Women as Tools for Male Satisfaction

943 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Sexism in american advertising

The notion that `men act and women appear' is a notion that has been evident in society for thousands of years. The quote refers to the fact that women are the ones being looked at by men and as a result it is the stipulation of women to ensure that they are in a desirable state to be looked at. While the notion is inherently sexist it is still very visible in almost every facet of society; every corporation uses the role of the woman as aesthetically pleasing and very desirable to market products to men, conversely they also use the fact that women need to fulfil a function in society to market products to women. This essay aims to examine the various reasons as to why this sociological attitude is still so prevalent despite the fact it is often seen as antiquated by women.

To be born a man or a woman is to be born into a `distinct social group', this is contrary to the popular misconception that gender does not determine anything but biological fact, as it is the divide between gender that highlights the biggest, but possibly most subtle flaws in society around us. These differences are often referred to as the sex/gender system and are best described as "a set of arrangements by which a society transforms biological sexuality in to products of human activity, and in which there transformed sexual needs are met." . What exactly does this mean? It means that in society it is very common for the biological difference between the genders to be exploited to provide the necessary sexual fulfillment to make an activity desirable. John Berger comments on this by stating that; "The social presence of women is developed as a result of their ingenuity in living under such tutelage within such a limited space. But this has been at the...

... middle of paper ...

...equal pay etc provides men with the insecurity to try and compete with women. Due to the fact that historically it is the man that dictates who has the power in a relationship it is a very unsettling feeling for a lot of men to be earning less than his partner. Ironically, the very thing that is feeding women with this increased notion of independence and confidence in themselves is television; the very tool used to `enslave' them. So if women are increasing their social say and becoming more confident in their own ability it is perfectly plausible to say that in the future men will have less of a hold over women; furthermore it is also plausible to say that if this happens it will be the corporations that dictate what the social norm for both men and women is as it is them that will wield the power by tapping into the insecurities that inherently plague both genders.

Show More
Related

  • Surviving on Minimum Wage: An Insight into Low-income Labor

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    On the contrary, women still get paid less than men. According to CNN Money, “men still make more than women in most professions -- considerably more in some occupations than others, according to a new study by the job search site Glassdoor”. Although we like to comfort ourselves with the idea that we have gotten our rightfully earned rights, we had not been given bathroom breaks until 1998. Furthermore, employees are still afraid to have a voice in the workforce. Employers establish rules that let laborers know that they are inferior.

    Read More

  • epq

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this essay I’ll be exploring various concepts of women and will deeply criticise the way women are seen and portrayed through advertising. My primary resource I’ll be referring to throughout this essay is a book called ‘Ways of seeing’ by John Berger, which highlights the role women during the early renaissance and onwards. In addition to this I will explore the various beliefs of women from a wide range of secondary resources, and will include references from books, websites, and various images to help clarify my statements.

    Read More

  • Femininity and Gender Roles in Films The Graduate and The Last Picture Show

    2103 Words  | 5 Pages

    Women in today’s society seem to be having a very difficult time expressing themselves without dealing with lots of criticism. Common values are standing in the way of women’s drive toward molding themselves into whatever they desire. Our culture has made standards about how should women look, act, and conduct themselves that greatly limits what they can do, and still gain respect. Martin S. Fiebert and Mark W. Meyer state that, “[there are] more negative [gender] stereotypes for men than for women.” This idea doesn’t seem to have a great amount of validity in our present society. Society set certain standards that men are supposed to live up to such as strength and confidence, which are more behavioral characteristics. Women seem to be more trapped than men by societies standards because they are supposed to live up to standards dealing with beauty and size, which are more physical characteristics These specific guidelines have been set by society that are sometimes unattainable for a majority of women. The women that follow the specific criteria are greatly respected, and the ones that try and be innovative usually are criticized if not disliked.

