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Beauty standards and how they affect
Influence of advertising on consumers
Examples of how media influence self-image
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Recommended: Beauty standards and how they affect
Nowadays it is almost impossible to avoid from exposure of advertisements. Since most of people are exposed by the advertisements, the society is influences by them and the values sold by them. In Jean Kilbourne’s essay, she asserts that “[i]t sells values, images, and concepts of love and sexuality, romance, success, and, perhaps most important, normalcy” (126). According to Kilbourne, the society is affected by the advertising advertisers not only sell their products but also sell the value and one of the most popular values that the advertisers sell is beauty. In today’s society, the effects of beauty are outrageous as attentions of the people to the physical appearance increases. In the past, beauty was only important for women in general, …show more content…
The ad has white background and images of two feet which explain the effect of the product at the center of it. One of two feet looks smoother and cleaner than another and it says before and after under the images. It shows the audiences that their skin can be changed if they use the product. Even though it might take a while, maybe few days, few weeks, or few months, the ad only shows audience the positive final effect of the product. Therefore, the people who see this ad would think that their skin would transfer just like the feet on the ads instantly. Kilbourne discusses that “[a]dvertising constantly promotes the core belief of American culture: that we can recreate ourselves, transform ourselves, transcend our circumstances-but with a twist” (122). Even though the transformation generally takes time and effort, in most advertisements, transformations happen simply and instantly. Therefore, people believe that they can change their body, characteristic, or life so easily. Moreover, Kilbourne argues that “[t]he focus of the transformation shifted from the soul to the body” (122). Now, people do not care about the inner side but the physical appearance. People want to make the transformation of their body but not soul because the physical appearance became an important value of the modern society. Another image of the ads is woman’s legs and a hand holding the product of the ads. They look skinny and smooth moreover, they look good and perfect. However, they do not put anything on them and somehow, they look
Jean Kilbourne’s “Two Way a Woman Can Get Hurt: Advertising and Violence” is a section of a book titled: “Deadly Persuasion: Why Women and Girls Must Fight the Addictive Power of Advertising” that was originally published in 1999. It is about the images of women that advertisements illustrate. The central claim or thesis of the document is that: “advertising helps to create a climate in which certain attitudes and values flourish and it plays a role in shaping people’s ideas” (paraphrase). The author wants people by all genders and young children to acknowledge a right attitude towards what is shown in the advertisements so that the standards of behavior will not be influenced. As a result, it enables the negative contribution from the advertisements to be limited or eliminated.
First, Kilbourne’s research should be praised tremendously for bringing to light the unhealthy impression of true beauty in today’s culture. Kilbourne challenges the audience to reconsider their viewpoints on advertising that is sublime with sexual language. The evolution of advertising and product placement has drastically changed the real meaning of being a woman. According to the movie, every American is exposed to hundreds and thousands of advertisements each day. Furthermore, the picture of an “ideal women” in magazines, commercials, and billboards are a product of numerous computer retouching and cosmetics. Media creates a false and unrealistic sense of how women should be viewing themselves. Instead of being praised for their femininity and prowess, women are turned into objects. This can be detrimental to a society filled with girls that are brainwashed to strive to achieve this unrealistic look of beauty.
The documentary Killing Us Softly 4 discusses and examines the role of women in advertisements and the effects of the ads throughout history. The film begins by inspecting a variety of old ads. The speaker, Jean Kilbourne, then discusses and dissects each ad describing the messages of the advertisements and the subliminal meanings they evoke. The commercials from the past and now differ in some respects but they still suggest the same messages. These messages include but are not limited to the following: women are sexual objects, physical appearance is everything, and women are naturally inferior then men. Kilbourne discusses that because individuals are surrounded by media and advertisements everywhere they go, that these messages become real attitudes and mindsets in men and women. Women believe they must achieve a level of beauty similar to models they see in magazines and television commercials. On the other hand, men expect real women to have the same characteristics and look as beautiful as the women pictured in ads. However, even though women may diet and exercise, the reality...
