Blog #3 by Andrea Ensley

Pursuing an offensive ad towards women is quite an easy task however choosing just one is difficult. Many of the ads I viewed were absolutely disgusting and I really did not want to post on this blog. The woman in the ad that I chose is being used for a company that produces women's panties called Barely There. Her body is used specifically to attract men and women to buy their product. She has no clothes on except for the panties. Her arms are covering her breasts but the rest of her body is exposed. To me, the company is using the Marilyn Monroe look but that is just my opinion. To say the least, the ad is very offensive to women! Panties can be sold without a women having to be almost naked. I realize the cliche that sex sells but when is enough, enough? This ad portrays the female gender as sexy and in order for the company to increase their profits, they need a "barely there" literally ad and of course use a woman. I do not recall ever seeing an ad with a man is skippy briefs or a thong. This ad does wreak of sexism and sexist thinking. A woman can feel sexy without removing the majority of her clothing for the world to see. In my opinion, there is a FINE line between sexy and sexist. This ad is anti-feminist. The feminist movement deals so much with the exploitation of women. This ad clearly violates all that they fight for. Women need to love their bodies. How does this ad make a women feel who struggles with this issue? Feminist fight the "sex sells" concept and rightly so. With the age of technology, how many young girls see these same images in our ads? Body image is extremely touchy for young girls. Anorexia and bulimia is more of a problem today than ever. Is it any wonder with all these gender ads aimed at women and how the body should look like in their opinion? I do not agree at all with the advertising companies who jeopardize the reality of most women's bodies. They are making tons of money at women's expense. It just furthers societies warped sense that women are nothing more than play toys to be used and exploited. Women have the right to have their bodies portrayed in a more positive manner that does not exploit! In my opinion, activism is this area may need to be a boycott. I have seen other organizations use this to their advantage. It is all about money and if the offensive ad companies against women begin to lose money and get exposed for what they really are, things just many change. It certainly is worth a try. Many of us can write letters to the editor of our local papers to start with. Groups can be formed to brainstorm everyone's ideas to come up with a plan of action. When women put their heads together, amazing things happen to the betterment for all women. To be honest, anything is better than doing nothing. We all can take a part however we choose best.
Ad from www.reclaimyourculture.com/Activism