Two Ways A Woman Can Get Hurt Jean Kilbourne Analysis

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.

In conclusion, Kilbourne wanted to express how the entertainment business portrays woman. Between the logic and emotion, she tries to even it out and show her opinion and facts about the women in the media. Her delivery in this essay comes from the ads and the quotes. Kilbourne likes to show examples and explain her opinion through the ads in this essay. Since she did not use headings or listings, the ads will show the meaning of the essay even more than what she actually wrote in the essay. Kilbourne is very sarcastic with certain things she says about the ads and the men that are in the ads, like the ad with the shaving gel, razor, and the photo of a man. It shows her feminist side and that explains why she usually has emotions in the essay. The logic and emotion in this essay both explain the meaning of how women should be treated the right way

Kilbourne’s support for her argument relies on the Appeal to Authority she makes, citing specific ads of big time companies and businesses to demonstrate how these ads are encouraging sexual aggression and violence. She alleges that ads affect us on an unconscious level stating we’ve become immune to the fact that these ads affect us (417). At the same time, she declares ads are pornographic, since they encourage rape and sexual assault. Kilbourne maintains that all women are vulnerable because “in our culture there is widespread objectification of women’s bodies, glorification of disconnection, violence of women, and blaming of the victim” (433). It all refers back to Kilbourne’s main claim that ads depict individuals as things which encourages sexual hostility.

Sexual assault and violence is increasing due to advertisements misinforming people into believing that such behavior is acceptable. “In the 1960’s Kilbourne found that she received more recognition for her looks rather than her intelligence” (Grean and Lidinisky, 490). Perhaps this is why Kilbourne wrote her book, Deadly Persuasion, analyzing this problem. Kilbourne found herself in the environment bubble the media is creating where the objective analysis of people is acceptable. Kilbourne’s book is an attempt to bring awareness towards how much harm the media’s portrayal of people is generating. Kilbourne’s book is mainly targeted towards women, and is trying to spur them towards action in an attempt to change the world and, more

Kilbourne’s speech talks about women being disassembled and brain washed by ads portraying what they should look like. She talks about how ads during this time and still to this day women are molded into what they are expected to be. Young girls are exposed to ads talking about if you want pretty skin or make-up that will make you flawless. Seems like from an early age, we are brained washed. How women are displayed as sweet and innocent but yet supposed to be sexy? There are so many ads in the world today making, woman into objects to sell a product. Recent ads in People magazine show an example of this. In the ad, there is a young woman dressed in yellow and green football sweater and knitted hat leaning against a red concrete column.

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

the author, Jean Kilbourne, EdD, states that, “Sex in advertising is pornographic because it dehumanizes and objectifies people, especially women, and because it fetisheizes products, imbues them with an erotic charge…” (491). Kilbourne also believes the sexualization of ads promotes violence against women; she presents the example of an Italian Vogue ad, which displayed a man pointing a gun at a naked woman wrapped in plastic, and a purse covering her face (497). I believe if Kilbourne were to view and respond to the Victoria’s Secret, she might say the commercial, demoralizes and objectifies women, focus heavily on sexual intimacy rather than emotional, and promotes a sense violence against women. Additionally, in the essay, From Multicultural Barbie and the Merchandising of Difference, the author, Ann DuCille, a former chair and director of the center for African American Studies at Wesleyan University, discussed that the multicultural Barbie, though created to encourage diversity and racial awareness of other cultures and ethnicities, it promotes racism by excluding true cultural and ethnic characteristics from each multicultural Barbie (859). She further explains that doll advocates an ideal body image of, “mythically thin, long-legged, luxuriously haired, buxom beauty…” which in turn might result in younger girls trying to mimic the Barbie lifestyle or image rather than, being at peace with their own self.

After reading the article called “’Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt’: Advertising and Violence” by Jean Kilbourne, I was a bit attracted by her words.It looks like the more I kept reading her article, the more overstated, she became when she talk about “sex’ and “violence” in advertising.

Women are held to higher standards than men and they are judged when they do not uphold these standards. One aspect where women are questionably judged is when it comes to sexual behaviors. If women do not keep their sexual business a secret, or if they act in too sexual of a way, or if they have sexual relations with multiple men, they can then be verbally or sexually abused. However, if a man is having multiple relations with a woman, society expects them to behave in this way. If society accepts men for these actions, why won’t they accept women? If women are held to this high moral, men should be too.

“Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” - G.D Anderson.