According to Jeanne Kilbourne essay, Kilbourne talks about women being abused by men in visual advertisements and the consequences of those representations. I for one, argue with Kilbourne that women are being too exposed and hurt when they are in advertisements. So using Kilbourne 's analytical perspective and my own perspective we can give our insights on why we feel women are being treated badly and unequally from men with the following pictures. From the past till today women in advertisement pictures have been mostly victimized by men, and Kilbourne and I feel this sort of action needs to come to an end.
Thus, we can assume that the audience itself, the members who believe in the content of ads and its sincerity, as well as, people who agree with the portrait of the women that is being created are the only prisoners in this particular situation. “To them, I said, the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images” (Plato 868). On the other hand, according to the Jean Kilbourne, author of “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt” what is not mention to the public is the fact, that many women from the very young age during the process of finding out the truth and being blinded by the “light” are fighting with depression, low self-esteem, eating disorders and sexual harassment. “I contend that all girls growing up in this culture are sexually abused – abused by the pornographic images of female sexuality that surround them from birth, abused by all the violence against woman and girls, and abused by the constant harassment and threat of violence” (Kilbourne
Society today is constantly emphasizing the importance of maintaining a youthful image throughout life. People will go to great lengths in order to fight ageing that is bound to happen regardless. Advertisers take advantage of this desire to fight ageing by making people believe they need to look a certain way, and in order to achieve this, buy a certain product. The need for anti ageing products is seen in advertisements, making women and even men believe they need to fight their age and stay youthful forever. There have also been advertising campaigns that have gone against the norm of making people believe they must look a certain way. By examining ageing ads involving women and men, as well as ads that have gone against this norm one will understand how advertising does determine ones view of ageing to a certain extent. Advertising is constantly driving into peoples minds that in order to be accepted by society, one must go through a constant battle against ageing.
Media Analysis I will be analyzing a Spirit Airlines ad, which will be located at the bottom of this paper, using the framework of Jean Kilbourne. In this ad, we can see how this it attempts to portray an image of the ‘perfect’ woman, how it shows the judgement women face, and how segmentation and dismemberment played a role in this ad. The first thing I noticed about this image was how hard the creators tried to make sure the trivial amount of body shown was impeccable. Everything Kilbourne expresses about women being ‘flawless’, can be seen within this ad.
(Jhally, Kilbourne, Rabinovitz, 2010) The amount of money put into advertisement worldwide in 2011 was $464 billion. (Pavlik, McIntosh, 2014, p. 268). In our society, sexism has become a normal part of our everyday life based on the ads we constantly see and because of the society we live in. Women are represented in ads as objects and not as human beings. The advertising is convincing us that the most important goal for a woman should be to become “the perfect woman” and for a man to find one. Dove has a commercial called “Evolution” demonstrating the idea that “the perfect woman” does not truly exist. They show the transformation in which models go through before photo or video shoots. The makeup applied to create a flawless face and the hair extensions attached to create the ideal look are only the beginning of the issue. After the photographs are taken, we are taken through a visual process of the editing done to the images: Bigger eyes, smaller nose, bigger lips, higher cheekbones, slimmer face, bigger chest, smaller waist, smoother skin, these are only a few of the changes they make while editing these pictures. These ads create an unrealistic and unattainable idea of
Dove is a personal care trademark that has continually been linked with beauty and building up confidence and self-assurance amongst women. Now, it has taken steps further by impending with a new advertising strategy; fighting adverse advertising. And by that it means contesting all the ads that in some way proliferate the bodily insufficiencies which exits inside women. Launched by Dove, the campaign spins round an application called the Dove Ad Makeover which is part of the global Dove “Campaign for Real Beauty” what has been continuing ever since 2004 and times print, television, digital and outdoor advertising. As Leech (1996) believed,” commercial consumer advertising seems to be the most frequently used way of advertising.” In which way the seller’s chief goal is to sway their possible spectators and attempt and change their opinions, ideals and interests in the drive of resounding them that the produce they are posing has a touch that customer wants that will also be in their advantage, therefore generating false desires in the user’s mind. Dove is vexing to influence their viewers to purchase products they wouldn’t usually buy by “creating desires that previously did not exist.”(Dyer, 1982:6)