    Read More

  • American Dream Women

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    “In just about every state in the country, millennial women are more likely than millennial men to have a college degree, yet millennial women also have higher poverty rates and low earnings than millennial men” (Clark “In Every U.S. State, Women, including Millennials, Are More Likely than Men to Live in Poverty, Despite Gains in Higher Education”). Women are more likely to be below the poverty level because of age, race and religion. More so because they are women. “Since the 1980’s, fertility rates have steadily declined around the world. In the United States, the fertility rate is 1.9” (Josh “Gender Inequality and Women in the Workplace”). Women are not having as many babies as they used to. The United States has a lower birth rate because some females are trying to compete for a chance in the workforce. “Companies with three or more women on the Board of Directors average twenty-eight times more money” (Weisul “Women make companies more generous”). Women earn companies more money, but only 24 percent of CEO’s in the United States are women. If more women were hired for “higher up” careers, then most likely that company will make more money overall. As a result, inequality is not a new concept. It has been around for a very long time. It is slowly changing, but women want to change sooner rather than

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Society

    1030 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most of the time these issues are taken lightly, and go unnoticed until someone or some group pays attention to the inequality and typical roles. It becomes interesting when roles are reversed in society to see how others react to those situations. Society seems to be getting more comfortable with female success, and less obsessed with women staying home to do housework. No matter how successful, there is always a struggle for dominance. It also seems to depend on how children are brought up as to how strongly those individuals strive to achieve their specific role. It will be interesting to see as society changes over time how the defined gender roles will continue to change as well. Whether it is the conflict of success, supremacy, or need for perfection roles will sustain time just as they have from the beginning.

    Read More

  • How Does Computers Change The Way We Think Essay

    1144 Words  | 3 Pages

    Technology Is What You Make It The articles “How Computers Change the Way We Think” by Sherry Turkle and “Electronic Intimacy” by Christine Rosen argue that technology is quite damaging to society as a whole and that even though it can at times be helpful it is more damaging. I have to agree and disagree with this because it really just depends on how it is used and it can damage or help the user. The progressing changes in technology, like social media, can both push us, as a society, further and closer to and from each other and personal connections because it has become a tool that can be manipulated to help or hurt our relationships and us as human beings who are capable of more with and without technology. Technology makes things more efficient and instantaneous.

    Read More

  • Gender Inequality And Social Problems: Continuity And Change

    1440 Words  | 3 Pages

    The the book introduces the topic by defining sex and gender. Sex refers to the biology of your body, there are two aspects within this concept: primary sex characteristics and secondary characteristics. Primary characteristic is the genitalia which you are born with. Secondary sex characteristics has to do with the hormones; distribution of male and female hormones. Gender on the other hand is a societal concept that comes along with gender roles; which is when society places roles on how each gender should act. This is where sexist stereotypes such as “girls like pink and boys like blue” come about. Gender roles become impacted by other factors such as: religion, class, race, culture to name only a few. Culture and other aspects alter what is perceived as the norm; some cultures recognize an androgynous gender, while the concept is still taboo in many cultures. This chapter, assesses how patriarchy prevails given the fact that gender roles create an environment meant to benefit males more than

    Read More

  • Media's Influence on Women's Body Image Evolution

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women have been facing crisis of body image since the dawn of man, for competition in breeding purposes, however women came under great scrutiny because of this. Often through history, they have been at the same level of livestock, treated poorly. Creating a rise in the early 1900’s to create the movement about pushing for the equality of women in the United States; it was after then when media first started adopting an ideal image of women in American culture, when marketing research found the use of images of ideal women in their campaigns made for higher sales.

    Read More

  • Race Gender And Sexuality Essay

    1072 Words  | 3 Pages

    In reality, gender is not based on one’s genetic make-up or their reproductive organs. Expanding on this, an individual does not have any control over their assigned gender, but everyone has a gender identity, which is one’s internal sense of being male or female. From a sociocultural perspective, gender roles have the greatest influence on gender as a social construction. Gender roles are the attitudes, behaviors, rights, and responsibilities that particular cultural groups associate with each sex. In regards to gender, the social construction theory acknowledges the connection the topic has with power and meaning, and states that social interaction, or “language” controls how these things are portrayed to individuals. Similarly, sexuality is socially constructed in a sense that, one’s sexual orientation depends on what they are taught to be “socially acceptable”. For example, a person who is raised by homophobic parents would most likely be taught that every aspect of homosexuality is wrong, and therefore they would be influenced to be heterosexual. While many would like to believe that people are born with their sexual orientation, that is far from the truth. All in all, when looking at the big picture, it is clear that race, gender,

