Blog Entry #3

This blog entry was easy for me to write about because I am a magazine fanatic. I am always reading the articles that they write about girls in Hollywood and all the fashion. The girl in the article that I read was about a girl and how she had a baby and needs to get back down to her old size zero to fit back in Hollywood. Her body before she had her baby was used for sex appeal. I in some ways feel that this article is offensive to women because having a baby means that you your body goes through things that you can't control and people should not be so critical of things you can't control. I think that this article has more to do with how the women is portrayed as being sexy and not as much to do with sexism. I think that article would have to be feminism if I had to pick however it does not discuss women having the same rights as men. The only way that women and men are brought together in this article is by saying how men want their women to look "sexy." I think that advertising being sexy is not a good thing if a women or young girl is not secure with themselves. For women that know they are pretty and are comfortable with themselves it is ok for them to read these kinds of articles. On the other hand, for those girls that are still getting comfortable with themselves if makes them feel as though if they do not look like those in high school that they are good enough. I think way too many young girls go through feelings like that. For the article I read the only way they could stop the publishing would be to stop buying the magazine.

NOVA SCHIN Non- alcoholic Beer Ad BLOG #3 by Ian Moy

http://daddytypes.com/archive/pregnant_beer_chick.jpg

For my third blog i decided to find an beer advertisement. The advertisement i found is that of a young beautiful women holding a beer in a modeled positionthe UK. The name of the beer manufacturer is called Nova Schin, they are based out of Now dont get me wrong just from viewing this artidle i have a gained interest in what this advertisement has to say. But the only catch that this advertisement has if you want to view it as a catch is that the yong beautiful model is pregnant. Holding a non alcoholi beer of course. What i get out of this artile from the standpoint of women is that this is somewhat empowering. showing that women can look visually appealing and aggressive while still being pregnant. On the side of guys i feel that this advetisement would be great for a market flooded with husbands and significant others of pregnant women. I think that many guys who have pregnant ladies in their lives could relate well to this advertisement. Because from my point of view most all pregnant women dont drink, and a committed partner probably doesnt drink either, ut to view this advertisement brings back memories of how your lover looked before she gained all the weight and the babye and how you used to drink, buyt this depicts being pregnant as sexy, and being able to drink. NON ALCOHOLIC beer, but none the less even being Non- Alcoholic doesnt mean it is completely non alcoholic. I think to an extent that this advertisement though is sexist, because it is definitely still targeting mainly a male audience while depicting a women though pregnant, in a sexy pose with short jean shorts and a small small shirt. I think that this advertisement affects womens body image by making them uncomfortable with the rigors of pregnancy, and putting unneeded pressure on themselves during those long 9 months. That is why positive support from a significant other during those months is key to keeping the womens confidence high. I also think that this advertisement promotes more variety in advertisements, but i think the wrong way, the advertisement is to sexual even with the women being pregnant. Ithink the advertisement community is obligated to keep everything on a even scale and not overindulge in sexuality and reintroduce more realistic depicitions of life, nd not the 90 mile per hour scenes of the mega cities in the world.

Blog #3

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Blog #3 Casey Page

The girls are both next each other in tight dresses, and one has her eyes closed with her mouth kind of open, and the other girl closed mouth and closed eyes. This image makes you think of sex and the faces that are shown. Their body and sexuality is used to sell the Tanqueray alcohol. There is this stigma that when girls get alcohol in their system they become freer. Then you have Hugh Hefner in the back ground, and he is known for finding the sexiest girls. Yes I believe this add is offensive to women. Not all girls become freer and willing to do things that guys want us to do when alcohol is involved. It is always alcohol ads that portray women to be in this sexy mood and that isn't always the case. On TV when they talk about alcohol you don’t always see women in sexy outfits. You see men having a good time, it’s only on paper ads that women are in sexy outfits. This ad is anti-feminist. As other people have said that feminist are not about exploiting the body and getting people to accept the body. Yes they women are clothed, but it is still exploiting this very curvy yet, skinny dream girl with big breasts. Girls and women think they need this thin perfect body that has like no meat on their body and decent breasts that aren’t small. Women and girls both will go to plastic surgeons or will just crash diet and become anorexic or bulimic to get their bodies to look like that. I do believe the advertising industry has a responsibility to promote diverse images of women because it is their fault we have so many skinny girls out there today. Women need to learn that they can have some meat on them and still be sexy and hot. The marketers need to come up with another idea besides sex sells. Women need to start saying no to these types of shoots. If women start protesting these advertising agencies will have to find another way to do their ads and the companies will need to find another way to get their product to sell. Groups need to get together to brainstorm to find other ways to sell products.

