Hanadee
Abu-Zayed
Melissa Dempsey
English 1200,
sec 070
Project II
DRAFT #1
8 April 2013
Hollywood: Where Women Are
Objects and Men Are People.
I have never
watched the Super Bowl; therefore, I never knew exactly what these “amazing, hilarious and memorable” commercials consisted of until this year. I sat there
with my two younger cousins and when the commercials came on, I was appalled.
My jaw dropped as the commercials grabbed the attention of everyone sitting in
my din. While I watched the commercials, I noticed a trend where women were
sexualized in media promotions; being seen as sexual objects and focused solely
on their appearance, where most we’re half-naked and advertising the product by
only making sexual gestures.
Every commercial was based on something different: Audis, Mercedes, Carl’s Jr., a promo for 2 Broke Girls, and lastly a GoDaddy commercial, yet they all had something in common. Each was sexist and offensive, where the “object” they used to promote their product was a woman. I use the word “object” because that is exactly how they are represented. A woman used as an object for sexual passion and pleasure being either half naked or making sexual gestures with the product they are advertising, being drooled over by men. Although these clips are less than a minute long, they send out a message that a woman’s value is only based on “youth, beauty, and sexuality.” This gives young girls the idea that this is the only thing they are good for and lower their self-esteem, prevent them from taking on more serious roles, whether its in politics or medicine.
Every commercial was based on something different: Audis, Mercedes, Carl’s Jr., a promo for 2 Broke Girls, and lastly a GoDaddy commercial, yet they all had something in common. Each was sexist and offensive, where the “object” they used to promote their product was a woman. I use the word “object” because that is exactly how they are represented. A woman used as an object for sexual passion and pleasure being either half naked or making sexual gestures with the product they are advertising, being drooled over by men. Although these clips are less than a minute long, they send out a message that a woman’s value is only based on “youth, beauty, and sexuality.” This gives young girls the idea that this is the only thing they are good for and lower their self-esteem, prevent them from taking on more serious roles, whether its in politics or medicine.
So, what’s my
point? Sexual objectification of women in Hollywood media effect how woman are treated negatively in this society. This official trailer of “Miss
Representation” is an explanation of the outcome of sexual objectification and
degrading women in the media.
This short clip
shows that this way of selling products causes women of all ages to suffer
through self-objectification, body dishonor and given an unhealthy thin ideal.
It has lowered the self-esteem of
many, believing that women are not powerful
enough to have political roles in America. As Ariella, a
high school student in
the video stated, “There is no appreciation for women intellectuals. It’s all
about
the body and not about the brain.” Women have been women have been
influenced, sexualized and
underrepresented in commercials coming from
Hollywood media, where they are seen as sexual
objects. Welcome to Hollywood,
where women are objects and men are people.
Hanadee Abu-Zayed
Melissa Dempsey
English 1200, sec 070
Project II
DRAFT #2
8 April 2013
Girl Power (Rebuttal)
Third wave feminism is a way “Females can be strong and powerful. They can be anything
they want to be, and they can look hot doing it!” (Zimmerman, Dahlberg 72) Although part of the
women population find the portrayal of women in commercials as sex objects highly offensive and
degrading, others “view sex as power, embracing their sexuality. It separates women from men and
sees women as the dominant sex by constantly being the main focus.” (Zimmerman, Dahlberg 72)
They do not want women to take the control that they once had when women had no rights. Instead of
women being viewed as weak, sexual objects in commercials, they are actually seen as having the
power to use their sexuality to get what they want and this is what Hollywood commercials attempt to
show.
Why should we play the victim when we can do what Naomi Wolf does? Naomi Wolf
embraces “the girl power trend and encourages women to use their bodies as works of art.”
(Zimmerman, Dahlberg 72) Women should be able to show off their beauty and glamour, as long as
they are doing it for no one but their selves! Advertisements teach women to be confident in their own
skin. You can look at advertising in many different ways such as looking at advertisements as a
fantasy. Women do not recognize that advertisements do not reflect reality. If women understood this, they would not be so offended. “Advertisements are simply creative art attempting to make a sale, not
depictions of real life.” (Zimmerman, Dahlberg 72)
Although, women are shown in a attractive way in ads, if you look at it in a bigger picture, you will notice that the women have the control in the commercial or ad most of the time and men are also
sexualized in commercial ads, which makes it obvious that women are not the only ones being
degraded as objects. “Respondents finding advertisements like this one culturally acceptable make a
point that it does not matter whether the advertisement is ethical or morally right because they accept
sex as part of their culture.” Hollywood commercials are a way of giving woman sexual power,
embracing their feminine features, expressing your body as art, and showing the world that we can do
anything and look great doing it!
