"KILLING US SOFTLY" - GENDER REPRESENTATION IN ADVERTISING
According to Kilbourne, ads sell values, images, concepts of love and concepts of normalcy; that is, who we are and who we should be. Jean Kilbourne examines a variety of themes and concepts such as the domination of the beauty ideal, the fear of aging that begins so early, and ultimately the distorted images women in advertising. Kilbourne argues that these themes have been present in advertising for the past forty years; below are examples of some of the images she presented in "Killing Us Softly 4".
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FLAWLESSNESS THAT CANNOT BE ACHIEVED
One of Kilborne’s main arguments in “Killing Us Softly 4” is how women are portrayed as flawless and that this is a “flawnesses that cannot be achieved.” She claims, “The first thing
the advertisers do is surround us with the image of ideal female beauty, so we
all learn how important it is for a woman to be beautiful, and exactly what it
takes." The problem is that these women are photo-shopped, airbrushed, and computerized in ways that make them look unrealistic. The finished product becomes an image of a woman who does not even look like the woman who the photo is of. Advertisements featuring these impossible looks give way to women striving to reach goals that are unreachable. Kate Winslet issued a statement regarding the image of her on the cover of GQ magazine stating that the alterations were made without her consent. Thus, no one can actually look like Kate Winslet on the GQ cover, not even Kate Winslet.
the objectification and sexualization of women
Kilborne shares the provocative image of the model whose vagina becomes the “G” in Gucci. She is no longer a women, she is a part of the Gucci brand, a letter in their name. She is objectified as a human being and is looked at as a less than who she really is. Kilbourne points out that omens body parts are often cut off from their heads and shown alone in images. WRITE ABOUT PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE OF YOUNG GIRLS EXPOSED TO SEXUALIZATION AND MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS. Women are compared to or even turned into products.
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The distortion of men in advertisingWomen seem to be the focus of many magazines and billboards, however that does not mean men are never objectified. Men are also used to portray specific images in media, but in a different way. Men are used to highlight violence, masculinity, and power. Advertisements portray women as vulnerable and weak. Men in the media are also objectified, but it does not put them in the same vulnerable, risky element as women because of the different ways in which they are objectified.
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Sexuality and beauty are limited to the youngAccording to Kilbourne, to be sexy you have to be young and perfect. Advertisements portray sexuality in a realm that only includes flawless, ideal women. The term, "sex sells" is evident is many ads; however, these ads convey the message that sexuality belongs to the young and beautiful. You never see sexual ads with middle aged women. If you look average or have aged past your 20s, all of sudden you lose any form of sexiness. According to the media, the age someone looks dictates the way they must act, dress, and portray sexually. This contributes to the ‘fear of aging,’ because advertisements send the message that once you are considered “old,” you are also no longer sexy.
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No pain, no gain.
Beauty should not be painful. However, as we squish our feet into 8-inch-heels, poke our eyes out with make up, burn our skin doing our hair, or squeeze into that size 2 dress, we tell ourselves it’s worth it; beauty is pain. Beauty has been tweaked and plucked into something that is not natural or innate, but has to be worked on and transformed into an piece of art that is no longer one’s self, but rather a variation of our self. Kilbourne provides statistics in her film about the increase in cosmetic procedures over the past 15 years; women are turning to surgical procedures to make themselves "more beautiful".