Beil Post 3

http://www.ltcconline.net/lukas/gender/exotics/general/pics/exoticsgen3.jpg

Nordic IceThis advertisement depicts two women in ice skating outfits for an alcoholic beverage.  The ice skating outfits are very skimpy and the girls are making sexy/excited facial expressions to give off the impression that they are having fun and any guy should want to have fun with them.  The catch phrase/statement for this ad is “Just What Every Guy Needs, a Couple of Nordics on Ice”.  This statement is clearly saying that these women/products are there to benefit men.  It is basically saying, women are here to please men.  As a woman, I am not personally offended by this advertisement because it is not as bad as some others I have seen.  That’s not to say it doesn’t offend other women.  Part of the reason advertisements like this one do not bother me is because there are so many forms of advertising and entertainment that depict women as sexual objects that I have somewhat become numb to them and do not react as negatively as I should, unless they are extremely derogatory towards women.  I do not agree with the message that is being projected in this ad.  These women are young, white, blond and the typical image of a sexy woman (big breasts, tiny waist and wider hips; the “coke bottle” shape).  I do find it offensive that the image of sexy women in general have to fit the “coke bottle” shape and are in sexually appealing positions for men’s amusement.  This ad in particular has two women posing together in a way that should be visually appealing to the average male.  The male is supposed to get excited at the thought of two “hot” women on ice.  The play on words is a clever way to advertise the alcohol.  I think a feminist viewing this ad would definitely be offended by the general theme and phrase of this ad.  I feel that the use of sexy women to sell this product is completely unnecessary.  How do women relate to alcohol?  They don’t, but they are something to look at and get attention.  The clever phrase is also something to notice, which will cause future consumers to get a laugh/kick out of it and remember the name when they go to purchase alcohol in the future.  As far as clever advertising goes, this ad was successful.  If people want to change how women are presented in advertisements, it is going to take a lot of work in society to change the image of what is eye catching without being scandalous.  The way things are now, people thrive on scandal, sex and drama so it’s going to be a long road to recovery. 

Blog Entry Number 5…Cory Hoffman

I thought about this blog entry on Easter Sunday…

My quadriplegic Uncle Dave was home…I feel like I have at least somewhat of a better perspective toward ableism than others because of him but it is so hard to forget how easy things are for someone with an able body.

I woke up in the morning in bed with my girlfriend. Having a girlfriend and in of itself is something I would be way less likely to have if I were not able-bodied. I remember my Uncle used to have girlfriends but his last one left him without saying anything in about 1993 I would say. Maybe it shows what kind of person I am but I cannot imagine being with a severly handicapped woman nor can I imagine my girlfriend being satisfied by me if I were handicapped.

We wouldn’t be able to cuddle the same, hug the same, hold hands…all of that would be out of the question. I thought about how I met her at the Enclave pool in the summer. I would not have been able to even get inside the fence outlining the pool had I been handicapped, let alone get in the pool or the hot tub.

I remembered how I used to meet her out at the bars and there are very few bars in BG I could even get into. I wouldn’t be able to see over the bar to get a drink if I were handicapped….

Anyways, I was laying there and I thought about how uncomfortable it is for me to sleep on my back and I get to move around. My Uncle Dave has slept every night on his back, without moving, since 1985. He often cannot sleep through the night and just lays there, unable to do anything.

When we rolled out of bed I thought about how nice it was for me to be able to get up when I want. My Uncle Dave has bed times even in his 50’s. If he is tired, he has to wait to be put to bed. If he is wide awake in bed, he has to wait to be lifted out of bed.

When I go home, I sleep in my basement these days. I wouldn’t even be able to go down there if I were a quad like my Uncle Dave.

 The running tally,

So far that Easter Sunday, had I been in Uncle Dave’s shoes…

I probably would not be with my girlfriend, I wouldn’t have slept so well, wouldn’t have been in my basement and would have had to rely on my mom to put me in bed, dress me and get me out of bed, brush my teeth, wash me, shave me and brush my hair.

When I got upstairs I sat down at my leisure and ate cinnamon rolls. If I were Uncle Dave, I would have had to have a special table to sit at because my kitchen’s island is too high and I would not have been able to eat cinnamon rolls easily because he has no device that can grab them out of the pan quite like a human hand can. I also would have to watch out when eating such fatty foods because I would get no exercise at all hardly with a permanently-sedentary lifestyle.