Hanadee Abu-Zayed
Melissa Dempsey
English 1200, sec 070
Project II
DRAFT #3
8 April 2013
Advertisements Manipulating Images and Our Minds
Hollywood advertisements send out one message for women and this message tells us that the
way we appear is what matters the most. If you turn the pages of a magazine we are given this
illustration of ideal beauty, which is unachievable due to the amount of photo shop used. Jean
Kilbourne states in “Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising’s Image of Women” that “Women learn from a
very early age that we must spend enormous amounts of time, energy, and above all money striving to
achieve this look and feeling ashamed and guilty when we fail. And failure is inevitable because the
ideal is based on absolute flawlessness.” Advertisements lower the self-esteem of many women and
create an unrealistic ideal of female beauty causing eating disorders, depression and lowered self-
esteem.
Maybelline, a makeup company, is one of the major advertisers that has always stood out to me.
The models in the makeup commercials or makeup ads are literally perfected to death, where they
actually look unreal! In the photos below are examples of models in Maybelline who appear to have
absolutely no imperfections. They have glowing skin with no bags, wrinkles, scars, blemishes and
pores. Flawlessness is what Jean Kilbourne calls it and not even the person in this advertisement looks
this way.
A Dove commercial called “Evolution” became viral hitting many social media sites, where
many were stunned. It shows a woman who appeared as any other ordinary woman then transformed
into a whole different person with makeup artists and photo editors. Her eyes and lips were made
bigger, face structure transformed and even her neck was made longer. It sent out a message that these
are the types of photos that women and young girls compare their selves too.
Of course, this is going to affect a woman’s self esteem but it also effects how men feel as well. I
learned in my Women Studies class last semester that ads change how men feel about the woman they
are in a relationship with. They compare their partners to that hot and beautiful girl on the cover of GQ
Magazine or Cosmopolitan, increasing their standards. This usually affects girls leading to a desperate
need of becoming thinner or more beautiful. This desperate need leads to depression and unhealthy
habits such as bulimia, anorexia, excessive use of tanning beds and unfortunately, many more. Ana
Carolina Reston, a runway model, died a year ago of anorexia, weighing only 88 pounds. This shows
are much of an impact the media can have on a person. It has lowered self-esteem causing eating
disorders and depression and it is crucial for us to join together and end this!
Hanadee Abu-Zayed
Melissa Dempsey
English 1200, sec 070
Project II
DRAFT #4
8 April 2013
Stop Blaming Hollywood (Rebuttal)
Media advertisers only give us what we want to see and what catches our attention. They focus
solely on business and the amount of products they sell. If they showed us photos of women who are
unattractive or everyday people, we would not be inspired or motivated to buy the product and become
better versions of ourselves. I know it’s harsh but its true. Whether it pushes us to lose a couple of pounds, try out a new haircut, inspire us with fashion or buy a new makeup product- it always makes
us feel better at the end of the day. Advertisements are the blame of extreme depression and eating
disorders, which should not be the case. Eating disorders come from biology and psychological and
emotional health, which cannot be caused by images you see as you flip through a magazine. Beauty
advertisements inspire us to become better versions of ourselves that is achievable and gives us a desire
to try out the products being advertised that will make us feel and look great!
Who minds looking at enjoyable-looking people, even if they are edited to have no flaws? Not
me, that’s for sure! Although, I knew I would never be as beautiful as what I see in advertisements, I
always received beauty tips and tricks to improve the way I look and it always made me feel like a
better person! We should always hear the other side and figure out what the goals of the advertisers are.