Clothing or Politics--Jacqui Duthie

This is an advertisement for Aeropostale clothing. This girl is being represented as a girl who thinks about many issues. Her body is being used to model clothes you can purchase at this store. Her sexuality is not being portrayed in this ad.
I do not think this ad is offensive to women. This ad is true in a sense. Women think about a lot of issues like the environment, world peace, the next president, what to wear to work, and how should we do our hair. The ideologies of gender and sexuality that are contained in this ad are that women think about everything, even their hair. The belief about gender in this ad if I had to say a negative response would be that women can be selfish. That women think about themselves more than any other topic and that we would rather buy clothes from Aeropostale than to help with the environment. The dividing line between “sexy” and sexist is when any individual takes offense to the ad or comment. Also, is when an advertisement goes to the extreme and is all negative about women, then that would be sexist.
I do not know if this ad is feminist or anti-feminist. Just looking at the ad without reading the caption, I would say that this ad is just a girl selling clothes in a appropriate manner. The caption though could be taken as that girl/women worry about their hair more than other things. However, I do not know what I would classify this article.
This advertisement does not affect body image issues for girls or women. This girl seems to be an average girl and that any girl, big or small, young or old, can go and purchase these clothes. I do believe that the advertising industry has a responsibility to promote more diverse images of women. The advertising world would send a message that all women are different and all women are beautiful in their own way. That not one body image is better than the other. And that a women can be comfortable in the body they have.
The activism that people can take part in to protest and/or oppose advertising imagery would be to petition the advertising group that their advertising is offensive. Other than that I do not think one person can change the minds of an industry. If there were hundreds of thousands of people that came together to protest than I believe we can change the minds.

image from: www.genderads.com (Politics)

Halloween costume ad ~ Elena Funk

It is that time of year again where bad is good and candy is the only sugary thing people want to eat. However, Halloween has turned this innocent dress-up game into what could be considered a sexual fantasy. While updating my Facebook profile I found I was bombarded by ads of scantily clad women promoting a particular Halloween costume vendor. I have had my share of fun dressing up for this holiday, I thought the manner in which this costume was being promoted was disgusting:
http://www.yandy.com/corrupt-cop-sexy-cop-costume.aspx

The woman in the ad is represented as a sexy corrupt cop complete with handcuffs, evidence bag, and cleavage to spare. That a miniature story line is used in the ad for the costume is all the more disturbing. The company is using this woman’s “perfect body” to sell the costume to a nation of women that mostly do not fit this figure. Even the costume’s brand name suggests how few women could wear this costume and appear as the model in the ad: Dream Girl.

I find this ad rather offensive to women, particularly those that are members of police units. Taking a look at the size chart for this costume I think it is saying to women that if you do not fit within those parameters you are not good or sexy enough to wear it. I saw no plus size models for any of the sexy costumes advertised. This ad would be particularly offensive to policewomen because I am sure they have enough sexist issues to deal with in a unit. That this portrays a female cop accepting bribes could make it difficult for co-workers to trust and respect her. I feel there is this cliché idea that all female cops are sexy sirens and this ad fuels that idea. The kind of ideology that surrounds this ad is that only women who fit into the body type portrayed are sexy and should be “permitted” to show a good deal of skin for Halloween. Any and all models used for plus size costumes on the company’s website do not deviate from the “perfect body” used in the corrupt cop ad. I did find one model that may have been a plus size model, but it was difficult to tell what was beneath the bed sheet of a Cleopatra costume that was draped on her.

I think this brings to light the line between sexy and sexist in regards to this ad. Sure, it is cute to dress as something or someone that a person could not wear every day, but sending the message that only certain women should do this is sexist. There are plus size clothing makers in this nation, why not have them help costume companies design costumes that are flattering for every type of body? Can a woman of larger size than the models this company uses not be some man or woman’s Dream Girl? I think when an advertisement targets only a specific body type for its product that crosses the line from sexy into sexist.

This ad is anti-feminist because it portrays female government workers in a negative light, gives set parameters for what is considered sexy, and lacks the use of models diverse in size and color. The story line of the corrupt, bribe-accepting female cop puts a negative light on professional policewomen. All ads for sexy costumes have the same size parameters whereas many of the plus size costumes that are almost that same thing as the sexy costumes lack the word “sexy” in the costume title. In all my searching within the website I failed to find any women of color being used as models for the costumes and the only plus size model shown was wearing a large sheet that covered her entire body.

I think advertisements like this affect the body image of girls and women alike. Similar images are used not only on the internet, but on television as well where many youth spend their time. Ads such as the one thrown in front of me can make women feel they have to be “sexy” for Halloween or that they are only sexy if they can fit into the Dream Girl costume. The complete lack of diverse models could also make some girls and women of various size and color think they are not good enough to wear these sexy costumes. The advertising company should realize that if they used more images that portrayed the true makeup of American society that they may actually sell more of their product. I think women everywhere would appreciate the availability of a fun Halloween costume they can feel comfortable in.

In protest of any widely unattainable Dream Girl image people can refuse to support the sale of the product or suggest to the company that the images used should change. Perhaps getting a petition together and sending it to a company executive could help rid the media of the “perfect body” image. Change will not occur immediately for as the saying goes, “sex sells.” If people can let advertisement agencies know how much more they could sell if their products were modeled by women of all shapes and color a change that many women have been looking for may begin to happen.

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