Olivia Hutsler
Options Paper
Gender Roles
Throughout the society gender roles and images of femininity leave an unfortunate message. The stereotypes leave women feeling insecure and undesirable to others. A successful ad critic, Jean Kilbourne, explains the explicit marketing aimed at women. She speaks in the film, Killing Us Softly and expresses herself in the essay “You’re Soaking In it”. They both contain primary information explaining that women are constantly objectified throughout American society. It is unfair for people to observe themselves being stereotyped through what the media distributes.
The essay, “You’re Soaking it in” Jennifer L. Pozner explains the degradation of “womanpower”. She points out that marketers have a sophisticated standpoint to advertising, although the message of women they show has stayed the same even before woman became ratified in the 1920’s. Pozner points out many gender specific advertisements that are subjected to women. A big topic she describes is the movie, What Women Want. In the movie, there are many scenes where women are displeased with their occurring relationships. Although instead of fixing the issue within their relationships, they find another relationship with something that can make them feel better whether it’s money, cosmetic surgery, exercise, or unhealthy habits. Pozner implies that similar advertisements persuade women to continue these habits of unhealthy relationships and escape to gain relationships through more negative influences. If women don’t follow these habits then they are incompatible to men because they do not obtain a relationship. She elaborates on the affects of advertisements it has on a woman’s personal life. Advertisements present explicit and noticeable eating disorders that cause women to become overly conscious of their looks. A similar study Pozner discovered found that overweight women are less likely to obtain a job and men leave or cheat on their wives to have a relationship with someone younger. “Desirable” is the key word in which advertisements force women to be. Women are told to present themselves to be “sexy” because that is what men desire. Men are looked at as more powerful than women or that they have power over women. Overall, women are poorly affected by advertisements because of the image they portray.
Similar to the essay is the film, Killing Us Softly by Jean Kilbourne. She has influenced many women and men about the importance of stereotypes within advertisements. In the film, she shows primary sources of advertisements objectifying women. Throughout those slides she points out eating disorders, power roles, and retouching of ads. Kilbourne realizes that many of the ads show extremely thin women. Usually that woman is anorexic or bulimic or possibly retouched by technology. Kilbourne states that modeling firms keep hiring women thinner and thinner each year. Not only are they extremely thin, they are genetically taller then the average woman. 5% of all women in America have this type of body image. A specific advertisement stated, “The more you subtract the more you add”. This message tells women that their body image is not good enough for anyone including herself. Therefore, women go to anorexia, bulimia, or over eating as their solution. Another main concern Kilbourne announces is the little power women obtain through advertisements. A woman in an ad is often timid or withdrawing from attention. Women are positioned lower as men stand overpowering them. She mentions that there are similar stereotypes of men as there are women, however, advertisements of men tend to be less intimate. There are ads were women are passive and men are controlling. Although, if race enters an ad, roles switch making it clear that ads are focused on authority. There are other ads implying the first thing a man notices is your body, not your personality. Kilbourne mentions that sex isn’t the problem, but it is our cultures view on pornographic attitudes towards sex. Another circumstance of power is the silencing of women. Advertisements include women with hands or objects covering their mouths to objectify the freedom of speech women have. Many believe women are better silent because they are not considered equal. Another main factor Kilbourn notices is that many women base their looks off of models in magazines and commercials. In reality, computers retouch these models. Advertisements may include one woman but that one woman may include four different parts of other women. These parts are put together to create a perfect woman, something that does not exist. Even our famous celebrities are retouched. African American women are retouched to have lighter skin or straighter hair to portray them to be a white woman. However, if ads keep the natural hair and skin color of African Americans then they are featured in jungle settings and portrayed as animals. Overall, Jean Kilbourne agrees that the media of beauty advertisements are reflecting women’s self-esteem and effects how men perceive women as well.
This is an advertisement for “got milk?” which is subjecting to all women. It implies that women are to be sexual and over powered by men. The milk splashing onto her face 
symbolizes sexual activity. The phrase, “Get her used to it” implies that men have sexual power over women. This ad is destructive to many women causing them to follow in these footsteps.
Another objectified ad is for Drummond Sweaters (left) and Tipalet Cigaretts (right). The ad for sweaters shows a women lying on the ground naked with sweaters covering her private areas. This ad forces women to 
be passive and sexually active towards men. The models position shows that she is sexually inclined. This presents a negative connotation towards women. Advertisements like this show why America has the highest pregnancy rate amongst all countries. To the left, is an example of how men are perceived to be more powerful then women. The man in the ad shows control by blowing smoke into the woman’s face. The phrase, “Blow in her face, and she’ll follow you anywhere” is also showing the authority men are to carry.
In this particular ad it is an underweight woman modeling clothes for Versace. This ad is telling women that they need to be extremely thin in order to wear Versace. The modeling industry hires women of a certain weight and height. 
To them their products look better on thinner and taller models. However, most of the women’s population does not contain this body image. How can they sell products on women who are skinnier then over half the population? It makes women feel vulnerable and apprehensive of their body type. Everyone is different and that should be accepted.
Within my perspective advertisements are based off of what is to be made out of women. Advertisements need to inform people of equality through gender rather then how women should look or act. I believe both men and women follow the negatives of the media. When men see images of women being unhealthy or sexual they perceive women to act that way. Many claim that men go through the same media and advertisement images as women do. Although, that may be true, but advertisements target women more so then men. Women are showed through ads as more sexually inclined then men.
When a women flips through a magazine or commercial they see that models are “perfect”. There is no such thing, especially in advertisements because everything is photo shopped. Marketers are telling women to be this way. Another human is telling us how to act and how to look. Why should we follow them when they don’t know what perfect is either? Women should stand up for themselves and appreciate their gender and the way they are rather then following something unnatural, imperfect, and created by people that are just like us. It is unfortunate that women gained independence but there are still stereotypes and contraceptives that live on.