Fagan stated in the article “Advertisers refute 'beauty industry perpetuates low self-esteem' claim” that
“We want all our brand communications to be engaging, inspirational and make people feel good. We
don’t want it to be unattainable but want women to think ‘on a good day I could look like that” (Baker,
par. 6)
Individuals have also blamed Hollywood magazine advertisements for eating disorders
occurring in America. If people knew the true meaning of an eating disorder, they would understand
that images from Hollywood are not the cause! Eating disorders are formed from genes, neurobiology,
perfectionism, impulsive behavior or problematic relationships. Arguing that the media causes eating
disorders in women only takes away the attention of the real causes, making it impossible for others to
receive help. We live in a society where we don’t want to see ordinary girls we see every day on the covers of magazines. We want to something different that will inspire and motivate us to become a
better version of ourselves and that is exactly what Hollywood magazine advertisements do for us
women!
Hanadee Abu-Zayed
Melissa Dempsey
English 1200, sec 070
Project II
DRAFT #5
8 April 2013
Blood, Bruises, and Broken Bones in Advertisements
We flip through the pages of magazines but we never notice the violence that occurs while promoting these products. Men controlling women whether they are strangling her, tying her up, holding her down with 4 other men surrounding her or covered in blood, we know one thing and that is these type of advertisements lead to nothing positives, promoting and showing violence as if it is the norm. It influences our society, especially the men, reinforcing "hyper- masculinity." This is formed by having the idea that males must have following main componoents: touchness, violence, attitude and control. This help men gain power and respect. Sexualized, violent advertisements in magazines influence and promote violence.
A blog written by Jenna Sauers shows many examples of violence being sexualized in advertisements. I found ads that portrayed gang rape, murder of women, domestic violence and women in sexually compromising positions from the worlds most popular companies such as Dolce & Cabbana, Calvin Klein, American Apparel, Burger King and more. I gained knowledge on how advertisements lead to violence and the first step is to see women first as an object where men will then believe that they are superior, believing she is not equal and having power over her. This makes abuse extremely easy and proves my thesis that advertisements promote and are the cause of violence. Most of the sources I found on this topic were bloggers and from them all I felt like Jenna Sauers made the best points going back from the beginning of the fashion world, where designers have had a "fascination with bloodied, bruised, or dead models, whom they often depicted in sexualized positions." She shows where this glamorized violence started and where it stands today.
Stauers studied at the University of Iowa, did a couple internships in magazines and publishing
as a student and contributes to New York Times, the Village Voice, the New York Observer, Bookforum, Jalouse, and Surface Asia, in addition to blogging for Jezebel. She is well-known writer
and blogger and I thought from all of the blogs I read from, she had the most experience with
advertising therefore having more knowledge on violence in ads.
Hanadee Abu-Zayed
Melissa Dempsey
English 1200, sec 070
Project II
DRAFT #6
8 April 2013
Awareness Of Glamorized Violence (Rebuttal)
Glamorized Violence is serious problem where forms a definition of femininity for women and masculinity for men. Where women are looked at as objects and degraded so much beneath men that violence against them is considered okay and leads to violence in real life. We see these violent images throughout popular culture. Not only are advertisements that involve blood or bruises form a idea of violence but also a type of advertisements you see but never think nothing of it. A innocent women going about on her regular day and a man's shadow forming behind her. Thought of as a romance is about to start, it is actaully clear that it is a violent image that scares us, because of the fear of something sneaking up on us like that in real life. These advertising images that involve sexual violence in magazine can aware individuals of what really goes on in real life, where we can end these horrible acts against women.
These violent images make men look superior and women look like the weak individual. Men are
These violent images make men look superior and women look like the weak individual. Men are
aggressive, holding down a woman or tying her up as she lays there as a object. Linking sex to violence is the most dangerous thing advertisers can do because it sparks interests in men, fantasizes
about rape leading to violence.
This article made me look at sexualized violent advertisements in a different way. I look at it as a “mass media industry uniquely positioned to wield its influence and inspire actions that help eliminate violence against women.” Why would advertisers attempt to promote violence against women in the first place? Advertisers attempt to raise awareness about gender violence, where these advertisements could reflect how gender-based violence occurs in real life. With the use of the information I am able to use to support my thesis on how glamorized violence in magazines is not the cause of violence. Drezin and Laney are both individuals who are work for UNIFEM, a women's fund at the United Nations, dedicated to advancing women’s rights and achieving gender equality. UNIFEM has made differences all around the world for different women and girls and that is why I believe this source is credible and is trustworthy. The motive for this post is to “end violence against women, changing harmful and discriminatory practices in society” (UNIFEM.org).
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