Sure, Sex Sells: But Exactly What Does It Sell?

(Figure 1.1) Walking All Over Women 

It is impossible to avoid advertising in this world. They are aligned with  the articles you read online or in print, the public transportation you take, with the television shows you watch, the radio shows you listen to; advertising is everywhere. And with this omnipresence of advertising comes responsibility with the public, which is where it begins to fail the women in this country of all ages, especially young girls. There are two types of advertising with women involved, the housewife who is "pathologically obsessed by cleanliness and lemon-fresh scents" and the sex object who "is a mannequin, a shell. Conventional beauty is her only attribute", according to author Jean Kilbourne. (122) Advertising is inundated with that mannequin, that shell, much more than the housewife. So is it really any surprise that 80% of fourth grade girls are watching their weight in the Bay Area in a poll conducted by a University of California professor? (Kilbourne 124) Damaging images of an unattainable beauty is failing women and their self esteem.

(Figure 1.2) Perfect Body Campaign by Victoria's Secret

The overarching theme of advertising is that women are disposable; women are there for to make the world look more beautiful or to make their man look better, more attractive, more competent. Or as Naomi Wolf puts it, "Women are mere "beauties" in men's culture so that culture can be kept male." (59) The reason why the relationship between women and advertising is so crucial is because advertising campaigns change the way we create societal norms. In 1929, Lucky Strike cigarettes had a thoroughly plotted campaign to generate more revenue by including women, which of course, was having beautiful women march in the Easter parade on Fifth Avenue telling women, "It's okay to smoke, especially outside." And women listened. So if the idea morphs itself into advertisements that now literally sell "the perfect body" (Figure 1.2) that will naturally have a negative effect on the mental health. A major cause of body dysmorphic disorder is the environment that a person is surrounded by. If that is environment is toxic, what is to follow suit?

A major part of how an environment, in this case advertising, can be toxic is the way that is treats gender identity. Similar to how bell hooks speaks about her own oppositional gaze to the lack of women of color on movie screens, similarly the average woman are surrounded by women they can't possibly identify with. How could it be possible to identify with women who aren't even themselves in the photos due to photoshop giving them an unattainable level of societal perfection? Part of the issue lies with gender identity. "[Ads] are really projecting gender display -- the ways in which we think men and women heave -- not the ways that actually do behave...women are primarily depicted as sexual objects" (Cortese 52) In both figures 1.1 and 1.3, women are being depicted as objects -- a rug for people to step on and a closet of sorts for those to take what they want out of her. These depictions of women are intolerable at best. If there is already a binary world with two genders, to humiliate one is of them is unfair at best.

(Figure 1.3) Female Objectification

Whether it's selling a rug or shoes or a car (Figure 1.4) the idea of women having a brain, or even free will, does not often appear in most advertising. As Jean Kilbourne said earlier, there are two types of women in advertising: sex objects or perfect housewives. In Figure 1.4, Ford's ad campaign is suggesting that the car is so easy to drive that even a woman could do it, even if she doesn't like to drive. Cortese's idea of gender being performed through advertising is shown here with the hyper-feminine idea of a woman and a wife. "Advertisers targeting women consumers subrscribe to very limited notions of what constitutes femininity (e.g., dependency, concern with superficial beauty...)" (Cortese 52) There is no more room in society to grow. You are either a man or a woman, and according to advertising, a simple housewife or a sexy object.

(Figure 1.4) 1950's Ford Commercial

Popular culture is founded on the ideals found in these advertisements and campaigns. It shapes the way that we view gender and we view identity. I have grown so reluctant to identifying with any advertising campaign because I know that behind it, the only motivation is how to generate revenue. However, in a capitalist society, that will simply continue to be. However, the future does not have to be so grim. One fool proof way to change advertising, and society for that matter, is for it to bend gender roles. Easy enough, show more women doing "masculine" tasks, like engineering, and more men doing "feminine" tasks, like caring for a child. There is no reason to box any person's interests or desires into distinct categories. The purpose of advertising does not have to be maintaining a male kept world, as Wolf says. The purpose of advertising could potentially be making the satisfying things that make up real life become appealing and desirable: acing an exam, getting a promotion, or feeling glad that you benefited someone or something that day. I'm just going to go ahead and say that as a society, we need to understand that "slapping into a tummy party, snapping into a Slim Jim" (Figure 1.5) benefits no one. 

(Figure 1.5) Slim women playing with beef jerky,

overweight, shirtless men playing with beef jerky

Works Cited:

Cortese, Anthony J. "Constructed Bodies, Deconstructing Ads." The Pop Culture Zone. N.p.: Wadsworth, 2009. 52. Print.

Kilbourne, Jean. "Beauty and the Beast of Advertising." Media & Values 1989: 121-25. Web.

Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used against Women. New York: W. Morrow, 1991. 59. Web.