I was really shocked by the video we watched in class. "Killing Us Softly 4"- a presentation by Jean Kilbourne, was a huge eye opener. I wasn't shocked to see that ads for decades have been telling women to be their created version of the 'ideal woman,' but I was shocked by how subtle it's been and how much I've especially fed into it. I am not by nature 'skinny;' I have a decent waist, but hippy hips, no bust to speak of but shoulders broad enough to classify me as "hourglass"- a figure mom always said I should be thankful for. And I work extremely hard to be healthy. I used to weigh quite a bit and have lost a good amount of weight over the last 5 years, I am proud of myself but I constantly look in the mirror to evaluate my trouble areas and my plan of attack to annihilate them. It seems I always have 10 more pounds to lose. Now I'm a pretty confident person, I thank my mom for that. She has always been a good example of how a woman should respect and carry herself, and how others should respect and treat her. In my eyes she is the ideal balance of no-nonsense and empathy. This isn't to romanticize her, it's just to say a lack of confidence and respect has never been listed amongst her flaws.
Nonetheless, I watched this video and was really amazed at just how poorly women are portrayed. Not just the weight issue, that's obvious, though we (myself included) are still trying to conform to that standard, what got me was the rest of it; that women are often shown as child-like, demure, and quiet. Meant to be beautiful, but disappear. The most troubling part I found about this is this is becoming the standard for men's 'ideal woman' as well. That by seeing Alessandra Ambrosio (my husband's claimed ''other wife'') strutting around all slutty but still innocent-like, real women are becoming judged more harshly. Which is totally unfair given that every pizza commercial I've seen lately features bumbling, dumb slobs of men who should they procreate would only drive the human race into oblivion or at the very least we'd become a society reminiscent to that in the movie "Idiocracy." I refuse to accept a society where men who are "5's" demand and expect women who are "10's"- That's just bullshit. But a woman who's a "9" with the confidence of a "4" will happily settle for a man who's a "6"-- and has the confidence of a "20." That's messed up.
I also didn't realize the body positions of ads before. How women are often objectified into objects by eliminating their face or covering them up, or contorting their bodies into more demeaning poses. Whereas men are more seen looking straight into the camera, astute and strong. I usually find high fashion photos artistic and poetic; they're bold, erotic, daring.... well that's been skewed a bit. I know it's always about selling the clothes but I like to think the photographers turn it into an art form. And perhaps that is their goal, but seeing image after image of the constant demeaning of women and build-up of men, in an industry that's primarily run on femininity (the fashion industry anyways)- well it's just a bummer. Now I'm talking strictly fashion here but a lot of advertising is in the field of bringing down women for the sake of a product. It's all sickening, really.
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