Blogpost #3

Today, advertising is defined as a method used to communicate with the users of a service or product. Although, it is important to be aware of the underlying messages of these ads, especially those aimed towards women. Since ads are looking for ways to increase their profit margins and consumer market, they will come at costs not only harmful to people’s wallets but their psychological being.

Advertising is content that otherwise alters the reality. Therefore, the very nature of ads themselves are based on the premises of artificiality. According to Jean Kilbourne in Beauty and the Beast of Advertising she states, “Women are constantly exhorted to emulate this ideal (of beauty), to feel ashamed and guilty if they fail, and to feel that their desirability and lovability are contingent upon physical perfection” (Kilbourne 122). In commercials, women are often seen as flawed, needing to change/improve the self they were born as in order to reach their “full potential” or better said become the ultimate sex object.

Burger King Ad poses women as sex objects, 2018

Post-it Ad poses women as sex objects, 2018

The consequence of advertising is what Wykes Gunther in Body Messages and Body Meanings brings up by saying, “By imposing a false standard of what is and what is not desirable’ (Berger, 1972:154), mass media representations of femininity and especially the female body not only sets limits and controls on women’s self-worth and the value assigned to them but nurture falsities by allying sexual and social success to size” (Gunther 220). From then until now, the beauty standard for women that is deemed acceptable by ads are those composed of small sized women.

I can recall countless number of times when I would constantly get asked by an adult who my role model was. I remember that that was often a question in which I saw “role” and “model” as two separate things because if it was someone I admired based on actions it would no doubt be a loved one of mine but if it was who I aspired to be, I would most definitely go based off of physicality and choose a random girl in a photograph that embodied all of society’s notions on beauty (thin and fair-skinned).

Now, society has improved a little to where models are no longer white but are taken from different cultural backgrounds. Take for instance, Rihanna’s new makeup line called FentyBeauty. Even though I’m a fan of Rihanna and have brought her products, it doesn’t change the fact that her ads “are part of the technology of power-capitalist and patriarchal but also hetersexual, white and Western and also part of the subjective consciousness” (Gunther 208). The cosmetic industry in itself produces content to make women feel as if their looks “require much preparation and expense” (Kilbourne 122). The owners behind the brands of makeup profit off of women conforming to a norm where their looks are their sole priority in life. Looking further into the FentyBeauty commercial, the line was often publicized for being “diverse” showing a multitude of complexions within such a short video. However, that was just about all the diversity that FentyBeauty had to offer because if you replay the video a couple more times, it just reinforces the idea that “beauty” better referred to as thinness is the great equalizer between all women, even women minorities. All in all, this better emphasizes the brands capitalistic goal of expanding the amount of money they make off of their wide range of foundation colors.

Makeup is a preference so if that’s something someone likes then hey go ahead but many of this industry’s brands often have an ending slogan that is easily recognizable to viewers ears and inscribed to their minds without having put much thought into the meaning behind them.  Some examples are Maybelline: “Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline” and Covergirl: “Easy, breezy, beautiful, Covergirl.” If I were to change these quotes to say the bottom line up front it would sound more like this: “You either got it or you don’t. So if you don’t buy Maybelline because you aren’t pretty enough” and “Look like you’re naturally beautiful (because you’re not) by buying Covergirl.” The catchiness of ads such as these aren’t done accidentally, they’re meant to stick in women’s heads in particular so that their decision making will alter in ways that are more beneficial for their companies and the heterosexual males within society.

But since we’re discussing the topic of weight, food cannot be left out of the conversation. Both of these things go hand in hand with one another. However, when it comes to food there is a double standard. On one hand, men as Bordo in Hunger as Ideology states, “are supposed to have hearty, even voracious, appetites” (Bordo 108). On the other hand, Bordo states, “Emotional heights, intensity, love and thrills: it is women who habitually seek such experiences from food and who are most likely to be overwhelmed by their relationship to food, to find it dangerous and frightening” (Bordo 108). Overall, food is a necessity to nourish one’s body, it is a means of survival. Although, women are now forced into seeing food as a threat to their well being. Rather than placing their mental and physical health above all else, they are under the impression that they are supposed to “watch their weight.” Women are disciplined into the absurdities such as counting calories and limiting their intake as per ads like Weight Watchers which are given on TV.

The types of media examples I consume are usually from TV or Netflix such as 90 Day Fiance, Jane the Virgin and Young & Hungry. Others are celebrities I follow on social media such as Demi Lovato and Cardi B. Looking at the types of shows I watch, I notice the constant message of a girl relying on a guy for financial and emotional support. It’s almost as though the female is constantly looking for male approval or recognition. As for the celebrities, Demi Lovato is constantly battling with her weight/ eating disorders and Cardi B. has altered herself through surgery/implants.

Demi Lovato's struggle with her eating disorder, 2018. 

There is little or no parts of media that allow or show women to be completely free from the male gaze that we learned about earlier this semester. Even advertising, which is the section we are focusing on now, does not stray away from this. All that ads and advertisers want is money and they will steep to the lowest of the low of making women/girls devalue themselves to make a quick buck to feed their greed and police people into upholding outdated and unjust traditional gender roles/norms. The only solution to this problem that I can see leading to some form of change for the better is raising awareness that no girl is the same therefore there is no one definition of beauty. Ads lie, that’s it, that’s the truth.