Exploitation of Women in Advertising
By Maya Jensen
The advertising industry opens up a whole world of creative freedom and refreshing ideas to be used to market products or services to people. However, time and time again, companies choose to use the same type of sexual ads objectifying women because it’s the easiest and the most effective.
Almost every company can reap the benefits of this marketing tactic except for high-risk and informational goods. Even women’s clothing lines are guilty of using this type of advertising. Victoria’s Secret is a perfect example of a company targeting women with a male interest in mind. While they are selling lingerie and clothing, all of their models are tall, thin, and beautiful by society’s standards. They are not trying to appeal to all shapes and sizes because it does not fit the expectation of what a male would be attracted to.
Some of the most successful ads are the ones that convince the viewer that their life could be improved with the purchase of said product. For example,“Research has shown that advertising promises its viewers a fantasy — if you drink this beer or smoke this cigarette, you will be more attractive to others and engage in more fun” (Miller, 1992). This same mentality applies to the average woman or young girl viewing these types of ads that glorify and exploit another women’s body parts. It sends two very harmful messages to both genders.
On one hand, it can warp a women’s perception on what her body should look like, and place greater value on her physical attributes rather than competency and personality. This of course can lead to eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and depression. For men and young boys, these ads teach them that this is how a woman wants to be treated and looked at, as if they were an actual object. It creates this unreasonable and unattainable expectation of what qualifies as an attractive woman.
In another study found in the American Psychological Association Journal, it determined “women more often than men, are depicted in sexualizing and objectified manners.” Since the dawn of time, men have always been the ones in power, while the women are seen as less than but held to a much higher standard of appearance. In a study conducted by the University of Georgia, they found that “of the 38 percent of provocative health and hygiene advertisements that feature models, 31 percent feature females and 7 percent feature males.
This imbalance in advertising is affecting people beyond just the surface level and is creating serious problems for both genders. With the rise of the digital age, the media now has much more of an everyday presence in people’s lives than ever before. Therefore, it is crucial that people become more aware of the content they are consuming and speak out against corporations controlling and manipulating the way we perceive women.