After breakfast, Megan went to take a shower and I got Dave a cigarette…I had to light it for him and he has to have a special device for holding the cigarette. When he is at his nursing home he has to go to the top floor of the building and go into a cramped “smoker’s shack” with very poor ventilation (it’s very smokey in there) just to smoke.

I then slumped down on the couch leisurely and read Sports Illustrated. My Uncle Dave is confined to his chair and never reads magazines or books because they are too difficult for him to turn the pages with his hands. After a short while, the magazines, because of their glossy finish, almost assuredly fall onto the floor anyways.

I then picked up my laptop and also flipped through the channels. My uncle dave can mash buttons on both a computer and a remote but it takes him forever. he almost always drops the remote. He can do fine with a desktop computer but it takes him forever to type. His emails to me are often very short because of this. He cannot use a laptop because he has no way to carry it around and if he were to put it on his lap it would very likely fall and also because of the angle to his face, the screen would be difficult to read.

I also had a whooping cough on Easter…It was very irritating but nonetheless there is something about a harsh cough that is somewhat soothing immediately after the cough. If coughs were not beneficial in some way I suppose we would not do it. My uncle Dave, because of the natural hunch he has because of the inability of his lower back muscles to hold him up, he often builds up phlegm in his lungs. If we had the kind of phlegm he had, we would be coughing up a storm yet, Uncle Dave, cannot cough. He sometimes forces out a frustrating, forced clearing of his throat but it is hardly close to a cough.

I stopped flipping the channels at American Pie, a movie Uncle Dave first saw at our house. He’s always liked that movie. The only time he ever gets to see new movies is when he is at our house because they have no DVD’s nor DVD players at his nursing home and there are no trips to the movie theater. Whenever he comes over it is usually a marathon of movies. I thought about how I often complain about the price of going to movies but didn’t think about how much of a privilege it is to even go. There are very few spaces for handicapped people at movie theaters now that I think about it.

As funny parts occurred on the movie, I laughed out loud, my brother laughed out loud, so did my dad and my mom, but my Uncle Dave…he can’t laugh out loud. When Uncle Dave laugh’s his eyebrows raise, his shoulders shrug and his mouth opens real wide. Near the end of his life he’ll squeak out a weez but it is hardly a boisterous laugh.

How much worse can it get than not being able to laugh out loud…LOL as the kids say?

I went and took a shower and thought about how nice it is to be able to take a shower on my own and wash myself on my own. I thought about how good the hot water feels coarsing down my body, how the warmth seems to ooze into your body. My Uncle dave never feels that. One time a group of nurses at his nursing him were getting ready to give him a bath and had his foot in the tub. They didn’t realize they were scalding his foot until he smelled his flesh burning. Since then he has suffered numerous infections and had to lose two toes. His body is no longer accepting many antibiotics and he will probably eventually lose his life to an infection that would have been defeated had his foot not been burned due to negligence…

Don’t worry, he’s about to get a good chunk of change for that.

 I got out of the shower and tried on a couple different outfits. I didn’t know what I wanted to wear to Megan’s dad’s house…we had to drive there in a little bit…oh the joys of Easter travel. (that’s why I didn’t finish the third blog til Monday).

I thought about how nice it is that I can try on different kinds of clothes. My uncle Dave can only wear sweatpants because they are the only kinds of pants that will not result in bed sores. He can only wear t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts because he doesn’t sweat and needs to stay cool inside and outside in the cold he can’t fit anything bigger than a drafty hooded sweatshirt on with his chair.

After we got ready…we had to head out. I gave my Uncle Dave a hug, as well as the rest of my family and headed toward Michigan. I thought about how nice it is to drive and be able to go whereever I want to go. My uncle Dave is stuck in his nursing home unless someone comes to get him. I can go see my family whenever I want…he can only see them when they come to see him. The farthest place he can go is the grocery store down the street but his power chair is broken and hasn’t been replaced by the nursing home so scratch that…

 I thought about how I can adjust my body in my uncomfortable car seat. My Uncle Dave can’t even feel when he’s uncomfortable. He had a piece of shit chair for way too long that wasn’t replaced by the nursing home. It resulted in a sore that almost cost him his life…

 More lawsuits for that one.

we got to Meg’s Dad’s house and I made the rounds with her family. I wouldn’t have been able to get in there had I been handicapped. I wouldn’t have been able to move around very much. Her family would have probably looked at me weird if I had been in a chair. There would have been no one to help me go to the bathroom because no one there was a nurse.

All in all, I take so much for granted. I can go to the bathroom, eat, take a shower, travel, sit, sleep, wake up, draw, talk on the phone, read, etc. all without the assistance of others. I live my life on my own terms.

