In advertising it has been commonplace for women to be portrayed as objects. The female body has been used to sell clothing, perfume, lingerie, jewelry, sports cars, and even oddly enough organ donations. Take this public service announcement from the Organ Donor Foundation, for example:
Although it may be in the name of saving lives, the woman in the ad is stripped to her underwear and heals, she is passive and obviously exploited. The positioning of her body perpetuates the idea of defenselessness, she is captive (as if her arms were bound) to the will of the men viewing the ad. She is shown as nothing more than a sexual object, something for men to fantasize about. Will it convince them to donate a kidney? Maybe. But it definitely will attract their attention, although not exactly for positive reasons.
However, recently there has been a trend in male objectification in advertising. Shirtless male models stand posed on billboards, in magazines and even in front of Abercrombie & Fitch, where women wait in line to take pictures. Take for example this Hollister ad:
The model in this ad is also clearly objectified. He is portrayed as a sexual object, his body exploited to sell clothing, which ironically seem to be missing. His face has been cut from the frame creating the sense that he is less than human, just a body. If his eyes were present they would be downcast, not engaging with the viewer, also passive. Once again this ad most definitely attracts female attention and once again this attention is not positive.
The clear motive behind these ads is that sex sells, but at what cost?
I am thankful to this blog for assisting me. I added some specified clues which are really important for me to use them in my writing skill. Really helpful stuff made by this blog.อย เครื่องมือ แพทย์
ReplyDelete