Gender Stereotypes and Feminism

The quote mentioned in the previous post also holds evidence of part of the problem. The woman says, “if I had a slim, lovely figure I would want to show it off.” Its only because of media that society has such extreme standards of beauty. For women, a “lovely figure” is often associated with a thin waist and full hair, occasionally a thigh gap or curves as trends change.  

Maybe its just me but I often hear girls complain about why men look so good without makeup. That is only an established ideal in the modern world because of the entertainment industry. The way professional models are selected for fashion lines or restaurant commercials have a large impact on what is and is not deemed beautiful by society.

Men deal with similar issues. Movies and tv stereotypes dictate that men have to be strong, independent, and the economic provider in a household, not to mention the savior of the damsel in distress. Athleticism is a must and an interest in cars and flirtatious personality is more than common. Males cannot wear skirts or like pink or be the stay-at-home parent. Because of the traditional patriarchy system, they’re also not allowed to cry and be “unmanly” or else lose some pride and dignity as a male.

Feminism is the term for female to male equality, however the meaning gets warped sometimes and has to be clarified, hence feminist movements. Even men can be feminists as everyone deserves their human civil rights without gender bias. Many people are aware of these traditional roles and unrealistic portrayals on television or the internet, and small changes have begun, but not enough. The science of it can be argued that men have instinctive urges to protect women, the prospective mother and carrier of their offspring, and that women have imbedded instincts to select the strongest male most likely to produce strong offspring that will survive childhood to carry on the family blood. This is all valid and has been well discussed by thousands of people around the world, but as times change, such instincts are not entirely necessary by the twenty-first century and media must reflect that.

The Reason

For those who feel “sexually oppressed” thanks to feminist movements constantly bringing up the topic of obvious sexism everywhere, its repeated for a reason. Without constant awareness, the problem will never be solved and just be ignored. Communication is key, hence the heavy use of social media to spread the fact that this is wrong.

Its true that the women to male equality is much better than before, go back a few decades and women hardly had any legal rights. Go back a century or two and having a job was considered outrageous. Walking around without a chaperone? How daring. Flashing an ankle or holding hands with an unrelated man was even worse. Females involved with adultery were often sentenced to death and men were treated with a reprimand and excused with the statement, “boys will be boys” and a laugh, whereas now, having a causal relationship is quite common.

In the future there will still be more changes, hopefully towards more social equality. We started a thread on MailOnline, a European news site, asking for people’s opinions on how they would start such a change. (You can read the actual conversation HERE) Most had pretty short, straightforward statements on the sexualization of women in commercials, but pink64 summarized it pretty well:

"I think the bottom line is that women are judged on our looks far more than men ever have been. If a man succeeds then it's his acheivements that are important, but a succesful woman gets criticised for her clothes, her hair and - quite often- her domestic life! It's a paradox because I love being a woman. I love having long hair and wearing make up and nice clothes. I am pretty sure if I had a slim, lovely figure I would want to show it off. I do like to show off my decolletage as I think it looks nice, but not too much...I think overt sexualisation in adverts is an insult to men and women alike. If an advert for (say) a car features a scantily clad woman then perhaps that advert is equally demeaning to men as it suggests that men will only look at the advert because of the girl - how patronising is that?"

Sex Sells

The promotion of products through commercial advertisements has been widely accepted as a marketing tool for consumer products throughout history and is taken advantage of in the modern day. Commercial advertising constantly surrounds customers with mental images of their products. As modern technology becomes prevalent worldwide, global corporations utilize the “sex sells” method with scandalous women in order to increase sales by appealing to the majority of the male audience. These advertisements are further popularized through their airing on national events, such as the annual Super Bowl, and has become a recurring theme for Doritos chips and GoDaddy management. Compared to other nations, America has arguably become hyper sexualized, obsessed with using the idea that “sex sells” to obtain more viewers, which leads to increased sales. This continual process of utilizing female nudity to gain viewer attention gives women the impression that they should be submissive, yet “sexy” in order to be considered desirable.

These commercial advertisements’ motives can only be achieved by the “help” of its viewers. Similar to a person, typically aimed towards younger men, who view these commercial advertisements, when viewing a prospective mating partner, the human subconscious automatically creates an attachment to the person as the brain releases chemicals.  Some of these chemicals include dopamine and oxytocin, which stimulate physical reactions, like an increased heart rate and flushed cheeks, as it prepares for the reproductive cycle. The manipulation of emotions through heavily emphasized libido in advertisements conflict with ethical morals as the demoralization of women is used to create economic profits.

With this aim to “excite” viewers, women are being socially degraded and demoralized. The ethical dilemma behind sexualization is that unlike drugs, it is an issue that affects one gender significantly more than the other, thus giving one side of the societal spectrum a feeling as though they are victims. Although many models such as Charlotte Mckinney claim that they love their job, what they're really doing is selling their body and creating unrealistic standards for women in society today. Women in their early twenties and even teenage years  may feel subjected to have to meet these high standards models are setting today.  

