The
amount of advertising that the average consumer has to filter through has
skyrocketed in the last thirty years. It
is estimated that city dwellers are exposed to 300% more advertising today
bringing the total of ads from just 2,000 to a whopping 5,000 ads daily. The
correlation between the ever expanding global economy, consumerism and
advertisement growth certainly defends this statistic. However, society cannot
negate the negative consequences of advertisement clutter; it’s not just a
consumer’s choice which has become more complicated but their psychological and
emotional welfare which have been gravely compromised. The cultural
repercussions are astonishing as we realize just how big of a role advertisers
have in defining who we are, where we are, and what we should strive to become.
Advertisers define gender and racial roles, manipulate sexuality, and exploit
consumer vulnerability, all to sell cheap goods and ideas, without consequence.
When advertisers no longer fear a
unrealistic consumer backlash from adverts which don’t appeal to human primal
senses, advertisers are liberated; advertisers and consumers will surely
benefit. If advertisers refuse to
reform, consumers have little qualms about making their opinions heard. Take
for instance the #notbuyingit hash tag used in social media sites such as
Instagram and Twitter where consumers are taking a firm stance against sexism
in advertising. This movement is being spearheaded by the Miss Representation
organization which offers extensive resources for consumer education. There is
a cultural shift occurring as men and women alike rally for advertisement reform
and anyone can join the movement through social media.
Advertisers certainly do not
discriminate but they absolutely target specific groups within society. Gender
targeted advertising has been a weakness which advertisers have exploited since
ads became relevant. There are many facets to gender based advertising, sexual
objectification being the leading technique. In his piece “On Ways of Seeing”
John Berger argues “Women are there to
feed an appetite, not to have any of their own” (Berger, 55). Women satisfy the veracious appetites of their
male counterparts. An Herbal Essence commercial is a prime example of objectification;
a shampoo marketed for women features an overtly sexual Nicole Scherzinger moaning
as she lathers her fruit scented shampoo on to her luscious locks while naked
in the shower on television. There are absolutely some inconsistencies in this
over the top ad. What do sex and shampoo have in common; nothing at all.
Advertisers are fully aware of their gimmicks. On the one hand, the ad works to empower a woman
to feel sexy and independently beautiful all the while she is fully aware that
her boyfriend, husband what have you is being sexually manipulated as this ad
now defines what his girlfriend should look like and how she can achieve it.
These sorts of ads create false expectations of sexuality between men and women
leaving them feeling both feeling insecure and inadequate.
After
advertisers have successfully stripped a woman of her self-worth and confidence
maybe they feel some remorse but more likely they spot the pot of gold waiting
for them at the other end. They now zero in on a woman’s insecurities and how
advertisements can rebuild her self-esteem. For instance, in Susan Bordo’s “Hunger as Ideology”,
she describes an ad for liquid eye liner whose caption reads, “Perfect Pen
Eyeliner, Puts you in control. And
isn’t that nice for a change?” Having long been identified as the inferior sex,
women are seeking ways to step out the shadow of man and eyeliner is there
ticket out as suggested by Maybelline. Perhaps, however, woman do not feel
‘less than’ but ads help to construct these feelings of inferiority in a
woman’s mind by implying that she is rarely in control, appealing to the sense
of Patriarchy which Bell Hooks so fervently protested, “Dominator culture
teaches all of us that the core of our identity is defined by the will to
dominate and control others” (Bell Hooks 115.) Advertisers position men and
women in a face off for superiority where men are winning all ready but women have
to assert themselves as the dominate to ascend to the top of the hierarchical
structure.
This manipulation of the female
psyche deems her a sexual object on display for male enjoyment and there is no
way she could ever challenge him in the domestic environment either; she seeks
solace in the one area of her life she appears to have control over, her
weight. She strives to achieve the unrealistic ideals portrayed by advertisers
preying on vulnerable woman. There is a war going on within her to eat or not
to eat, she would hate to balloon up or appear to be overeating so she
sacrifices her health for appearances trying to achieve the ideal she demands from
herself and she believes the outside is demanding from her. Although the
tendency toward starvation is common amongst all women, Susan Bordo explores
the constantly changing attitude toward food from both White and African
American Women, “Arguably, a case could be made for a contrast between white
women’s obsessive relations with food and a
more accepting attitude toward women’s appetites within African American
communities” (Bordo 103). Advertisements
perpetuate these norms and play up these stereotypes within the community all
though there a shift is underway within cultural attitude it’s intriguing to
acknowledge just have grave up an impact advertisements have on our identities.
Current advertising techniques are
so heavily engrained in our culture, to challenge these institutions cannot be
done without great difficulty. Changing the status quo is not simply a matter
of role reversal in advertising where perhaps a group of women surrounding a
single man in a depiction of gang rape (see Dolce Gabbana Ad). Neither can
seemingly more progressive ads achieve this when subtleties such as a
professionally dressed woman is allowed merely an ice cream bar while her male
counterpart indulges in an entire pint of vanilla fudge (Bordo 134.) Even in
instances where ‘the media’ wish to move away from sexist degrading advertising
they face backlash, such as in the case of Gloria Steinem and Ms. magazine, “I was often asked to do a
final ad presentation, or see some higher decision maker, or speak to women
employees so executives could see the interest of women they worked with.
That’s why I spent more time persuading advertisers then editing or writing for
Ms.” (Steinem,113.) In the case of Ms. Magazine content suffered as editors struggled to find
advertisers whose campaigns were consistent with editors expectations of what
they wished to portray in their magazine marketed to women readers. The first
step to changing the language of advertising is to create a more flexible
industry where advertisers are able to promote their good without resorting to
sexism, racism, and constructed gender roles.
Berger, John. "Ways
of Seeing". London, 1973.Print.
Bordo, Susan. “Hunger As Ideology.” Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993.
99-134. PDF
Hooks, Bell “Feminist Manhood.” The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity
and Love, 2004. 107-124 PDF
Steinem, Gloria. "Sex, Lies and Advertisement."
Ms. Magazine. July 1990:
112-120. Print
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