention for non-sexual purposes. Women used in advertising are often of the same demographics: thin, long, flowing hair, and often appear unrealistic, due to the art of Photoshop. Girls and women can see these images and strive for that as body goals, without even realizing that the model does not even look like that. This act of comparing self to others can lead to a lower sense of self-worth and body image dissatisfaction.
Here is an example of the awareness of what these images can do to girls and women by model/actress Zendaya. In an Instagram post she is calling out a magazine for editing a photo of her and posting side by side images of how it was enhanced.
Objectifying in advertising also influences rape culture. "Boys will be boys" has been a statement used for many years, giving excuse to wrongful behavior of males acting on desires usually. Bud Light received backlash in 2015 for some advertisement. On the bottles were printed "Perfect beer for removing 'no' from your vocabulary for the night," along with the hashtag #UpForWhatever. In this sense, the company is giving excuse for non-consensual activities due to intoxication.
Looking forward there needs to be a shift in how advertising is done from less objectifying and more acceptance of all women and more accountability of men. There appears to be some shift in the way women are portrayed in advertising. For example, Dove has developed a campaign to promote women empowerment for women of all ages, size, shapes, etc. This type of advertisement is important for girls and women to see to help them develop self-acceptance and self-love.
Furthermore, this video from Gillette shows how the shift in advertising can be done in a productive manner.
Resources for Further exploration:
1. How can we as counselors explore and assess how advertising can affect our female clients?
2. What are your thoughts on the shift in advertising?
It is also important to note that this type of advertising also draws attention for non-sexual purposes. Women used in advertising are often of the same demographics: thin, long, flowing hair, and often appear unrealistic, due to the art of Photoshop. Girls and women can see these images and strive for that as body goals, without even realizing that the model does not even look like that. This act of comparing self to others can lead to a lower sense of self-worth and body image dissatisfaction.
Here is an example of the awareness of what these images can do to girls and women by model/actress Zendaya. In an Instagram post she is calling out a magazine for editing a photo of her and posting side by side images of how it was enhanced.Objectifying in advertising also influences rape culture. "Boys will be boys" has been a statement used for many years, giving excuse to wrongful behavior of males acting on desires usually. Bud Light received backlash in 2015 for some advertisement. On the bottles were printed "Perfect beer for removing 'no' from your vocabulary for the night," along with the hashtag #UpForWhatever. In this sense, the company is giving excuse for non-consensual activities due to intoxication.
Looking forward there needs to be a shift in how advertising is done from less objectifying and more acceptance of all women and more accountability of men. There appears to be some shift in the way women are portrayed in advertising. For example, Dove has developed a campaign to promote women empowerment for women of all ages, size, shapes, etc. This type of advertisement is important for girls and women to see to help them develop self-acceptance and self-love.
Furthermore, this video from Gillette shows how the shift in advertising can be done in a productive manner.
- The Perfect Ad - This article from Psychology today helps to further look at what it takes to create an ad that meets the objective of accurate advertisement.
- How to Create Ads that Don't Objectify Women - This article from CNN analyzes the state of advertising and how accountability can promote change. It also has a really good video about women's take on how they are portrayed in advertisements.
1. How can we as counselors explore and assess how advertising can affect our female clients?
2. What are your thoughts on the shift in advertising?
It seems like our class is covering very thoroughly the impact that advertising has on girls and women and corresponding body image and self-esteem issues. It still amazes me to see ads that are so demeaning to women that ad executives actually thought were a good idea! With our clients, education about this phenomenon would be a good start. Then we must help them improve their self-concept by examining other strengths that make a woman her magnificent, unique self.
ReplyDeleteDana I agree with you about that first advertisement being shockingly oblivious to the realism of intimate partner violence. A lot of the advertisements that use women's bodies as a prop to promote products further complicates the problem of women being objectified for their bodies in society. This coincides strongly with the rape culture that exists today. I think it's crucial for advertisement companies to be held accountable for their marketing campaigns and the messages they are sending to their audiences. As counselors, this is a good conversation to have with our female clients to ask them what messages they have received from recent advertisements they have seen and how these messages affect their view of themselves and other females. For any female client but especially someone who has experienced intimate partner violence, I can see where the first advertisement you posted can cause feelings of anxiety, panic, anger, frustration, sadness, disbelief, and sickness. When I view that ad as a woman, I also feel anger and frustration for the women who have to tolerate this type of ignorance. I think the video of the advertisement you showed is great! I agree that in order to change the advertisement culture it starts with how we are sending messages to younger generations today.