My uncle Dave lives everyday of his life on the terms of nurses who don’t love him and don’t care about him. People will not give him love because he is different while he has so much love to give. He spends his days in a cold, loveless nursing home with a smile on his face as the happiest, wittiest and funniest person I have ever met. We all could learn something from Dave Carr.

How could we make it so everyone would love people like my Uncle and make things easier for him? Well first, I think someone should make a movie about him and tell his story…I wish there were a really popular documentary about being handicapped…maybe there is I just don’t know of it…

 I think there should be a handicapped awareness month wherein able-bodied students are required to go through school days without the basic abilities that able-bodied people take for granted. I also think there should be more federal legislation created in favor of those who are handicapped.

Blog Post Entry #4…Cory Hoffman

The movie that I watched was Brokeback Mountain.

 The film is about two men, Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar who meet one summer to herd sheep upto and back from Brokeback Mountain and happen to fall in love during the trip and have a tumultuous relationship over several years.

 While on the mountain after many lonely nights and one night of consuming copious amounts of alcohol, Jack makes a move on Ennis who resists at first but then reciprocates Jack’s advances. This creates a tension between the two resulting in a fist fight shortly before they bring the sheep back. They go their separate ways and both get married to women and start families. They meet later on and begin having a discreet relationship during “fishing trips”

Jack wants to be with Ennis but social and family pressures keep him from doing so, constantly fighting against his love for Jack even after divorcing his wife. He decides to break it off with Jack and eventually learns of Jack’s death when a post card is returned to him. This, along with the engagement of his daughter make him regret not living with the love of his life.

First off, I think it is a very good film and portrays real issues of the LGBT community in a true and meaningful and positive way. Nonethelessm, though this film is bold and beautiful and the acting is very good, I do think it is a little bit overrated. For instance, if the love story were between a man and woman I don’t think it is anything special…two people go on a work trip together and have a night of drunk sex and then they are in love forever???

 Anyways, the really intriguing character is Ennis. I think many issues about his sexuality are confronted. I don’t think the question as to whether or not he is truely homosexual is answered. I think it is believable to say that he is truly confused and does not know what to do. He loves Jack, he must in some way love his wife; he’s torn.

On the other hand, it shows the horrific burden that social custom has on homosexuals. If it is so that Ennis really does love Jack, he cannot get passed the third stage of moral reasoning in that he fears the thoughts and repercussions of others. He does not follow his heart and it tears him up inside.

I imagine many GLBT people suffer similar experiences that Ennis did.

Also, Jack is intriguing because he is totally willing and committed to going after Ennis. He is inspiring because he can look past social custom and fight for love in the face of embarassment, etc. He shows that it is ok to be gay and fight for love.

 This film avoids stereotypes in that Ennis and Jack are both masculine ranchers. These are male archetypes that typify what men are supposed to be like in America and yet they have passion, vulnerability and above all else, they’re attracted to other males.

 On the other hand, I think it is a good love story in general (this does not override what I said earlier…I just meant previously that it would not have been soooooo hyped had it been a boy and girl). I can identify with feelings of being torn between love. Ennis is torn between what he wants to do and what he thinks he should do which I think is a very basic moral issue that many people face. So often we feel that what we want to do is somehow morally wrong because there are so many social controls against everyone doing what they want to do all the time. But, I mean that makes sense in some ways because imagine if everyone did everything they want all the time. I imagine there would be a lot of naked people running around. Nonetheless, I think Ennis’ fighting between what he thinks he ought to do and what he desires is articulately performed by the late Mr. Ledger.

On the whole though, I think it is a good film…I think it is better than Crash which beat it out for the Best Picture Oscar. But on the other hand, I think it has a lot of hype about it being two gay cowboys that takes away from the love story. But it has the formula for a great love story that always works…for instance it is just like Titanic…wherein Jack (is there a coincidence in the name?) chases after Rose who feels a tension between what she wants to do and what she feels she ought to do.

 All in all I think it is a good film and is well acted. I think it is a positive portrayal of the LGBT community and is empowering in that it shows the possibility of love in the rarest of circumstances while at the same exposing the harsh realities of our society that prevent love from truly blossoming.

To read more about this film….

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brokeback_mountain Hey, wikipedia is the shit

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388795/ Internet movie database

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/brokeback_mountain/ read all the reviews…

Cory Hoffman…Blog Number 3

Here is the commercial that I’m critiquing…

 http://youtube.com/watch?v=0PXFK-iYW3U

 It’s the godaddy.com commercial where there is a scantily clad woman being questioned by what appears to be something like Congress.