    Read More

  • Gender Roles: The Female Role in Society

    2827 Words  | 6 Pages

    The female gender role in society has created a torturous fate for those who have failed in their role as a woman, whether as a mother, a daughter, or a wife. The restrictive nature of the role that society imposes on women causes extreme repercussions for those women who cannot fulfill their purpose as designated by society. These repercussions can be as common as being reprimanded or as severe as being berated or beaten by a husband or father. The role that women were given by society entails being a submissive homemaker who dotes on her husband and many children. The wife keeps the home impeccably neat, tends to the children and ensures their education and well-being, and acts obsequiously to do everything possible to please her husband. She must be cheerful and sweet and pretty, like a dainty little doll. The perfect woman in the eyes of society is exactly like a doll: she always smiles, always looks her best and has no feelings or opinions that she can truly call her own. She responds only to the demands of her husband and does not act or speak out of turn. A woman who speaks her mind or challenges the word of any man, especially her husband, is undesirable because she is not the obedient little doll that men cherish. Women who do not conform to the rules that society has set for them are downgraded to the only feature that differentiates them from men; their sex. Society’s women do not speak or think of sex unless their husband requires it of them. But when a woman fails to be the doll that a man desires, she is worth nothing more than a cheap sex object and she is disposed of by society.

    Read More

  • Do Women Deserve Equal Pay Essay

    1415 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the beginning of history and to this day women still get paid less than the average man, but why? Whoever said that women are incapable of good work performance? Whoever said that women do not have the same responsibilities to maintain? What really makes a women’s work inferior to men? The answer is nothing. Today, women are depended on just as much as men, and are capable of performing at their level. However, a full-time working woman earns only seventy-seven cents for every dollar a man makes. These days women make up half the workplace in our society; they work just as hard and for the same reasons. Women deserve to be paid at an equal rate as men because they are relied on to uphold the same responsibilities and are just as qualified to perform at a man’s level.

    Read More

  • Women and Advertisements

    2559 Words  | 6 Pages

    image of themselves in real life. They are almost computer-generated women like in the movie Simone. Indeed, with the technology we have now, advertisers can transform a product into perfection, at the same time, misleading the consumer into seeing it as “real”, and thus permanently providing impossible standards (Ingham). More and more women are becoming dissatisfied with themselves trying to be this fantasy person created by the men in our society. This distorted view of reality, portrayed by advertisemen...

    Read More

  • The Meaning of Sexuality in Today's Society

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    Men and women are very different, especially when it comes to sexuality. They have different feelings and emotions. Gender role expectations influence a huge impact on our sexuality. Gender roles refer to how a person behaves as male or female, we close to masculine or femine, which are chararestics that yourself or other notice. Boys and girls have always been treated differently. Males are treated more as the tough one, with no emotions, and females as the one’s whoe were emotional and needed to more attention.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Gender And Racial Stereotypes In Advertising

    1823 Words  | 4 Pages

    For many years society has embraced the idea that the differences between men and women are biologically determined and certain roles, behaviors and attitudes constructed by society assign and control how men and women behave and are perceived. Sex is determined by genetics while our gender is programmed by social customs. Some theories interpret that a women is tender and a loving mother while on the other hand men are aggressive hunters and are the dominant one of the family. Gender roles prescribe norms, which instruct people to pursue specific careers and lifestyles.

    Read More

  • Gender and Sexuality

    2683 Words  | 6 Pages

    Gender and sexuality can be comprehended through social science. Social science is “the study of human society and of individual relationships in and to society” (Free Dictionary, 2009). The study of social science deals with different aspects of society such as politics, economics, and the social aspects of society. Gender identity is closely interlinked with social science as it is based on the identity of an individual in the society. Sexuality is “the condition of being characterized and distinguished by sex” (Free Dictionary, 2009).

    Read More

More about Women as Tools for Male Satisfaction

Open Document