Classical Art

Although classical nude paintings are often appreciated, priceless, and praised for depicting the traditional, bare human form beautifully, modern advertisements of women in comparison are often regarded as outrageous and shameful. Present artwork is more vivid due to technological advancements of tools such as photographic equipment, Photoshop, and Illumination. Nude paintings in the Renaissance, Baroque, Romantic, and Neoclassical periods have been created due to the painters’ judgment towards female beauty without concealment.

Within the 15th century, the Renaissance painting of the Madonna Surrounded by Seraphim and Cherubim, illustrates a Virgin Mary with her breast exposed, prepared to feed baby Jesus. Her exposed breast was a symbol of wealth, status, and nutrition. However within the 21st century, controversy ignited when a photo of a mom breastfeeding her six year old son was made the cover of TIME magazine, which malicious commenter’s criticizing that it was “child molestation” and “provocative”. Society’s reaction toward the front page displays how overdramatic and sensitive people have become towards something as natural as breast feeding. This is contradictory to how people are arguably desensitized with the nudity allotted on advertisements. Future generations must be exposed to a more artistic and natural approach to nudity, rather than the sexually appealing types that are often found in advertisements today.

The use of sexual content in advertisements is debatable between many major perspectives.  Culturally, sexualization in media differs depending on how open the society is to revealing nudity and intimacy on camera. Asian cultures are typically described as conservative compared to Western cultures. Advertisements could also be viewed form of art as it is a form of expression and are usually successful because they arouse curiosity, attention, and controversy from their viewers. Sexualization of females in commercial advertisements has become an issue as it affects how they are viewed historically, artistically, and culturally and must be addressed in the future to gain respect for women and prevent their constant demoralization.

The Root of the Problem

Many fast food companies, like Carl’s Jr. and Burger King, are known for the sexual advertisements they use to promote their products. The topic of Carl’s Jr. going over the top has been especially popular since their All-Natural Burger commercial featuring 21-year-old Floridian model, Charlotte McKinney, which aired during the 2015 Super Bowl. The ad featuring ‘Ms. Melons’ is Carl’s Jr.’s most successful advertisement recorded, containing higher views on Youtube than any other, even more so than ones with Kim Kardashian or Paris Hilton. 

Charlotte McKinney

"If you can't take a joke, then don't watch it."

However, similar to dolphins caught in a fish trap, children watch these sexual advertisements shown on public television and are unknowingly influenced by such content. Studies support that younger generations then interpret similar themes as acceptable behavior in society. Results include an increase in levels of violence and unrealistically high standards for the physical human body, with noticeably more pressure placed on women. Young girls today have some of the lowest recorded self esteems because of social pressure to be thin, yet curvy, natural beauty, yet flawless skin and hairless legs.

The first recorded use of sexualized content in advertisements occurred in 1871 when Pearl Tobacco advocated the image of a “naked maiden” on their product packaging(1). By gradually increasing the nudity of women in commercials since the 1870s, when Pearl Tobacco promoted the first “naked maiden” product packaging(2), society’s view of the female image has lacked respect due to growing exposure of a woman’s body. Modern day advertisements involving women’s are portrayed as luring, flirtatious, and lustful, resulting in society’s bias towards women. Nudity is viewed as oversexualization, which has tainted the innocence of society’s youth, it is not the content, but instead the way the content is utilized that has highly debatable aftereffects on current and future generations. Compared to the past, the focus points that companies advertise have changed dramatically. 

Burger King ad promoted in Singapore in 2009

In 1987, a Burger King advertisement simply displayed a burger meal with the slogan “Get your Burger’s worth” underneath (3). In 2014, however, Burger King released an advertisement of a male looking down surprised and a slogan “Irresistibly long and beefy” above the image(4), referring to the  male sexual organ. The advertisement campaign by Burger King, uses sexual references in their wording to entice interests from viewers. As the 1987 Burger King advertisement contains no sexual content, it showcases how society’s standards are constantly evolving. Most 2014 advertisements boast topics regarding intimacy and sexuality. Once large scale companies such as Burger King use sexuality in their advertisements, the trend causes many more companies to follow within the corporate world.

1Dovovan, Patricia. "Study Finds Marked Rise in Intensely Sexualized Images of Women, Not Men." - University at Buffalo. University of Buffalo, 10 Aug. 2011. Web. 03 Mar. 2015.

2DeGeorge, JJ. "Preclinical Predictors of Clinical Safety: Opportunities for Improvement." - Sistare. Wiley Online Library, 16 May 2007. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.

3 Peppers, Margot. "'I Sifted through HUNDREDS of Sesame Buns to Find the Right One': Professional Food Stylist Reveals the Secrets behind Mouth-watering Ads." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 04 Apr. 2014. Web. 03 Mar. 2015.

.4Vukovic, Diane. "Depressingly Real Examples of Sexism in Meat Marketing - PlenteousVeg." PlenteousVeg RSS. Plenteous Veg, 24 Mar. 2014. Web. 03 Mar. 2015.