 In the ad, a godaddy.com is being questioned by a committee concerning whether or not their method of advertising is obscene. The woman who is featured in the ads is demonstrating some of the actions she would perform in the commercials whilst in a revealing tanktop sporting the godaddy.com logo and low-cut jeans sporting a godaddy.com logo on the rear.

 Godaddy.com is a website wherein one can purchase domain names to host their own internet web sites. There is really nothing that an attractive women dancing around has to do with this service. Instead, her purpose in this commercial is to merely look attractive and sexual in her low cut shirt (which has a string snap, almost revealing her breasts.) Her purpose in the ad is merely to serve as a fixed point of attention due to her sexuality. Her body serves as a means to the promotion of the godaddy.com brand. She is merely a dancing, sexy billboard.

 When I watch the ad, I am only to remember godaddy.com as a side effect of remembering the hot girl on the sexually provocative commercial.

I do indeed this ad is offensive to women. It treats the women’s body as a means to an end for godaddy.com. She is not treated as an end in and of herself but rather as a vehicle through which the person watching the television is to remember to go to godaddy.com.

Also, the room is dominated by men looking at her and fawning at her as if they do not care what she says but are just waiting for her tits to pop out. At the end a man is even shown leaving the room as if to suggest he is leaving to relieve himself of the sexual tension the woman’s actions have built up.

 The ad is indeed sexy in my opinion. But, in order to say that is sexist, we have to look at in context. The woman is being talked down as if she is merely a sexual being. She is treated as not having a purpose other than to arouse men. The premise of the commercial, that they are at a hearing deciding whether or not her commercials are considered obscene, presupposes this fact. They would not be questioning whether she was obscene if they believed she was worth something as opposed to being a means to something valuable.

 They’re questioning whether or not she, as a person is a moral way to represent a product. She is completely treated as a commodity and that has to be sexist. There just are not T.V. ads with men being treated in such ways, being surrounded by a room full of women, each of which portrayed as if they are fantasizing about all of the neat, different ways they can use those men’s bodies for sex.

 On those grounds, that this ad supports the treating of women as commodities for sex, as means to an end, it has to be considered a sexist, anti-feminist commercial.

 Now I’ve steadily grown into not being a big fan of bottom-line thinking, but it is true that this ad and others like it are the reason for godaddy.com’s success. It would not seem right to say that firms cannot advertise in ways that portray different people in different ways because their commercials and marketing strategy are part of a firms personal property and we cannot go around regulating the use of personal property on the grounds that it offends people, at least too much. We regulate the use of personal property on the grounds of offense if something is obscene and that to me seems fair.

 But, to say that it is wrong for a firm to use an attractive woman in their ad campaign because of it’s unrealistic portrayal of women, seems like a stretch of the offense principle. Because when it comes down to it, advertising firms have no more of a responsibility to promote diverse images of different peoples than I do. Firms are separate, legal entities. Telling a firm it had to show fat girls, ugly girls, pretty girls and skinny girls would be like telling me I have to wear a t shirt of every color of the rainbow at least once a month.

 Hopefully with enough education, people will become managers at these firms that willingly on their own promote diversity; but to say they have a responsibility to do so would just show that one really has no respect for personal property rights.

 As far as being an activist against these kinds of commercials. The best way I can think of would be to not use their products and tell others not to use their products. Or, we could remove all of the testosterone out of males out there so they are no longer drawn to these kinds of advertising tricks haha.

Brittney Thomas– Blog #3

http://www.ltcconline.net/lukas/gender/onlythebody/pics/onlythebody30.jpg

 

            This particular advertisement is for a fitness club in New York. In the ad, a woman’s upper body is shown and the words “Tired of guys who want you for your mind?” is written across the woman’s body. The woman depicted in this advertisement is obviously in very good shape. By showing this woman’s body, those looking at the ad are encouraged to go work out at this sports club. Not only does the woman’s body encourage them to go work out, but the ad also offers a free week membership just for bringing in the ad. Basically, the overall message of the advertisement is that if you go and work out at this fitness club, you will get the same results as the woman in the ad.

            To me, this advertisement is extremely offensive to women. First of all, the phrase “Tired of guys who want you for you mind?” shows just how much society values a woman for her body. A woman is not supposed to have a mind of her own. A woman is supposed to have a toned stomach and be in top physical condition. Why would a man want a woman for her mind when he could a have a woman with a body like the woman in the advertisement?

