What
I find amazing is that in 2017, we still see ads that are both sexist and
racist. Some of these are often in plain
sight. We’ve discussed the ad on the
subway which shows a woman holding up lemons in front of her chest with a sad
look and then next to that picture is the same woman holding up melons with a
big smile. Below the photos is an
advertisement for breast augmentation.
Considering how many people take the train everyday, it’s very
disturbing to think how many young girls either in middle or high school seeing
this and getting the message that they can only be happy with big breasts. That same advertisement has been used to
promote going to the beach in the summer.
As was said by Naomi Wolf, “Women
are mere ‘beauties’ in men’s culture so that culture can be kept male.” (Wolf
59). This is a very clear-cut truth
about advertisements as men are always seen in masculine positions in ads
whereas women are sometimes seen in sexual and submissive positions. There is an old Kellogg’s ad, which features
a husband hugging his wife from behind with a quote that reads, “So the harder
a wife works, the cuter she looks.” Not
only is this incredibly sexist, it was the norm during the 1950s and 60s. Ads like these would not get any kind of
criticism during that time period.
Even something as simple as a coffee
ad could not resist using a controversial ad, which shows a man putting his
wife over his knee to spank her for not testing the coffee to see if it’s
fresh. Gloria Steinem in her article, Sex, Lies & Advertising gave a
perfect example of how certain advertisers view women in general. The Silva Thin cigarette company once
released an ad with the theme, “How to Get a Women’s Attention: Ignore
Her.” How anyone thought this was an
appropriate ad is amazing. This kind of
thinking basically says that who buys those cigarettes should see women as
inferior. (Steinem 171).
When it comes to television, movies,
magazines, etc., there is a target audience that is being reached. Unfortunately, the most common theme is the
saying, “sex sells.” There is almost a
guarantee that many men will buy products or watch something on television or
the theater if there is an attractive woman in scantily clad clothing. One television show that is not only sexist
but continues to live on and promote unrealistic fantasies is The Bachelor. The premise is for 26 women to compete for
the affections of one man. Why would
this even be a concept people would enjoy?
What’s more is that it spawned an equally successful spinoff called, The Bachelorette, which shows a role
reversal as there are 26 men competing for one woman. In the end, it merely promotes expectations
about your partner that are often too fictional to be believed since the show
provides many exotic and glamorous places to have dates that most average
Americans could never afford to go.
As far as movies are concerned, I
believe the most sexist director is Michael Bay. His movies often trade compelling stories
with young women who wear very little clothing that is very prevalent in the
first two Transformers movies since
actress Megan Fox is merely seen as eye candy and a prize to be won. Those movies show racism with the
transformers themselves as some of them represent racial stereotypes and even
speak in a stereotypical way. Even actor
Bernie Mac has a line in the first movie where he says the word, “Mammy.” I believe that alone says everything a viewer
needs to know about a Michael Bay film.
Advertising images present decades
long problems with its view of women as objects to be attained. One ad in particular for “Broomsticks Slacks”
features a young woman in her underwear surrounded by several men playing a
game of “Ring Around the Rosie” with her which treats her as if she’s some kind
of trophy. It seems like male
advertisers are afraid of showing a woman in an ad that is independent and not
sexualized. In Sex, Lies & Advertising, Leonard Lauder who is the president of
Este Lauder speaks with Gloria Steinem who tries to arrange to have his
advertisements in MS Magazine but he said no because his company was trying to
sell “a kept-woman mentality.” This
surprises Ms. Steinem as she feels he would be selling the exact opposite since
it was his mother who started the company and was very strong and
independent. It seems that after taking
over, Mr. Lauder wanted to shy away from what his mother started and it’s
incredibly sad because even when his own mother was not a kept-woman, he still
believed that’s what his customers would want.
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