Advertising media and feminism

The developments in pop culture and its impact on feminism are definitely most prominently visible in the form on mass communication and media. Furthermore, advertising is the most widely used pop culture item and it is seen almost everywhere in tabloids, magazines, television commercials, billboards and also movies.

In the recent times advertisements have  been successful in creating a stereotype on how women need to be portrayed to sell products. Advertisements in the modern world have become the key to defining the codes of sexuality and sensual-ness. Feminism is being routinely disparaged and the way women are depicted is leading to the disempowerment of feminism.

The purpose of ads is to convey to the audience why and how the specified product would make their lives better, luxurious and be a good use of their hard- earned money. But these days, this very purpose is dissolved by ads that only play with the human minds and as Ziesler mentions in her book revolve around themes pertaining to male gaze. Though, the male gaze in the recent times is also applicable to women seeing themselves through the eyes of men, it is still the male that is the watcher of the woman depicted to be no more than a sexual and erotic object. Like John Berger said, the sexualization of women in advertisements is not helping in bridging the inequalities of gender but is reassuring men of their sexual power and at the same moment denies any sexuality of women other than the male construction.

LEVI'S jeans clothing ad

Drugs, sex and violence are the three prominent things that sell the most these days and advertisements leave no stone un-turned in displaying their products by linking feminism with these motifs.
In the Sisley clothing ad, the product is being shown as an irresistible drug and the women in this ad as junkies who can’t imagine not living without this particular item of clothing. This ad is targeted for the female audience and gazing at this ad would make them think about and desire the product in the same way the females in it do so. There is not even a tiny message delivered to the audience about the quality or specialty offered by the brand. Another remarkable fact is that the women in this picture have well toned bodies with no blemishes at all, have nicely done hair and are wearing tons of makeup. This is one way in which advertisements have stereotyped the 'perfect' woman.

SISLEY clothing ad

The hunky dory chips ad on the other hand is trying to sell its product using the visions of sex. Let alone the vulgar image with the female showing her cleavage, the caption itself is very provocative and un-necessary for a food product. Men are such beings who can’t resist gazing at the woman in this picture and thus the product too would indirectly appeal to them.We are actually being forced by the ad-makers to gaze at the female's body and not the product itself. Making the model's picture larger than that of the product aids in achieving this goal Another cheap trick seen here  is that the advertisement expects to provoke feminist condemnation as a means of generating publicity. Even this ad is stereotyping the 'perfect' woman with straight-long hair, big boobs and a fit body. Another fact to be noted which would seem appealing to the audience is that the woman is a rugby star which shows a well-empowered woman in the field of sports.

Hunky Dory chips ad

PROVOGUE (for men) clothing ad

Gender inequalities are also  prominent in advertisements. The men have been least effected in the way they are depicted in advertisements. There is minimal vulgarity and shredding of clothes in the ads they are in and also the ads would focus more on the product than on the model displaying it. In the Provogue clothing brand ad  , the male model is well clothed and does not have a perfect look since his hair is a bit ruffled and he does not have a clean shave. Placing a semi-nude man in a woman's place in an advertisement  would be considered atrocious by the audience as it does not satisfy the assumptions of a likely viewer. These assumptions have come up only due to the changes brought by modern day representations in pop culture items.

As we can see in all  these ads, the woman in them have almost no role to play. They are not only the objects of male gaze but also the products that are being bought and sold in an indirect way.I would conclude by saying that, though pop culture items and advertisements in particular play a pivotal role in our daily life, there is a grave need to change the negative way of portrayal of  feminism and to reform the status of women depicted in these forms of mass media.

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sources:
levis jeans clothing ad--- http://lh6.ggpht.com/_woUarEGSU5o/S59eoaeFVWI/AAAAAAAAAEM/ZMrulJowpzY/Levis%20Low%20Rise.jpg

sisley clothing ad---https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzoPzDLzpnUbsoOJToYVWalGBhWOMpjab2m37VBXh-MTtrQqnltTI2M0n7LkE6qO_5x5y2rt3rgwf-NpfNc-t-irjLCm1Gr-x2wtm_jjv9R3SzQ3ZY784oE3PeZax6I024Zf64Mo3mBbI/s1600/controverisial+ads+%2528sislye+drug%2529.gif

hunky dory chips ad--- http://www.independent.ie/multimedia/archive/00563/hunky_lib_563306t.jpg

provogue for men clothing ad--- http://api.ning.com/files/Whx*fzpuoP4M6ZnfVXSZrpO08k469eLN2H4*CKPO4uNIxqvjC*ucJzS5Djf3bNUdyFCanem12mhWpS3Js0NHUcB6CQm85XU5/13351_358257930453_862925453_10048494_2386947_n.jpg