Advertisements use sexualized body to sell something. Through the mainstream media of television, magazines, and the internet, advertisements are sending strong messages to young girls. In a materialistic society, it is believed that the more you have the better. Adolescents especially want to strive for a better life with better things. If they buy all the new products, they can be sexy and desirable like the models they see, or at least, try and constantly fall short of the changing definition of ideal beauty. The popular upscale cosmetic company M.A.C lures teenage girls to buy their makeup in order to maintain what it means to be feminine through their advertisements. Girls are brought up to believe that makeup will make them look older, hide their blemishes and flaws, and ultimately, to look more beautiful than they usually do. Large billboards of beautiful and sexy women are displayed for girls all over the world to see and believe that they could attain that kind of beauty. Even though some advertisements may not be overtly sexual when compared to others, the less obvious, but repeating sexual messages can be found in the media. Advertisements not only use sex in order to sell their products, they also use sex to sell underlying false messages targeted at young and innocent consumers.
According to Wolf, “the sexual revolution promoted the discovery of female sexuality; “beauty pornography” – which for the first time in women’s history artificially links a commodified “beauty” directly and explicitly to sexuality – invaded the mainstream to undermine women’s new and vulnerable sense of sexual self-worth” (121). Girls’ self-worth and femininity is defined by this beauty that they think will be sexually appealing. The beauty myth is embedded in girls’ heads from constant exposure to messages of what it means to be beautiful and feminine. Every girl is aware of how she looks and advertisers tell them what they can do to attain ideal beauty, which is unattainable even to the models that are photo-shopped and airbrushed. Yet they start to measure themselves to these models and try to find their self worth in how sexy others see their bodies. M.A.C.’s advertisements feature faces of celebrities telling girls to buy their cosmetics to look like them. Their advertisements for their line, Viva Glam, are for selling make-up; but with closer analysis, the body language, modeling and attitude tell a different story. In order to live a glamorous life of a celebrity, girls should buy this make-up. Are advertisements saying that wearing beautiful shades of lip gloss and seductive tints of lipstick will make you more glamorous and appealing? Or is it sex that really makes a woman all the more glamorous? Look at the model celebrities in the M.A.C advertisements, the promiscuous and revealing outfits do all the talking. Consumers are drawn to the ad first by the sexy models before they’re even aware of what is actually being sold. The sexual images are used to draw consumers into their advertisement. Unless girls wear these suggestive outfits along with the makeup, how can they look as sexy and desirable as Pamela Anderson, Fergie, or any of the other celebrities modeling M.A.C Viva Glam? With the process in attempting to attain ideal beauty, “women must want to embody it and men must want to possess women who embody it” (Wolfe 121). Advertisements sell the idea that sexual images are what men want because beautiful means being sexy. Also, the media tells us the roles of men and women in society, “Strong men battle for beautiful women and beautiful women are more reproductively successful” and by looking as sexy and beautiful as you can, women can get men to fight for them (Wolfe 121). Sex sells to both women and men.