The Garnier Fructis advertisement, found in “Seventeen” magazine, promotes their new line of “Grow Strong” shampoo, conditioner, and treatments. The Ad features a young, attractive couple that seem to be happy. The first aspect of the ad that is noticed is the man, as he is the center of the page. The first thoughts that come to mind are that he is happy, attractive, and his girlfriend is caressing his head with her fingers through his hair. Next, you notice the woman who is beside him, the one caressing the man’s head. It is quite noticeable that her hair is long, shiny, and wavy. Also, the people in the ad are wearing fancy attire as if they are going to a formal event, which shows they are well-liked in society and are powerful. The product
“Medieval noblewomen swallowed arsenic and dabbed on bats' blood to improve their complexions; 18th-century Americans prized the warm urine of young boys to erase their freckles; Victorian ladies removed their ribs to give themselves a wasp waist.” 5 Even from medieval times, the extent to which women have gone to achieve ‘ideal beauty’ is extreme. In the 21st century, Americans spend more money on beauty related product than they do on their education, creating a 160 billion dollar a year global industry, all in the name of ‘perfection.’ 5 Intensification of body image ideals has increased through media and manipulation in the advertising industry, due to the portrayal of women, leading to the creation of a 20 billion dollar cosmetic surgery industry. Driven and fueled by sexual instinct and desire to achieve perfection, images of women in advertising will not cease to hold a huge amount of power over the everyday woman who spends her life chasing an ideal, which does not exist, often leading to psychological and physical effects which can last a lifetime.
The advertisement displays a women before and after putting on makeup. “See What a Difference Maybelline Makes” is written in big, bold letters to pull the reader in and analyze the woman’s transformation (Vintage and Old Makeup Ads). Magazines like this give their audience a feeling like they need these products to look prettier. Feeling comfortable within yourself comes from viewing these certain advertisements. Self confidence comes from many models showing their identity through their beauty commercials.
It Is apparent that woman are “supposed” to show a feminine figure and act like a lady. If a man were to make the perfect women in the year of two thousand fifteen she would be tall, full chested, tan, and blonde, she would also have the infamous thigh gap. Men have come to support the feminine look by dating or being romantically involved with women whom look or alter their body’s so they look like models. This act shows that advertisements is not only effecting women but also
The impacts of sexual objectifying of women in advertising Advertising has been in a remarkable development for decades and have become an indispensable element of the daily life and modern marketing. Due to the fact that the competition of advertising between the companies is on the increase, companies and advertisers have tried to think of a unique and creative method to attract consumers to purchase their product, such as objectifying women in their ads. Women’s images have passed for many transformations throughout the history of advertising from using woman as a person with respectful esteem to using her as an object to gain money and sell products. Hence, they started to put the image of attractive women on their ads, or billboards;
Show business promotes commercials, print advertisements, films and shows where unbelievably perfect women are seen as the ‘ideal beauty’ The ‘ideal beauty’ controls the behavior of young girls and manipulates their perception of beauty. The term ‘ideal beauty’ is defined to be a conception of something that is perfect, especially that which one seeks to attain. Many young girls everyday are exposed to fashion and beauty advertisements that feature models who are portrayed as ‘perfect’. Due to this Technological Age, girls are exposed to many advertisements that encourage them to be like the featured models- tall, skinny, and foreign. There is also a survey conducted by Renee Hobbs, EdD, associate professor of communications at Temple University which states that, “The average teenage girl gets about 180 minutes of media exposure daily and only about ten minutes of parental interaction a day.” Moreover, media also promotes and advertises cosmetics, apparel, diet pills and exercise gears in the name of beauty and fitness, convincing girls to buy and ultimately patronize their products. Becoming very addicted with using such products can eventually lead to overdoes and becoming vainer. It may seem obvious to most of us that people prefer to look at beautiful faces. While beauty itself may be only skin deep, studies show our perception of beauty may be hard-wired in our brains (Stossel,