            By portraying the message that a woman’s physical looks are more important then her mind, I believe that this advertisement is anti-feminist. While most view feminism as women fighting for their rights, feminism is also a way in which women of all different backgrounds can come together and use their minds. The goal of feminism is not to just sit there and look pretty for men, it is about women using their brains for important issues. Though most feminists would probably agree that living a healthy lifestyle is important, they would probably disagree with the message delivered through this advertisement about how women should go for men who want them for their bodies and not their minds.

            This particular advertisement is one of many examples in which the media portrays women as objects to be looked at. The main message given by the media is that a woman’s body is her most important asset and that she will be successful by having the “perfect” body. This image presented by the media needs to stop, for it is not a good one to present to women. I think it is the media’s job to present the public with real images of media’s bodies. One of the major ideas that those in the journalism learn is that it is important to present people with the facts. By presenting these images of women that are not real, these journalists are ultimately not doing their jobs.

            By having this message that a woman should be judged solely on her looks, women learn to think negatively about their bodies. Thousands of women will go to any length to get the perfect body no matter how expensive or dangerous the procedure is. The sad thing is that most of these women already look fine just the way they are.

            I think the women involved in the entertainment industry are the ones that can change this perception of women’s bodies. Women in the entertainment industry can request to not be airbrushed in the magazines. While some women such as Jamie Lee Curtis and Kate Winslet have tried to have their bodies represented correctly by the media, not enough women in the industry have. I think it is time for these ladies to stand up and start taking action on how their bodies are represented in the media.

            Unfortunately, I think society is a long ways in having real women shown in the media. Until all of the women in the entertainment industry decide to stand up for a woman’s right to be any size she wants, I don’t think society will make much progress in providing women with examples of what real female bodies look like. 

Blog # 3 Gender

There is a recent ad for Tag deodorant body spray featured in the latest issue of Maxim Magazine that is extremely sexual. Depicted in the full page ad is five women and one male. The setting for this advertisement is in a lab. It looks similar to a surgical room with huge lights and various medical equipment including cabinets filled with medical supplies and heart monitors. Most everything is clean and sterile and the room has gray tiled ceilings and floor.  The five women are of varied ethnicities and are all beautiful.  They all have amazingly tight bodies and their skin seems to shimmer. The first woman on the left who is the very foreground of the picture which makes her in many ways the focus of the profile of Latina woman with dark eyes, a golden tan, long dark shiny hair wearing a white cotton lab coat which resembles a mini dress. She is also wearing over the knee, high-heeled white patent-leather boots and is holding a clip board.  Her legs are spread apart and she is giving an “I want you” look over her shoulder.  She is the largest woman and the only one all in white which makes her the most prominent in the picture.  There are four other women in the ad whom all have that same “I want you,” look are two African American women one with short curly blonde hair and the other with very long dark hair and two blondes in the center one with her hair up and the other down.  The other women are all wearing open lab-coats over their black mini-skirts and silver button-up tops that are only buttoned about 3/4thss of the way to display ample cleavage.  Their shoes are all white patent-leather and vary between knee-high boots and stiletto heels.  The women are completely surrounding the confused and seemingly upset  African American male who is wearing tattered and torn clothes.  He is wearing ripped jeans sneakers, his belt is on buckled. He is also wearing a grey t-shirt that displays a circle cut into 4^th alternating between yellow and black.  The women appear who all around him are holding his legs down with their heels.  He is being pinned to floor and looks like he might have been pushed first.  He has a very worried expression on his face. In the right bottom of the ad shows a circled in red ink wanted ad that asks for testees.  “CAN YOU HANG?” and then the fake newspaper add goes on to say “Looking for replacement teestes to trial tag products, must be willing to work under the hottest conditions.”  In the very bottom left of the ad in white block letters displays a message, “Consider Yourself WARNED.”             This advertisement is effective especially when displayed next to TAG body spray biggest competitor AXE.  This ad is meant to be extremely sexual and the message is basically telling buyers that if you wear TAG beautiful women will be all over you.  I don’t find this ad offensive, I think it is kind of funny and ridiculous. It is not meant to be serious but it is extremely sexually driven.  I don’t think that this TAG as is pornographic in any way it just elicits sexuality. Women are dressed sexy but are not seen as slutty and are shown as intelligent because they are working in a lab. The women in this ad are displayed as sexy not sex objects. They are in control.  They exude power and confidence and seem to have the whole package. This ad is definitely aimed at the male population.  The ad basically tells men that if you wear this product you women will want you.  They will actively pursue you and will not be able to stop themselves.  These beautiful, seemingly incredible women could have practically any man they wanted but they want you because you’re wearing TAG.            I don’t think that this ad would work if the sexes were to be reversed.  I think that this ad depicts women being extremely aggressive, as shown by the man’s tattered clothing and the women pinning him down with their heels.  If the roles were to be reversed I think that it would not elicit the same feeling of sexuality.  I think it would look similar to gang rape.  I think that if a single woman were to be wearing tattered clothes and being pinned to the floor by five men stepping on her with that same distressed look on her face, it would be extremely inappropriate and extremely offensive.  This ad would then look as though to promote violence against women because whatever has happen and will happen was probably rough and brutal.  Men being that aggressive toward women in society elicit extremely negative emotions.  This new image would be quite offensive.  There is no long any time of humor in the ad when the sexes are reversed. I think that when the man is being pinned down, there is a sense that it is most likely consensual and that he will enjoy it.  I know that is a gender stereotype and I know that men can and do get raped like women but it is not seen in society as much.  It is a gender stereotype that men always want sex and that men are also much stronger than women so they cannot be overpowered.  This leads to the consensual feeling of this ad and doesn’t even once make me think the man was being raped.  The female’s power in the orginial ad goes against typical gender roles because women are usually submissive and men are dominate. These gender ideals as to what is male and what is female are reversed in the ad to begin with. The women are high powered, intelligent ad in control. Their power and obvious money, from their clothes are opposite to the male in jeans and a t-shirt that looks confused. The power that the women exude only add to their appeal and sexuality, to think of men exuding that power over, a seemingly helpless women makes them seem like animals, dangerous and not attractive.  When I switched the sexes the immediate thing I thought was rape.