ReplyDeleteDana,
ReplyDeleteI believe the shift in advertising is definitely one of the many reasons why women's self-esteem is at an all time low the past few years. I think it is absolutely absurd that I can be watching a commercial totally unrelated to a super model in a bikini, yet it still got approved and produced. Most of the time, I don't even watch the full commercial because it usually has nothing to do with the thing being advertised! I feel this shift is definitely taking part in the way males view women, as if they are an object.
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ReplyDeleteDana,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! It is crazy how many different ways that advertising negatively portrays women. From promoting the importance of perfect looks, to indicating that women are merely objects for enjoyment, advertising seems to be all about appealing to men even in domains where it is unnecessary. Even ads that can have innocent intentions, such as the Bud Light ad, clearly have some subliminal indications that are counterproductive for women.
The part that struck me the most is Zendaya's ad. It is so bizarre to me that a company would feel the need to alter her so much, and I commend her for bringing this to light in her Instagram post. I think about how my adolescent girls could see this ad of her and think "wow I wish I could be as perfect as Zendaya", when in fact Zendaya is not as perfect as this ad depicts! I think as a school counselor I can talk to my female students about how much social media they consume and who the women they admire and/or follow are. I could go from there in determining if they idolize impossible standards, then treat them for this issue. This could help me to assess how much social media and advertising is affecting their confidence.
Well put, Dana. I like how you got "meta" with this assignment by addressing advertising in general. The entire industry is inherently problematic, centering around exploiting aspects of humanity for profit. Of course a society centered around power would pounce on stereotypes of women. How much to draw upon! From minimizing domestic violence, reducing the feminine to objects for consumption, to using tricks of technology to impose unrealistic expectations on what a woman's body ought to look like, advertising has used it all to sell. And if capital is the highest motivation for these folks, what room is there for morality? Masses are fooled for pockets to be lined, and its' all completely normalized.
ReplyDeleteAs counselors, I think it’s important for us to remind clients that it’s okay to be angry about the objectification of women in advertising. I also think it’s important to remind clients, when appropriate, of the implicit messages they’ve been exposed to via advertising that might be swaying their own mind. I’ve seen too many women claim they are ashamed of being raped not to consider what messages they internalized that would lead them to think such a seemingly unfounded notion.
Regarding the shift in advertising, I can't help but be cynical and say "too little, too late." That's probably not the healthiest response, but hey, I'm indignant. In all reality, I welcome this new found awareness of emphasizing what's right over what's sexy. But I can't go without saying "Okay, Gillette. You're still profiting off the idea that women are supposed to shave their body hair. You're still leading us to believe that our body's natural appearance is unacceptable. But, hey, you're at least encouraging guys to do what they should have already been doing all along, so, thaaaaaaaanks."
Hey Dana - Great examples of this hurtful part of our culture. I think it's sometimes ineffective to hear "women don't really look like that", but to see actual examples of before and after photo-shopped photos is impactful. I like the Gilette ad because it seems fairly neutral in that it shows men breaking up fights between boys as well as "coming to the rescue" of women. I sometimes am offended by the dichotomy of the gentleman's culture in America. On the one hand, they talk about going to strip clubs where they exploit women, but on the other hand, those same men apologize to me for using foul language. Both of those actions are extreme and make women feel like they are unequal.
ReplyDeleteI think in this case it is about educating women that what we see in advertisements is often false. They portray a standard of beauty that is often unattainable and are also capitalizing on women's bodies in order to make a profit. However, I feel like the advertisements that I remember most are not ones that feature beautiful people, but tell beautiful stories in order to sell a product. For example, the gum commercial that shows how a couple met and then got engaged by asking on a series of gum wrappers. This kind of advertising, at least to me, is more effective. By teaching women that a) these are false advertisements and b) they are ineffective, we can start to change the culture of the advertising industry to be more inclined to have different types of ads.
ReplyDeleteGreat job, Dana!
ReplyDeleteHow do we combat the negative messages that are found everywhere for our girls, and frankly, women too. These degrading and unrealistic campaigns and societal truths are everywhere! As a counselor and even just as a woman, I need to be in the fight to help save our girls from these negative mindsets that can creep up due to societies pull on them through social media. We have to keep fighting the fight for positive self-concept and control of ourselves as and for girls and women.