Males try and prove that their superior to women through their physical strength. This superior acts have the purpose to scare women to not retaliate back from the society that tried to rule men over women. Men are usually violent and demonstrate it through their physical strength. In an ad used in Jean Kilbourne’s essay we’re able to see how our society allows violence to be portrayed through advertisements. She describes it as, “Wear it out and make scream,” Says a jean ad portraying man sliding hands under a womens transparent blouse.” She explain this ad by stating, “This could be a seduction, but it could easily be an attack. Although the ad ran in the Czech version of Elle portraying three man attacking a women seems unambiguous, the terrifying image is being used to sell jean to women” (Kilbourne 496). Both ads illustrate the type of society we live in. A society that shames women and overpowers them by men. In the world women are beaten and mistreated because of the numbness our society has when it comes down to gender inequality. However, women still find it within them to push through this society and don’t allow humans to walk over them. An example of this toughness is when a male and female have a child. In cases some inconsiderate males choose to abandon their family because they're too scared of what’s to come from having a baby. Yet, mothers stay without thinking

Throughout Jean Kilbourne’s film, Killing Us Softly 4, she states that advertisement is frequently used to communicate with potential consumers and persuade them to buy certain products. While advertising’s main purpose is to sell products, modern advertising does more than just sell a company’s merchandise. Advertisers create the values, images, and concepts of love and sexuality that every member of society is pressured to meet; they tell consumers who they are and who they should be. Modern advertising tends to portray the two genders, male and female, in completely different ways. Men are described as powerful beings who are believed to be insensitive and brutal; they are posed and photographed in positions that create a perception of strength and dignity. On the contrary, women are viewed as the weaker sex and taught to believe that their outward appearance determines their value in society. In a Cosmopolitan magazine, a Miss Dior perfume advertisement uses a beautiful naked woman, with long, brown hair and brown eyes, barely covered by a blanket to sell their product. While the perfume being sold should be the focus of the ad, the woman occupies most of the image lying on a bed in a provocative position. She appears to be around twenty-two years old, which appeals to the belief that sexuality only belongs to the young and attractive. In today’s society, women are viewed as vulnerable, objects used to please men, and flawless.

The theory provides an understanding about the sociocultural idea that sexually objectifies women’s bodies and limits a woman’s worth with her appearance and sexual features rather than her intelligence and creative ideas. This study informs the readers about there is evidence of this theory, and how it is predominately everywhere, including the media. It mentions that the “review of studies examining depictions of women in the media including commercials, prime-time television programs, movies, music lyrics and videos, magazines, advertising, sports media, video games, and Internet sites revealed that women more often than men are depicted in sexualizing and objectified manners” (10). Eventually, these provocative images leads to woman becoming more likely to endure sexist comments, unwanted attention, and harassing behavior. It also even evolves into more dramatic and terrifying consequences for women which include rape, murder, kidnapping, and in some cases,

“Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt”, an article by Jean Kilbourne bitterly rags on sex in advertisement. It goes into detail to describe how companies have become increasingly more likely to sell sex in advertisements for products that, in reality, are entirely unrelated. Kilbourne focuses primarily on how this is harmful to society- especially women and children and how they are viewed by men, though men may also be targeted if not nearly as frequently. In a similar article called “Taking a Bite Out of Twilight”, Carmen D. Siering shares her disapproval of the popular novel adored by so many: Twilight. Represented by the iconic red apple held in a women’s palm with a sinister black backdrop, Twilight is a modern fairytale where the prince belongs to a monstrous society of blood-sucking models, and the princess is your average, plain-Jane highschool girl with a knack for getting into trouble. Siering’s opinion is most basically this: Bella is objectified and downgraded in the Twilight series; a character created solely to compliment the plot propelled by male characters. Where the majority of the population sees an aching, beautiful and dangerous romance, Siering sees a controlling relationship and a dull female lead. Kilbourne’s article brings to light how Siering’s article, directed at Stephenie Meyer’s readers, is so accurate with the the recommendation that everyone become more aware of the messages they are absorbing from media as it snakes its way into society’s

She then shows an ad in her article that shows three men tearing at a woman’s clothes. One man is pulling her leg, another at her arm and the third man has her lifted off the ground by pulling the waistband of her pants. Kilbourne also believes that ads are increasing the likelihood of rape on women. She writes, “Men are also encouraged to never take no for an answer. Ad after ad implies that girls and women don’t really mean “no” when they say it, that women are only teasing when they resist men’s advances. (Kilbourne pg. 462).” She then follows up her statement with an advertisement of perfume that says to, “Apply generously to your neck so he can smell the scent as you shack your head ‘no’ (Kilbourne pg. 462).” The ad isn’t even trying to mask the message of its true meaning which only enhances Kilbourne’s claim that it is becoming socially acceptable. Kilbourne’s major claim is that the advertising of women has extended to a point where their bodies are represented as objects which leads to normalizing the attitudes that lead to sexual aggression.