Stacey Stratton Blog#3

 versac12.jpg

Well just take a look at this advertisement for Versace.  A woman is bending over a pool table and she is not wearing anything.  If you are a male then  you probably are  fantasizing about her but for women they think that they need to be her.  It would be nice to see clothing advertisements actually include clothing.  Of course, everyone knows that “sex sells” but lets get real.  Lets get back to basics.  If you what to sell clothing than simply put some clothing on these woman.  Advertising has rapidly grown to be one of the most influential part of our society.   Today’s society filled with domestic violence,rape, teenage eating disorders, and gender stereotypes and there is a need to stop depicting women in negative images and start portraying women in more positive images.

The woman in this ad is clearly being portrayed as a sex object.  Versace uses a woman to sell their product and there product is clothing.  This woman in this ad has no clothing; one should ask where’s the clothes? How could this ad be advertising a clothing ad? Importantly, Versace is using the image women to make money by any means necessary which in return sets a false perception of women.

This ad is very offensive to women because it exploits them.  It misrepresents every woman and the ad says that this woman is being used to draw attention to the company and she is definitely not taken seriously.  Women continue to be objectified in advertising, and the need for sexy images continues to be used in promotional messages, even when it is doesn’t really pertain to the product.  The ideologies that are portrayed in this message or advertisement is that women must have perfect bodies and are not a superior to men because they have to be a certain way to be accepted in today’s society.  This is presents a divided line between sexist and sexy.  This ad is sexist because it portrays a women as less vulnerable but women are not and in today’s society vulnerability means inferiority to men.  “Sexy” means feeling highly appealing, attractive or tending to arouse sexual desire.  The dividing line between both sexy and sexist is in the way this advertisement portrays this woman.  One can be secure in their own images and can feel sexy or attractive in their own way without having to exploit themselves in a sexist way as set forth by this ad.  Clearly a woman can be superior and confident in their image. 

This advertisement is anti-feminist.  This ad does not promote equality.  It says that this woman has to be completely undressed to advertise for Versace.  Its statement is that this is needed to appeal to a dominate market which is men.  It is stating that sex sells and this is not portraying women in a very positive way but as a sex object and not an equal.

The woman in this ad is tall and skinny.  She is so skinny that her ribs are sticking out.  This image makes others believe that this is how a women should look.   In today’s society, most men believe that this is what is expected of all women.  Woman believe this is how they should look and feel the need to get this image at any cost whether it through starvation and ill health.  This is why it is necessary for the advertising industry to set up and take some responsibility for the problems that women face today especially with their body image.  Advertising companies need to promote more diversity when portraying women.  For example, this advertisement for Versace could have had this woman wear a pair of low rider jeans and a tank top and it could have been seen as classy sexy and not just pornographic.  It is very important for these companies to make the change because they are so influencial in sending messages and should send more positive ones.

