Summary Of Killing USftly Kilbourne

She states that because of advertisers make these objectifications and portray violence directly towards women in a large number of advertisements, they are teaching individuals that this kind of behavior is allowed when in reality it is horribly offensive. Kilbourne expresses “Turning a human being into a thing, an object, is almost always the first step toward justifying violence against that person,” (Kilbourne 278) even going on to explain that this has already happened systematically and as a culture about women. Because this attitude towards women has been in place for decades the ideals seem normal to many, but when stopped and analyzed, it can be examined for just how inappropriate it is. An idea of this shown in these ads is not just that the woman is shown as being covered up with the magazine in the one image, but when the woman becomes the opposite role it is additionally different than the original. This analysis follows Kilbourne’s ideas that even with reversed roles women are still not given the power and placement of men. In the piece where the man is being replaced by the car the angle of the camera is different that that of the other. This makes the woman the focus instead of the act itself. Also in the side where the man is covered, the woman is not

In the article “Never Just Pictures,” the author, Susan Bordo, addresses the cultural reasons behind the rise in eating disorders. She asserts that modern media and advertising campaigns have played an integral role in this increase. Though unfortunate, the media’s focus is not on the well-being of its viewers, but on the level of cash flow they provide. The advertising moguls use their agencies as double edged swords; they will make ads for McDonalds, then go in the next room and conduct a photo-shoot with a six-foot-two, eighty pound woman. The world of advertising needs to realize their work is being seen by millions of people and is affecting some of those people in extremely negative ways.

In Jean Kilbourne’s essay, “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt”: Advertising and Violence, she paints a picture of repression, abuse, and objectification of women. Kilbourne gives an eye-opening view to the way American advertisers portray women and girls. Throughout the essay she has images that depict women in compromising poses. These images are examples of how often we see women in dehumanizing positions in advertisements and how desensitized we have become. Kilbourne implores us to take the media more seriously. She is putting a microscope on society and showing that the objectification of women is acceptable.

Whether we realize it or not, we are constantly surrounded by advertisements. On average, we are exposed to approximately 3,000 ads per day, through logos, billboards, and television commercials, even our choices of brands. But in today’s society, one of the most used and influential tools of advertising are women. But the unfortunate thing is that women are not just viewed as actresses in these ads but as objects for people to look at, use, abuse, and more. In her fourth installment in a line of documentaries, “Killing Us Softly 4,” Jean Kilbourne explains the influence of advertising women and popular culture, and its relationship to gender violence, sexism and racism, and eating disorders.

Gender role bias in advertisements has been so prevalent for so long that the untrained eye wouldn't even discern it. All the same, these biases, for the most part, put women in subordinate positions and men in dominant ones. This assumption on both the genders is unfair and demeaning. These ads portray women as subservient and play toys for men. Not only do the models depict an image nowhere near close to reality, but their bodies are scantily clad and what few clothes they are wearing are very revealing.

Sexualizaton and objectification in the advertisements we see and the media we watch has become a very strong issue in our society. With the idea that “sex sells”, consumers don’t even realize that they’re not viewing the advertisements for what they are, but for the women (or men) that are being portrayed in a very erotic way, posed with whatever product they were hired to sell. Many articles have been written so far to challenge and assess this problem, but one written by Jean Kilbourne (1999), “”Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt”: Advertising and Violence” holds an extensive amount of authority. Using her personal experience with the subject, as well as studies she has conducted herself on the topic of sexualization, she talks about how the amount of sexualization in advertising affects how society views the culture and products consumers buy. She also notes that because of the quantity and prevalence of these ads, the rate of all forms of sexual assault, specifically rape (mostly towards women of all age), increase, as well as other forms of assault. It is important to examine Kilbourne’s use of rhetorical devices, such as ethos, pathos, and logos, and how effective these devices make her article. This way, it can be examined for its validity and her understanding of her own research. Kilbourne’s article is very effective through her uses of pathos and ethos, but at the same time, it loses its effectiveness through her absence of a counter-argument, as well as a lack

However, recently we’ve reached a “gender bender”, so now the roles have kind of switched (466). Although the ads of men and women are seen as funny, both are still being objectified. But there’s a big difference in the two being objectified, men are typically in no danger from this while women always are at risk. A Coke ad is a great example Kilbourne gave. In one, a man is seen shirtless while women are physically separated from him. He is seen as powerful, not passive. Kilbourne says, “he is the one in control”(467). Whereas in a different Coke ad, a shirtless woman is surrounded by a group of staring men. She doesn’t come off as powerful or in control at all. This actually comes off as creepy and frightening to many women. Our world has edged its way into a world of discrimination, leading to unequal power. But this power is forced upon us even as children. Kilbourne even states, “men are also encouraged to never take no as an answer”(462). Again this leading to the idea that if men’s and women’s roles were switched, it would be a completely different story.