Great topic Dana! I hate how degrading these advertisements can be toward girls and women. It is hard to believe that we still have these issues in today's societies. Instead of objectifying women we should be evaluating their worth and talents. As counselors, it is important for us to show women that these advertisements are not always reality and that these things are created for the benefit of their product or social media. I like that some companies like Dove have shifted to become more inclusive in their advertising but I don't think enough companies are making the switch. I think that companies should continue to focus on promotion of positivity and not just the product they are trying to sell.
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ReplyDeleteHello Dana,
ReplyDeleteGreat topic! Sexual objectification of women on social media or through advertisement campaigns give a very detrimental message about women to the society. For example, the Gucci guilty or TomFord ad-campaigns where women are usually pictured naked versus men being suited up. This shift in the advertisements leave me wondering and sometimes guessing what are they really trying to sell? Depicting women in a sexualized or objectified manner not only portrays women in a negative and demeaning way, but it also causes harmful body image and low self-esteem. This also impacts the psychological and mental health of women as it causes or increases anxiety related to one’s appearance. Therefore, as counselors it is important to emphasize on the importance to stop self-objectification and to understand that women are more than just bodies, or physical objects. This can be done by advising the clients to practice mindfulness, to be kind and respectful towards themselves and their bodies, not to follow or get burdened by pressure to achieve the unreal beauty myths and standards, to understand the unhealthy side of beauty or appearance related messages we see in our contemporary society and be wise in analyzing the good versus bad or right versus wrong.
Hey Dana! Great exploration of your topic! I particularly like how you included positive examples of advertising such as the Dove advertisement, the Gilette commercial and how Zendaya called out the magazine for altering her image. There are so many negative images in advertising it is refreshing to see their are attempts to "right" advertising.
ReplyDeleteI believe as counselors, we can continue to encourage positive self talk to fight against the "perfection" advertising campaign and the sexual objectification of women advertising campaign. I do believe this is an uphill battle but one that can be accomplished slowly and with persistence. I also believe we can assist our clients in "drowning out" the bad. They will always be exposed to something that could be damaging. Giving them the tools they need to cope with what comes their way is our fundamental role as counselors.
I really like how you put together this topic, Dana! It is crazy to know that these advertisement actually exists and the thought about people approving them to showcase to the public showed how insensitive our society was! However, I also do see that the advertisements that are shown recently are shifting to a more positive light, and there are more awareness on the effects that the media can cause. But until then, our beauty standards are still flawed, and we counselors should keep empowering women by helping them spot their strengths and increase their self-esteem. -Wai Ying Chan
ReplyDeleteDana, what a great post on such an important topic! Advertising is EVERYWHERE and with the growth of digital media platforms I think we'll continuously see the negative impact these harmful messages and unrealistic standards has on the clients we work with. If we look at it from an advocacy point of view, we can help our clients by actively promoting and buying from companies that advertise their products from a standard that respects women and decry the companies that do the opposite, like the ones you've pointed out above (the Budlight promotion from 2015 has me IN AWE). With our clients, helping them process and develop self-confidence and a strong sense of identity can help them notice and combat the unhealthy messages fed to them daily.
ReplyDeleteDana, thanks for sharing! This is definitely a topic that brings up great discussion especially since advertising seems to only get more and more popular. Advertising is also very competitive and companies will do anything to get their brands to sell. I see ads becoming raunchier and trying to promote the “sex sells” theme. It is sad that women are still being portrayed in a negative way in advertisement.
ReplyDeleteDana, great job! I am still shocked at the horrific hair salon ad. I think as counselors we need to be aware of these types of messages and the effects and can have on women. I can’t imagine having a client come to me to discuss such negative images, but this doesn’t mean it isn’t affecting them in some way. Counselor awareness will provide opportunity to know if/when to discuss this with a client. For example, if a woman is having issues with identity and self-image, I may ask about their exposure to advertisements and ask them to recall any negative reactions they may have had to one. This opens up the discussion to explore the effects they may have on a client. I do appreciate the recent shift in advertising and applaud companies like Dove, Gillette, and Nike for moving in the right direction. I can only hope that progression continues and positive, inclusive advertisements become the new norm.
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