It may seem like a losing battle but it is important to continue to put an end to such negative imagery towards women.  People can do something about it by writing letters to the advertising companies.  Speak up and Speak out about such images and offer solutions.  It is up to everyone in today’s society to promote positive images as opposed to negative ones.  It is a simple as putting clothing on this woman in this ad.

Hlavin – Blog #3 “Chewing Gum?”

“Everyone wants a piece”

Am I the only one that didn’t see the pack of chewing gum when first looking at this ad?  I doubt it.  I didn’t even know that there was a pack of gum in this add.  If I couldn’t read english, I would have thought something else was going on here.  Why did this picture catch my eye(s)?  In my opinion this is a classic advertising trick:  use sexuality or implied sex to capture the consumers attention.  Once obtained, the advertiser can focus the consumer to the product.

1. How is the girl/woman represented in the ad?  How is her body and/or sexuality used (or not) to sell a particular product?

The woman in the ad is seen from the back and the eyes of the consumer are directed to her rear end, right where the pack of gum is.  Her sexuality is her figure and the close proximity of the product to the line of sight is what is used to get the product recognized.

2.  Do you think this ad is offensive to women?  Why or why not?  What kind of ideologies of gender and sexuality do you think are contained in this ad?  What is the dividing line between “sexy” and sexist?

I think that I have become so desensitized to sex in advertising that, for the most part, I don’t find the picture offensive.  The statement “everyone wants a piece” is a little blatant.  The word “piece” is a metaphor for sexual intercourse and coupled with the picture, a man and woman in a perceived intimate position, is a little much when talking about “gum”.  The line between sexy and sexist is blurred but I believe this is the intention.

3.  Is this ad feminist or anti-feminist?  Justify your beliefs.

I would say that it is anti-feminist.  I don’t think that a woman, who is feminist, advocating social equality, would want just the woman’s physical attributes displayed but also the man’s.  This is a “patriarchal” approach to using implied sexuality and/or a woman’s physical attributes to sell a product.

4.  How does advertising affect body image issues for girls and women?  Do you believe that the advertising industry has a responsibility to promote more diverse images of women?  Why or why not?

I believe that any girl or young woman that views this add with think that she has to have a butt like this girl to attract a man.  There is nothing real about this add, though.  Gum has nothing to do with a woman’s physique.  The only reason to display the woman here is to also direct the consumer’s eyes to the product.  This type of advertising caters to men and women are left seeing that what is beautiful is what is seen on TV or in magazines.  In reality, we are all different and this is what should be celebrated and displayed.

5.  What kind of activism can people take part in to protest and/or oppose advertising imagery that they find offensive or harmful to women and girls?

The most profound way to protest a product is to not buy it.  Consumers drive industry and industry takes the pulse of the consumer such that they know how to advertise there product or service.  If consumers demand more creative approaches to advertising that do not demean men or women then industry will follow.

Rob LaCrosse – Gender in Advertising – Blog #3

Robert LaCrosse

March 22, 2008

Instructor Joelle Ruby Ryan

ACS 250 #26449

Blog Entry #3

 

It is very clear that this advertisement is intended to show this woman as the image the viewer should project to the public.  Because the model is in a state of undress it is also an effort to get women to relate to her by using her sexuality to get women to believe if they wear this product they will be sexy and attractive.  The model is either removing or putting on her jeans.  Whatever the case, the advertisement is intended to show the women in a state of undress.  She is wearing only her bra and jeans.  This is not a manner that most people would view this person.  The only people that would see her in this position would be someone that would see her and most likely know her intimately.  I believe this advertisement is shouting “You will look like this if you wear this/our product!”  The model appears in a manner that is out of the ordinary, but women are expected to relate to her when they compare her to what they see when they are either undressing or dressing.  She represents the typical thin model used in most advertising and this may or may not represent women, but it does not represent the majority of women.  Using a model that appears to be the normal look of the ideal female is an effort of the advertiser to push this image to the viewer as the image they should project.

I do not believe that most women will find this advertisement offensive.  Most women will not see the women to be ultra thin or outside what is considered to be normal for a woman.  The model is a somewhat average looking white female with a very slender body.  This is an image that appears in many advertisements and is acceptable by many because it looks typical in appearance.  Because of this most people will look at the advertisement and more than likely not even think about it.