Advertisement is to blame for the degradation of women. Women’s progression for gender equality is being slowed down by what is being shown on television commercials that screams to the female viewers, “Wear our revealing products, or suffer the social backlash of not being pretty enough!” While it may appear outlandish to say something of this magnitude, it becomes quite obvious when one looks at the facts of advertisement and the effects that are offset by showing impossible to achieve concepts of beauty.

Throughout America’s history advertisement has swayed the opinion and the culture of our modern society. Often times ads are selling a lifestyle change rather than an actual product. Unfortunately, most of this advertisement has had dangerous and negative effects on the culture and lifestyles of many American’s. Ad’s that push slimming substances or weight loss have crucially devastated women’s body images. Just as the body images of women on commercials have been made virtually impossible, violent movies and commercials have corrupted the male society; creating ideas that males are naturally violent and numb to emotion. According to www.fluidmedia.com the average person will see 247 ad images a day. That means everyone is exposed to some of

A scantily dressed woman is like a box of muffins on the cafeteria table; difficult to stop thinking about them. Are women mere sex objects and a tool in the hands of advertisers, or is this a gross misrepresentation in the pursuit of profit? In this drive for product success, advertising agencies' motives are not obscure; their motive is, in essence, to successfully market and sell a product by whatever means necessary. As a result, corporations justify selling and marketing a product based purely on the physical appearance and attributes of a person. As a result, women are portrayed in advertisements and the media as sex objects, especially as it relates to advertising name brand products. Unfortunately, the use of sex and violence in advertising

The same kind of women is always used in advertisements, and this girl is the face of our sexualized culutre. She is slim, young, beautiful, flawless, etc. This does not represent a majority of the public. “Older women, fat women, and any women who do not live up to the increasingly narrow normative judgements of female attractiveness are excluded from the pleasurable, empowering world of midriff advertising.” (Gill, 2009, p. 50) By not including these women in advertising, we are indirectly telling them they do not fit into society’s idea of beauty. They are not represented within the media, and feel as though they have to appear slimmer, younger, or drastically change who they are in order to be considered beautiful. Although this has a positive effect on the product’s industry, it has a damaging effect on the individual's self worth and mental health and places people into categorizes. Desirable, or not. This affects both women and men as women strive to live up to these images and men begin to compare women to these

The model appears naked covering her breasts with her hands. Although, the advertisement is for a lotion, the model is unnecessarily naked and her nudity is signaling sexual availability to a male audience. By representing the model as overtly sexualized, the company behind the product is attempting to appeal to a male audience and is using a shock factor to sell their product. It is the view of Berger (1972), men typically observe women while they merely appear within advertisements, and therefore women transform themselves into objects and more clearly objects of vision for men (pg 272). Likewise, the model’s sexual availability is teased for an audience. The model does not appear fully nude, but her breasts and genitalia are covered by the product itself. The placement of the product heightens the sexualization of the model as the viewer is forced to observe the product in question wherever the model is almost nude. In contrast, men appear nude fewer times in advertisements than women. It is the view of Berger (1972) this unequal relationship within our culture began in Europe when painters were usually men and the objects within their paintings were almost always women and has now become deeply embedded within culture and is never questioned (pg 272). As a result, the nudity of the model and her overt sexualization is exemplifying gender inequality presented within advertisements by mainstream

Advertisements represent an exaggerated stereotypical image of a world, where men, mostly white and heterosexual, outnumber women. Men in advertisements are usually out of the house hold doing more of outdoor work. For instance doing car maintenance yard work all of the “manly jobs”. This bringing notion that of men being more of the outsider.  The men have more say of what is done outside the home. The comparison on gender roles in advertising are obvious women in advertising can usually be found in the kitchen or in the bathroom doing some housekeeping. Women in advertisements have the ideal body consisting of large breasts and thin legs and waists, that are inevitable. The most famous advertiser for this recently is the Victoria’s Secret retailer. This is closely connected to the Stereo type because they in fact use these body types to sell to women because women idolize the bodies shown. Women feel the need to look that way because it is what is advertised. Resulting in women thinking it will make them look better. This is that need to feel feminine, falling under the guide to our

Kilbourne notes, it is a “real tragedy, that many women internalize these stereotypes and learn their ‘limitations,’ thus establishing a self-fulfilling prophecy”(239). She sums it up emphasizing how influential advertising is in our culture and how

Throughout society, the portrayal of men and women has always differed. Women have been illustrated as sexual, gentle creatures while men have been illustrated as the strong, authoritative figures in our culture. However, these stereotypical portrayals have changed drastically over the years. In past culture, women have always been the center of advertisements, while men have stayed in the shadows. In present day culture, men are starting to play a larger role in advertisements. However, many ads showcasing men have proved to be controversial. Susan Bordo, the author of The Male Body: A New Look at Men in Public and Private (1999) discusses the different ways men have been used in campaigns throughout our history.