Advertisements objectify women and their bodies. When they use women’s sexuality as a primary strategy to sell products, it teaches young girls that they can use and abuse sex and their bodies to sell something. Even when these images devalue women and their femininity, there are girls every day who devote their time to become just like the images. “Adolescents are new and inexperienced consumers, and such prime targets” (Kilbourne 258). Advertisements tell girls what to buy in order to look a certain way, and they are eager to try the new products. Young adolescent girls look up to celebrities and models in magazines, thinking that they are strong and sexy because of these products. The messages are so commonplace that they overlook the reality of how these models are presented, half naked, breasts exposed and posing with lustful body language. “Advertisers are aware of their role and do not hesitate to take advantage of the insecurities and anxieties of young people, usually in the guise of offering solutions” (Kilbourne 258). Innocent consumers are constantly told they are not good enough or not trying hard enough to meet the standards of beauty. The very ads that offer solutions create the issues of insecurity and anxiety. If they only had the right makeup to magically turn them into glamorous, beautiful models like in the advertisements, they would also have the confidence to show off their bodies. “The culture, both reflected and reinforced by advertising, urges girls to adopt a false self, to bury alive their real selves, to become “feminine” (Kilbourne 259). Therefore, the M.A.C. advertisement defines femininity for young girls today. Femininity is defined by the makeup they put on, the clothes they wear, or lack thereof; they just can’t be themselves because they could be so much more beautiful and desirable with all these glamorous products. Girls make their bodies and their beauty to be the most important aspect of their life because advertisements indirectly make them believe this is true. Being beautiful will help them get what they need whether it is attention, love, men, nice gifts, or even a positive self esteem and confidence. However, advertisements are helping young girls believe in the message that they are not beautiful enough; they make them feel less secure about themselves so that they would go and buy more and more products. Sadly, they will never attain the end goal of ideal beauty they think they can eventually achieve. As role models in magazines are being objectified, billions of girls want to be just like them. Advertisement in today’s society has a strong hold of young female consumers who aren’t happy about their sexuality, whether they know it or not; they are constantly reminded that they need to be a certain way in order to be feminine. Sex sells, and it’s not just selling products.
Works Cited
Kilbourne, Jean. “The More You Subtract, The More You Add.” Gender, Race, and Class in Media 2003:258-265.
Wolf, Naomi. "The Beauty Myth." Chapter III: Gender and Women's Bodies. 199): 120-125.
Images
http://www.realself.com/files/u3066Vivaglam.jpg
http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/2900000/Viva-Glam-V-Pamela-Anderson-mac-2944959-333-500.jpg
http://img.myyearbook.com/zenhex/images/quiz10/45259/res2.jpg
http://www.piercemattiepublicrelations.com/beautydivision/viva_glam_VI.jpg
Sheena-
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your collage and write up!
I think the use of MAC cosmetics ads was a brilliant way to focus your analysis. The sources were well utilized and the collage is great!
The one issue I found here was the use of MAC in the paragraphs and collage; however, the thesis was not MAC-specific, nor is the title. Both the title and thesis are geared toward giving your reader a good idea of what s/he is about to read; therefore, it's a (minor to fix, but nonetheless) good idea to keep that in mind when you develop your work.
Surprisingly, the usual outcome would be the use of irrelevant and/or broad statements & quotes from the texts; however, that didn't happen here. Therefore, it looks to me like it was in your mind as your focus, but just didn't make it into the thesis and title. :o)
Good job!
Jessie
Sheena,
ReplyDeleteI am beyond offended by this piece. My blood is literally boiling.
At what point did you plan on explaining the usefulness of these "overly sexual" images? Did you think to research what VIVA GLAM means??
The M.A.C. VIVA GLAM Campaign has raised over $226 MILLION dollars to date for men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS the world over through the M.A.C. AIDS FUND. Do your research before you attack a company who has led an entire industry in it's incredible philanthropic efforts.
Also, let's not forget that unlike any other global corporate charity product, 100%, EVERY CENT, goes directly to the M.A.C. AIDS FUND.
VG lipsticks are universally gorgeous on everyone because they are specifically formulated to work on anyone. Just take the original M.A.C. girl. Do you know who the first spokeswoman for VIVA GLAM was??
RUPAUL. A DRAG QUEEN.
And not just a drag queen, a BLACK drag queen.
Because, let's not forget that M.A.C. was the first cosmetics company (and is still the authority) to create a 100% racially inclusive line of cosmetics.
Ergo, the M.A.C. credo: ALL AGES, ALL RACES, ALL SEXES.
Clearly, you have done exactly what you are protesting which is to judge a book by it's cover. You looked at the surface and without doing ANY research or asking any questions you made a judgement.
I acknowledge, appreciate and agree with many, if not all, of your assessments concerning the superficiality of the cosmetics industry and the harmful effects it can wreak on our society at large. However, you picked the absolute WORST possible product line and cosmetics brand possible to make your point. Please do more research for further pieces.
Best,
Azraea