The reality of the advertisement is that the woman is wearing her jeans below her waist and belly button and she is not wearing a shirt.  What exactly is the focal point of this advertisement?  Are they selling bras, couches or something else?  No, they are selling jeans just as the advertisement states.  Without the words in the advertisement we would not know this.  This is the advertiser’s attempt at producing a sexy advertisement.  This could be seen as sexy or sexist.  While the advertisement is sexy in most people’s minds, most will not see it as sexist.  If the advertisement is attempting to show this woman as sexy because they feel the woman seeing it will react to it thinking this person represents the normal female in our society, then it is probably sexist as well.  I believe sexy shows a person that is sexually attractive and sexist shows a person sexually but in an oppressive manner.  In this case, the women is sexually attractive and oppressive since she portrays an image that is considered desirable, but is not attainable by much of the population which results in a distorted picture of the ideal female in our society. 

This ad is definitely not a feminist advertisement.  The person represented in this advertisement would be displayed in a positive manner.  This would include not being in a state of undress.  This state of undress does not seem to be even remotely related to the fact that she is wearing jeans.  For that manner this model could be wearing anything or nothing at all and the relationship to the product would be the same.  This advertisement is not in line with the feminist view.

Advertisers have the ability to promote certain images to the public.  The advertisers have a responsibility to promote a positive image to the public.  The images they choose to use will affect the self images of the people viewing them.  I do not wish to downplay the importance of the development of a positive self image in the home, but the public image will have an affect on the general public and especially the younger portion of society that are developing these images of who they are and who they want to be.  These effects are exactly the reason the advertisers have a responsibility to the public in what they are promoting.

The final issue in this post is to determine what we as a consumer may do to promote this positive image.  It is very simple; if you do not agree with what an advertiser pushes as an image don’t buy their product.  To take this a step further, contact he advertiser or the stores selling their products and request a change.  If we impact the advertiser where they hurt the most, the profits, they will make changes.  These are just a few ways we could make a statement to these advertisers, I am sure many reading this post will have more.

Josh Teegardin – Gender Ads

Josh Teegardin

American Culture Studies

Blog Entry 3

Professor Ryan

3-23-2008

     The ad that I chose for a new line of bra’s carried by the popular clothing store Victoria’s Secret.  In the ad there is a very attractive slim blone female that is posing in a suggestive manner.  The woman is represented as a sex symbol in the ad.  Ahe is photographed from the waist up, and all that she is wearing is a bra.  Her sexuality is exploited by having her arms in the air so that the focus is on the woman’ breasts.  The woman’s facial expression is that of an intimate manner, with her hair over one eye giving a welcoming look to the consumer.  I feel as if Victoria’s Secret has used this woman’s body to sell this particular bra, by having her pose on such a suggestive manner.  The fact that they picked a very beautiful woman to put in the ad, exploits it even further.  They are leading all women to believe that the bra is what makes the women beautiful.  The suggestive manner implies that the bra makes a women sexier and more appealing to men.  Her breasts are being exposed and targeted in the ad, which is a huge way that her body is being exploited to sell this product. 

     I feel as if this ad is offensive to women because that is suggess that the only important thing in their life is being attractive and appealing to the world.  It is very degrading because it also suggests that this is the only acceptable way to represent yourself.  As if every woman depicted in the ad.  I feel as woman and girl in the world should be as skinny, beautiful, and blonde as the woman depicted in the ad.  I feel as if this is giving young women the a mispreception of their own bodies.  It portrays all women as just sex symbols and acvocates the female sex to believe that being sexy gets them what they want in life.  The dividing line in this particular ad between and sexy and sexist is the facil expressions and the way that the woman is posing.  A simple smile ont the womans face would definitely cut down on the sexism in the ad, instead the woman is portraying a more “inviting” expression. 

     I blieve that the ad portrays an anti-feminist view point because it suggest that women are no more than sex toys.  It porposes that a woman should always be sexy and pleasing to a man.  It also puts me in mind of a female being sudictive and waiting on their husband to get home from a hard days work to meet their wife that just has to work on her looks and that’s it.  Women need to be portrayed as business people and not just sex symbols. 

     This ad alone promotes a negative body image for women and girls, because it leads them to believe that that this is what beautiful looks like.  Advertising should consist of all body types and images to let girls know that all types of bodies are beautiful.  I feel as of the advertising industry does have a responsibility to promote diversity in body image to women.  Like men and boys that look up to athletes as roles models, young women look up to some of the women that are portrayed in these ads and they strive to emulate their image.  When all role models are skinny, tall and blonde, they are leading all young women to feel as if that’s how they should look.  As a nation, we need to take more interest in organizations like the FCC to try change these perceptions in ads and try to change and make the world a little more diverse.