There are obviously a lot of problems with this kind of advertising– as I am absolutely certain has been said a million and a half times. It helps objectify women, turn them into sex objects, perpetuate violence and acceptance of violence, causes self esteem issues… bad media does all of this and yet it is still around. You can encounter it everyday when you’re online, when you’re watching TV, when you’re reading a magazine, or just walking down the street. Do the big media heads just not get what these images do to people–that they actually make an impression and have an effect (and not concerning the product)? Or do they just not care?
If you feel like getting really pissed off at the media today, go to about-face.org and visit their gallery of offenders. The images may contain triggers for eating disorders, domestic violence, violence against women, rape, you name it. So, tread carefully if you decide to go look at advertisements (I guess that means tread lightly in your day to day life, too….gah). Oh! And they have a section where you can write and complain if you want.
Tell me about the images that you’ve found, and what they made you think about when you saw them. Did these images effect you when you were/if you are really young? Let’s say middle and highschool for that question. Or any other input on media portrayal of women…
