Advertisement and women
The glamorous world of advertisement and marketing needs to be explored and questioned in order to access the obscure truths. The fascination of advertisement tends to influence the mind-sets of different people and create a contrast between need and greed. It is related to the cultural and social aspects of society and reveals the human condition in great deal.
When broadly looked at the advertisement strategies and the position of women, it’s realized that women and even men (though in lesser degrees) seem to be commodifying their bodies for profits. The glamourized view of their world is utilized to create an aura of perfection and thereby creating a desire and temptation to buy a particular product. The selling methods target women who are seen as greater consumers. The advertisement of household appliances can be seen as a means of enforcing patriarchal norms i.e. a woman’s deserved place being the kitchen. The deodorant advertisements display a weird set of ideologies where women could be attracted only by using the prescribed deodorant. It seems to mock the whole concept of human rationality and clearly give a degrading image of women-kind, tempted by perfumes.
Coming to the notion of beauty in that virtual world, it is deemed extremely important to look nice. ‘Fair and Lovely’ is the secret of a woman’s success, her talents and skills are rated below her beauty. Using anti-ageing cream, she can control her age and growth. It has promoted the obsession of looking attractive and pretty in order to be valued in society. What’s the big deal in ageing and turning old when it’s natural? I guess there are still some men who value women for what’s within them, their character, virtues, etc. that’s more stable than the perishable beauty. A number of soap and body lotion advertisements show semi-naked women in order to tempt the buyers, using them as commodities as well.
The enforcement of stereotypes and generalization of particular mind-sets tend to have positive ornegative aspects behind it. It can also be used to create awareness in society and highlight any particular issue.
When looked at the advertisement world and women, the representation of men too needs to be glanced at. Men are generally shown as more rational than women, occupying the two positions, protector or predator, hero or villain, with the echoes of good or bad. In today’s unique fashion, a lot of obscene advertisements on television can have drastic impacts on children, due to their tender age.
It can be concluded that the advertisement world needs to accept gender equalities, give an equal share of respect to all and stop commodifying human beings. Humans are more important than the products created for their consumption.
———— About the Author: This article is contributed by Anam Fatima, our intern.
